Plenty of festivities planned for Thursday night's Whitewater at Platteville football game

The UW-Whitewater Warhawk football team opens its defense of the 2009 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title at UW-Platteville in a rare Thursday night game.

It will be Platteville Family Night at Ralph E. Davis/Pioneer Stadium with plenty of festivities surrounding the game.

There will be plenty of activities for the kids and $10 family 4-Pack food deals.

There will also be special pregame music being played on the best football field sound system in the WIAC.

The game will also be the 17th Annual George Chryst Memorial Bowl played in the memory of George Chryst who was UWP’s head coach from 1979 until his sudden death in 1992 at age 55. honor. At the urging of former coaches Jim Kinder (UWP) and Bob Berezowitz (UWW), this annual game also is dedicated in his memory. George’s widow, Patty, will present the player of the game awards at midfield. The assembled media will cast votes for offensive and defensive standouts for both teams.

The winner of the annual UW-Platteville-UW-Whitewater football team receives the Memorial Miner’s Pick patterned after Paul Bunyan’s Axe that has gone to the winner of the Wisconsin-Minnesota game for over 100 years.

UW-Platteville is offering $1 off tickets to the Thursday night’s game. You must have a coupon which you can download by clicking onto the UW-Platteville Athletics Website at:
http://www.uwplatt.edu/athletics/football/2010/family%20Night%20Coupon.pdf

Perkins Stadium is the third largest football stadium in Wisconsin

(Editors Note: The Thursday (9/30) evening, UW-Whitewater at UW-Platteville game will have the KOOL 106.5 Warhawk football broadcast with Gary Douglas, Tom Pattison and Arnie Peck simulcast on 100.5 ESPN Madison and 540 ESPN Milwaukee.

This is the third of several blog posts this week that will give Madison and Milwaukee area radio listeners a primer on why UW-Whitewater footall is a regional event, not just a local event

The University of Wisconsin Whitewater’s nationally elite football program plays in what we think is the top small college football stadium in the country.

Whitewater’s Perkins Stadium is the third largest football stadium in the state of Wisconsin. Only Lambeau Field in Green Bay and the University of Wisconsin’s Camp Randall Stadium are larger.

Affectionately known as the Perk, Perkins Stadium has a seating capacity of 11,500. The all-time attendance record of 11,028 was set at the 2008 Family Day Game vs. UW-La Crosse. In 2006 Family Day Game vs. UW-La Crosse drew 9,753 fans to the Perk. 2009’s Family Day Game vs. UW-Platteville ranks as the third largest football crowd in stadium history with 9,157 packing the Perk.

Completed in 1970, the modern stadium replaced Hamilton Field, also located on the UW-W campus, Originally known as Warhawk Stadium, the largest stadium in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference was renamed Perkins Stadium in honor of longtime UW-Whitewater head football coach Forrest Perkins.

Perkins, who served as Whitewater’s head football coach from 1956-1984 ,completed his career with a 190-89-and 7 coaching record and is still the second winningest football coach in WIAC history.

Perkins was the driving force behind the funding and construction of the stadium that had an original seating capacity of 13,500. Original plans called for a stadium with a seating capacity of 22,000 that would have included a similar seating area that is currently on the west side of the complex..

In 2002, the Student Athletic Complex was dedicated. The SAC, located on the southeast corner of Perkins Stadium, houses coaches’ offices, locker rooms, meeting rooms, class rooms and a full service academic computer lab.

A major renovation of Perkins Stadium took place prior to the 2007 football season. Installed was state-of-the-art FieldTurf playing surface, wraught iron fencing around the stadium and the largest scoreboard in the state other than at Camp Randall Stadium and Lambeau Field.

The scoreboard located overlooking the north end zone is 40 feet high by 32 feet wide. The Daktronik scoreboard features LED technology including a large ProStar Video Plus display board that is comparable to the video boards at Camp Randall.

Perkins Stadium and ajacent complex is just another reason why UW-Whitewater football is considered one of the jewels of NCAA Division III Athletics.

Reason No. 2: What Milwaukee and Madison area fans should know about UW-Whitewater Football

(Editors Note: The Thursday (9/30) evening, UW-Whitewater at UW-Platteville game will have the KOOL 106.5 Warhawk football broadcast with Gary Douglas, Tom Pattison and Arnie Peck simulcast on 100.5 ESPN Madison and 540 ESPN Milwaukee

This is the second of several blog posts this week that will give Madison and Milwaukee area radio listeners a primer on why UW-Whitewater footall is a regional event, not just a local event)

If you have followed UW-Whitewater football over the past half-decade you have watched former southern Wisconsin high school football players earn national recognition at UW-Whitewater on the way to five consecutive Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships, five straight berths vs. Mount Union (Ohio) in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Boll (NCAA Division III National Championship Games, along with capturing the 2007 and 2009 Division III National Championship.

many of the “headline” players on the Warhawks grew up in the Milwaukee or Madison region. The following are UW-Whitewater All-Americans (2005-2009) from Madison/Milwaukee area:

Justin Beaver RB (Palmyra-Eagle) 2007 Gagliardi Trophy winner/All-Time leading career rusher in WIAC

Brady Ramsier OL (Jefferson)


Robb Widuch LB (Greenfield/Whitnall)


