WHITEWATER, Wis. -- In front of a packed Perkins Stadium crowd, the No. 6 UW-Whitewater football team topped No. 2 UW-River Falls 24-16 Saturday. The massive crowd of 20,118 made for an incredible atmosphere in the huge Warhawk win.
As expected, each team was dominant in their go-to styles with the Warhawks winning the run game 190-60 in net rushing yards and 3-0 in rushing touchdowns. The Falcons dominated in the air with a 229-38 sway in passing yards, but just a 1-0 advantage in passing touchdowns. UW-Whitewater's defense solidified the win with five sacks for a loss of 21 yards and three interceptions for 83 yards in returns.
Drew Kortz (Freedom, Wis./Freedom) and the Warhawk defense set the tone early. The defensive back jumped a passing lane and picked off the Falcon quarterback on their first drive to give UWW the ball with great field position at the RF28. Unfortunately, UW-Whitewater couldn't turn the takeaway into points, but they would be the first to score, getting on the board on their next drive.
Tommy Novotny (Milwaukee, Wis./Marquette) was tapped for the carry on 3rd-and-17. The shifty backed bounced it outside and up the River Falls sideline, breaking a tackle and outrunning the defense for a 69-yard score.
Hunter Liszka (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North) hit the point after for a 7-0 lead.
UW-River Falls ended the shutout on a safety after a bad snap sailed into the endzone late in the first quarter.
The Warhawks responded with another huge Novotny run. This time, Novotny took the handoff on the first play of the drive and made a defender miss with a phenomenal cut that had a linebacker diving at air as he bolted up the near sideline for a 65-yard touchdown. Liszka's extra point made it 14-2 UWW.
The Falcons used a five-play, 75-yard drive to pull within five, 14-9 on their next drive. An interception at the Warhawk five led to a pick-6 and the first, and only, UW-River Falls lead of the game, 16-14. Before the half, UWW would reclaim the lead.
After the UW-Whitewater drive stalled at the River Falls 28, Liszka split the uprights on a career-long 45-yard field goal to give the Warhawks a 17-16 lead. They held the lead the rest of the way.
Following a scoreless third quarter, Novotny gave UWW a cushion with his third rushing TD of the game. This time the freshman scampered in from 11-yards out. Liszka hit the extra point to give UW-Whitewater a 24-16 advantage. The Warhawk defense was up the task the rest of the way.
UWW turned the Falcons over on downs twice in the final quarter. The first at the Warhawk 35 and the second at UWW's four-yard line. On UWRF's final drive, the Falcons ran five plays in the redzone and the Warhawks thwarted every scoring chance. UW-Whitewater took over with 19 seconds remaining to kneel out the clock.
Career games from multiple players bolstered the Warhawk win. Novotny posted career marks in rushing attempts (23), rushing yards (192), rushing touchdowns (3) and longest rush (69). Defensively,
Jayden Fowler (Morton Grove, Ill./Niles Township West) paced the Warhawks with a career-high 12 tackles.
Dom Beres (Bartlett, Ill./St. Francis) also tallied a career-high in the tackles column with 10.
Jace Chamberlain (Oak Forest, Ill./St. Laurence) had a phenomenal game with 3.5 tackles for a loss of 17 and two sacks for a loss of 15 - both career bests. Kortz's pair of interceptions are the most for him in a single game in his career. He added four tackles, a tackle for loss, a pass breakup and 54 interception return yards to his stats on the day.
UW-Whitewater heads back out on the road next week to take on No. 19 UW-La Crosse Saturday at 1 PM.
