Game Leaders
Team Stats
Passing Yards
Rushing Yards
Turnovers
Time of Poss.
The No. 3 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team topped No. 19 UW-Oshkosh 17-3 in front of a record crowd of 18,951 fans. The audience broke the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference record and breaks the old Perkins Stadium mark previously set in a game against Oshkosh during Family Fest. It is also the fourth-largest crowd in Division III history and the largest in a game held on campus.
The Warhawks opened the scoring in their second drive of the game. Preston Strasburg (Fort Atkinson, Wis./Fort Atkinson) capped the 11-play, 59-yard run, punching it in from two-yards out. Jeffery Isotalo-McGuire (Phoenix, Ariz./Pinnacle) added the extra point for a 7-0 UW-W lead with 5:41 on the clock.
UW-Whitewater added three more on their next drive that extended into the second quarter. Jaylon Edmonson (Racine, Wis./Case) opened the drive weaving through traffic for a 35-yard scamper up the middle. Isotalo-McGuire made it 10-0 capping the drive on the second play of the second quarter with a 27-yard field goal.
The defenses came up with some big plays the rest of the quarter. Kyle Koelblinger (Crystal Lake, Ill./Prairie Ridge) registered the highlight. The Warhawk defense chased the Titan quarterback out of the pocket. He heaved the ball deep with Koelblinger and the UW-O receiver both going up for the jump ball. It was Koelblinger coming down with it for the interception.
Following a three-and-out in their offensive possession. The Warhawks got the ball right back, jumping on a muffed punt with Zach Sherman (Oconto, Wis./Oconto) on the recovery at the Oshkosh 45. The Titan offense responded with a pick off in the endzone later in the drive to take over at their 20 with 40 seconds remaining. The UW-W defense held to go into the intermission with the 10-0 advantage.
UW-W forced a punt on Oshkosh's first drive of the second half and Tyler Holte (Elgin, Ill./St. Edward Central Catholic) gave the Warhawks great field position with a 31-yard return to the UW-O 43. Strasburg registered his second touchdown run of the night bouncing it up the middle from nine-yards out. The kick made it 17-0 Whitewater with 8:08 left in the third.
The Titans got on the board with a field goal with 8:25 in the fourth capping an 11-play, 41-yard drive.
Holte came up big in the fourth with his longest reception of the season, 59-yard grab that gave the Warhawks first down at the UWO 14. The play setup the Warhawks for a scoring opportunity but they were unable to capitalize.
The defense held the rest of the way for the 17-3 final.
Edmonson bolstered the run game with 107 of the team's 165 yards on the ground. Defensively, linebackers Ryan Liszka (Naperville, Ill./Benet Academy) and Egon Hein (St. Charles, Ill./North) combined for 19 tackles including 2.5 tackles for a loss, two pass breakups and a quarterback hurry.