Whitewater, Wis. -- A huge second half carried the UW-Whitewater football team in a lopsided 34-2 win over UW-Stout Friday night. The Warhawks scored 31 points bolstered by three takeaways in the second half.
The Warhawk defense was stifling Friday night under the lights at Perkins Stadium. UW-Whitewater allowed just a single rushing yard bolstered by eight sacks for a loss of 51 yards. The Warhawks also won the turnover battle with three interceptions and a fumble recovery while the Blue Devils had a single interception.
After a scoreless first quarter, UWW broke the stalemate with a Seth Adams (Utica, Ill./La Salle-Peru) 24-yard field goal early in the second quarter. The Warhawks would carry the 3-0 lead into the break.
On the other side of halftime, UWW needed less than three minutes to find the endzone. Brian Stanton (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield South) had a big workload in the drive with three carries on five plays including the final burst up through the middle and to the house for the 45-yard touchdown scamper and a 10-0 Warhawk advantage.
UW-Whitewater nearly added another score after forcing the Blue Devils to punt on an 87-yard return, but a flag was thrown for an illegal block to pin UWW deep in their own territory. Three plays later, UW-Stout got on the board with a safety.
Another big special teams play led to a Warhawk response on offense. Kaden Sleets (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park River Forest) blocked another UW-Stout punt as the ball caromed out of bounds at midfield. A Justin Klinkner (Two Rivers, Wis./Two Rivers) - Tyler Vasey (Crystal Lake, Ill/Prairie Ridge) connection for 42 yards put UWW in the redzone and the Warhawks capitalized as Colin Fritts hauled in a pass from 3 yards out. At the end of the third UW-Whitewater had extended the lead to 17-2.
Early in the fourth, UW-Stout opted for a deep fade into the back corner of the endzone. Deven Magli (Deforest, Wis./Deforest) had the coverage and read the route perfectly, elevating for a phenomenal pick in the endzone. That interception, his second two games, led to a huge fourth quarter. Ty Schultz (Lockport, Ill./Lockport) broke off a 75-yard touchdown run, Klinkner found paydirt with his feet, a strip sack forced by Carson Clausen (Freedom, Wis./Freedom) was recovered by Noah Moris (Union Grove, Wis./Union Grove) and Hunter Liszka (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North) drilled a field goal from 36-yards. The Warhawk defense capped the in perfect fashion as Dylan Rogers (Country Club Hills, Ill./Rich Township) hopped a passing lane for the interception allowing UW-Whitewater to kneel out the clock.
Klinkner was 8-16 for 116 yards and a touchdown pass while adding a second on the ground. Schultz registered a 100-yard rushing game bolstered by the 75-yard scoring run to lead the running back corps. Fritts was the top target with a pair of catches including the touchdown.
Defensively, Karsten Libby (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North) paced UW-Whitewater with 10 tackles including six solo. Ben Bielawski (Woodridge, Ill./Downers Grove North) got to the quarterback twice for a pair of solo sacks adding a quarterback hurry. Ethan Gallagher (Homer Glen, Ill./Lockport Township) joined Magli and Rogers with a tally in the interception column.
UW-Whitewater will host UW-Platteville for the 32nd George Chryst Memorial Bowl next Saturday. The game will also be the team's annual Homecoming and Hall of Fame game with the 2025 inductees receiving recognition at halftime.