The sixth-ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team took down top-ranked Mary Hardin-Baylor 28-24 in a thrilling game at Perkins Stadium Saturday afternoon.
A back-and-forth affair, the winning drive came late in the fourth. Powered by a rush of momentum after not one, but three goal line stops by the Warhawk defense, UW-Whitewater marched 99 yards in 2:34 to register the game winning touchdown. The scoring play had Evan Lewandowski (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Lake Zurich) going to the right side of the end zone from nine yards out toward a tightly guarded Tommy Coates (Chicago, Ill./De La Salle Institute). Lewandowski's gorgeous pass was on the money, where only his receiver could haul it in, and that's just what Coates did, barely getting a foot down in play. The officials signaled the touchdown immediately as the Whitewater faithful erupted. Jeffery Isotalo-McGuire (Phoenix, Ariz./Pinnacle) nailed the extra point to give UW-W the 28-24 lead with just 13 seconds left to play.
The game, just like that play, was a thriller. Two powerhouses showcasing their physicality on both sides of the ball. The Crusaders received the opening kick and marched straight down the field for an early touchdown going 75 yards in 12 plays for the 7-0 lead.
The Warhawks responded immediately. A 20-yard connection from Lewandowski to Steven Hein (St. Charles, Ill./North) bolstered nine-play drive as Jaylon Edmonson (Racine, Wis./Case) punched it in from one-yard out to cap the Warhawks' first possession of the contest. Isotalo-McGuire made it 7-7 with the extra point.
The UW-W defense stiffened and forced a punt, but Cru punter/quarterback Kyle King booted it 61 yards and pinned the Warhawks at their own five. From there, with 2:18 left in the first quarter, UW-W would start the longest drive by either team in the game.
Whitewater ran three plays, and with the help of a penalty, went into the second with the ball on their own 37. A series of short plays had the Warhawks consistently gaining positive yardage until Lewandowski aired it out to Nick Wind (Downers Grove, Ill./Montini Catholic) for a 37-yard strike down to the UMHB seven-yard line. Back-to-back penalties nearly killed the drive but on third and goal from the 17, Lewandowski hit Tyler Holte (Elgin, Ill./St. Edward Central Catholic) in the middle of the field for the touchdown. The extra point gave UW-W a 14-7 advantage. In total, the Warhawk drive went 18 plays and 82 yards while taking over 11 minutes off the clock.
UMHB responded on their next drive with a couple of big plays that put them deep in Warhawk territory. UW-W's defense, once again, stiffened. On first and 10 at the Whitewater 19, Justin Allen (Huntley, Ill./Huntley) busted through the line to push the Cru back for a one-yard loss. Following an incomplete pass, Allen came up big again, this time getting to the quarterback for a sack and a six-yard loss to force a field goal attempt. The Crusaders made the field goal try to pull to within four, 14-10, the score that would hold into intermission.
The Warhawks struggled to move the ball in their first possession of the second half and a dropped ball on the snap for the punt had Boyd Dose attempting to pick up the first down with his feet as the UMHB special teams swarmed. With good field position following the turnover on downs, a 27-yard pass set up a Cru touchdown to reclaim the lead for UMHB 17-14.
A 23-yard return by Shelvin Garrett II (Beloit, Wis./Memorial) on the kickoff had the offense back on the field at the UW-W 34. Facing a third and seven after a few small gains, Lewandowski hit one of his favorite targets in Holte, this time for 19 yards and a first down. Later in the drive, on another third down, the Lewandowski-Holte connection extended the drive once again with a 12-yard completion. It was only fitting that Lewandowski find Holte on the scoring play to cap the drive. Holte pulled in the catch for an 18-yard reception and his second touchdown of the day. The extra point made it 21-17, advantage Warhawks.
Such was the story of the game, the lead was short-lived as Mary Hardin-Baylor went 81 yards in six plays to register another score to take a 24-21 lead in the game.
That score held through the Warhawks' next possession. UMHB took over with just under eight minutes to go in the game from their own 20. UW-W looked to have the Cru's number, but on third and seven, the Cru quarterback, Kyle King, was forced to scramble and wove through traffic for a 52-yard scamper up the middle. A pass interference call on the next play had UMHB down to the UW-W two yard line but the Warhawk defense did not fold. Standing tall at the goal line, the Cru advanced the ball a yard, down to the one on the first play. Shane McGrail (Plainfield, Ill./North) blew up both of the next two run plays at the line of scrimmage refusing to let the UMHB passed the one. On fourth and goal from the one, it looked like King found his tight end in the end zone but he couldn't hang on as the Warhawks turned the Cru over on downs and took over at their own one.
Lewandowski put together the drive of his collegiate career as UW-W had under three minutes to drive 99 yards. Following an incompletion, Lewandowski hit Coates for a 25-yard strike who went up for another phenomenal grab on the sideline. Next he hit Steven Hein (St. Charles, Ill./North) for five yards then Sam DeLany (Delafield, Wis./Kettle Moraine) for six more. Holte was his next target, good for nine yards. He found Holte again deep up the middle for 27 yards to bring the Warhawks to the UMHB 27. With 1:13 on the clock, UW-W called timeout.
After an incompletion, Edmonson took the handoff and danced his way through the middle for seven yards. The Warhawks called their second timeout with 1:01 on the clock.
Lewandowski hit DeLany for eight yards and a first down out of the timeout. A three-yard completion to Holte put UW-W on the Cru nine yard line. An incompletion on second down made it third and seven and that's when the the Lewandowski-Coates connection reclaimed the lead for UW-W for good.
After the touchdown, UMHB still had 13 seconds to attempt to drive 79 yards. Back-to-back incompletions had the Cru down to their last play. They tried to lateral and create some magic but King couldn't handle one of the lateral attempts and Egon Hein (St. Charles, Ill./North) jumped on the loose ball with no time remaining to seal the win.
King finished 15-for-20 passing for 214 yards and a touchdown, also rushing for 41 yards for the Cru. Aphonso Thomas led UMHB with 69 rushing yards and two scores. K.J. Miller had nine catches for 109 yards and Brandon Jordan added five catches for 107 yards and a touchdown.
The Warhawks dominated in time of possession with an over 11 minute advantage. Lewandowski was 28-35 for 301 yards with three touchdown passes. Holte notched his second consecutive 100-yard receiving game with 124 yards on 10 catches. Edmonson had a net total of 64 yards in 13 carries to lead the Warhawk rushers.
Defensively, McGrail tallied nine tackles including six solo. Allen added a pair of tackles, both for losses including a sack.