By Daniel Schoettler
Correspondent
Two teams from the same conference, both ranked in the top five in the country in Division 3 put it all on the line Saturday and it lived up to the hype. The UW-Whitewater Warhawks beat their archrival UW-Oshkosh Titans Oct. 8 in what was a thrilling 17-14 win in front of a Division 3 record crowd of 17,535.
“You just keep on rolling and that is our league,” head coach Kevin Bullis said. “When you play those caliber of teams it is a mental game now, it is a complete mental game being able to bounce back from adversity is the key to it.”
After a scoreless first quarter, UW-Oshkosh struck first as quarterback Brett Kasper completed a ten-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Dom Todarello to make it 7-0. The Warhawks took a drive at the end of the first half that started at the six-yard line past the fifty to the 27-yard line and failed to put it in the end zone after two incompletions by Cole Wilber at the half.
“I think I got greedy, I wanted to take one shot at it,” Bullis said. “I thought I wasn’t but I was, we should have gotten three points, which would have really changed the game.”
On the first possession of the first half, the Warhawks finally got on the board as Will Meyer connected on a 36-yard field goal to make it 7-3. After punts by both the Warhawks and the Titans, Vince Mason got in on his second turnover of the game as he picked off quarterback Brett Kasper at the fifteen-yard line.
“We brought some pressure, so you knew he had to get the ball out quick,” cornerback Vince Mason said. “A little bit is having that intelligence and savy, but a lot of it was that pressure that we had in the box to make the quarterback feel uncomfortable and the rest is history.”
It only took the Warhawks only two plays to get their first touchdown on the day after the Mason interception. After a Chris Nelson rush for a loss, sophomore quarterback Wilber connected with tight end Brent Campbell on an 18-yard touchdown pass to give the Warhawks the lead 10-7.
Early fourth quarter, the Titans got back on the board taking an 11-yard drive that started at the 47-yard line after a Wilber fumble into the end zone on a one-yard touchdown by running back Dylan Hecker to give the Titans the lead back at 14-10. On the next drive, the Warhawks made their final drive of the game an important one and the decisive one. On a balanced last drive, the Warhawks had their backs to the wall with a third and 14 from the 16-yard line, and running back Drew Patterson ran one left to the sideline and followed his blocking into the end zone in for a 16-yard touchdown run for his eighth touchdown on the year to give the Warhawks the lead at 17-14 with 55 seconds remaining in the game.
“We just went to one of our base plays with our outside zone and we had good blocking out front and it came open towards the end there,” UW-Whitewater running back Drew Patterson said. “Secondary guys hung onto their blocks and it ended up opening up.”
The Titans got the ball back with a chance to take the lead late with 48 seconds remaining from the 40-yard line. After a few plays after a fourth down conversion, the Warhawks defense stopped the Titans on their final drive as Bryce Leszczynski and Brandon Tamsett sealed the deal with a 19-yard sack of Kasper on a third down.
Wilber went 14-for-24 for 125 yards and a touchdown in the win. UW-Oshkosh’s Kasper was 17-for-34 for 157 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
“We felt based off what we were seeing that the situation demanded Cole,” Bullis said. “Both (Wilber and Nelson) bring different skill sets to the field.”
Patterson was the Warhawks’ leading rusher with 20 carries for 90 yards and a touchdown. Jarrod Ware also contributed 15 carries for 75 yards.
Devon Linzenmeyer led the way for the Titans’ rushing attack with 10 carries for 86 yards. Dylan Hecker ran the ball for 18 carries for 73 yards and a touchdown.
“We gave up 189 yards and that makes us ill,” Bullis said. “Those two guys are amazing and it isn’t easy stuff that they are running and they really challenge you with that.”
Marcus Hudson led the Warhawks in receiving with six catches for 53 yards. Chad Redmer led UW-Oshkosh in receiving with six catches for 66 yards.
The Warhawks improve to 5-0, and 2-0 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. They will travel to UW-La Crosse on Saturday in another battle of undefeated teams in the WIAC for a 1 p.m. kickoff.