Ryan Kleppe DT (Mount Horeb) D3football.com Defensive Lineman of Year


Justin Jacobs QB (Sun Prairie)


Jim Leszczynski WR (Franklin)


Derek Stanley WR/KR (Verona) 7th round draft pick (20080 of St. Louis Rams


Pete Schmitt TE (Mount Horeb) signed free agent contact with Washington Redskins


Ryan Ogrizovich DE (Burlington)


Ben Farley Safety (Brookfield/East)

Brent Allen Center (Mukwonago) 2007 Remington Award 2007 Top D3 center in the nation


Mike Sherman OT (Oconomowoc/Kettle Moraine)


Jace Rindahl LB (Cambridge) D3football.com National Defensive Player of Year


Anthony White DE (Milwaukee/Bay View)


Troney Schumpert CB (Milwaukee/Bay View)


2000-2004 Warhawk All-Americans from Madison/Milwaukee area
Jake Wolter DB (Wauwatosa/East)
Chad Wurth RB (Monona/Grove)
Trey Bell CB (Racine/Case) first D3 player to play in all-division, postseason, Hula Bowl

Reason No. 1: What Milwaukee and Madison area fans should know about UW-Whitewater Football

(Editors Note: The Thursday (9/30) evening, UW-Whitewater at UW-Platteville game will have the KOOL 106.5 Warhawk football broadcast with Gary Douglas, Tom Pattison and Arnie Peck simulcast on 100.5 ESPN Madison and 540 ESPN Milwaukee

This is the first of several blog posts that will give Madison and Milwaukee area radio listeners a primer on why UW-Whitewater footall is a regional event, not just a local event)

Many newspaper editors and television stations in southern Wisconsin have long considered UW-Whitewater football as a local sport in a small town. Warhawk football has long been one of the top small college football programs in Wisconsin. Beginning in 2005, UW-Whitewater football became one of the elite NCAA Division III football programs in the country.

For those that live in the Milwaukee and Madison metro area, the majority of student-athletes on any year's Warhawk football roster are recruited to Whitewater from a 100 mile radius of Whitewater.

IE: On the 2010 UW-Whitewater football roster, 56 of the 100 players come from the immediate Milwaukee and Madison metro area.

Shane Covington DB SO 5’11-170 Milwaukee/Riverside
Tyler Huber WR SO 6’1-195 Mukwonago
Aaron Rusch WR SR 5’11-166 Hartford

Sam Overton DB JR 5’9-180 Milwaukee/Riverside
Steve Morris WR FR 5’11-182 Racine/Horlick
Lee Brekke QB SO 6’1-195 Sun Prairie
Shane Wilson DB FR 6’2-186 Glendale/Nicolet
Cory Knapp QB SO 6’4-203 Milwaukee/St. Francis
Lane Olson LB SR 5’9-210 Racine/Horlick
Kris Rosholt PUNTER JR 6’3-206 Reedsburg

Nate Angles DB FR 5’10-180 Waukesha/West
Chris Pendergast DB SO 5’9-175 Sussex/Arrowhead
Andrew Keister DB FR 6’0-189 Evansville
Matt McCulloch DB SR 6’2-195 Janesville/Parker
Chris Treptow DB FR 5’10-158 New Berlin/West
Antwan Anderson RB SR 5’10-204 Madison/Memorial
Ernest James DB JR 5’10-187 Madison/West
Ryan Horne WR SO 5’11-171 Sussex Hamilton
Michael Pirtl RB FR 5’9-167 Milwaukee/Boys Tech

Booker Stanley RB SR 5’9-215 Milwaukee/Whitefish Bay
Bernie Tamsett FB SO 6’0-226 Waterford
Jake Reidel FB JR 5’9-217 South Milwaukee
Eric Kindler K FR 6’0-173 Germantown
Jaren Borland LB SO 6’1-216 Fort Atkinson
Cole Klotz LB FR 6’4-206 New Berlin Eisenhower
Bryan Spakowcz LB FR 5’11-202 Pewaukee

Kevin Gorman WR FR 6’2-185 Wauwatosa/West
Brad Slomkowski LB FR 6’0-198 Kenosha/Bradford
Oscar Johnson LB FR 5’9-235 Milwaukee/Riverside
Greg Arnold LB JR 6’1-216 Mukwonago
Kevin Utz DL JR 6’2-275 New Berlin/Eisenhower
Josh Williams LB SO 6’1-223 Mukwonago

Jake Keeser DL JR 6’0-240 Fort Atkinson
Joe Hansen OL SO 6’0-261 Greendale
Anthony Bounds LB FR 5’10-228 Milwaukee/Riverside
Nick Endres DL SO 6’0-272 Waunakee
Taylor Witty DL FR 6’2-244 Milwaukee/Lutheran
Ryan Olson OL JR 6’2-286 Stoughton

Grant Murray OL SR 6’1-280 Mequon/Homestead
Mark Gawronski OL SR 6’0-289 New Berlin/Eisenhower
Joe Cychner DL FR 5’11-275 Lake Geneva/Badger
Grant Poentisch OL SO 6’2-273 Sussex/Hamilton
KJ Flynn OL SO 6’4-271 Port Washington
Andy Schmidt OL FR 6’4-242 St. Francis
Ian Wilson OL SO 6’0-270 Richland Center
Mike Pregont OL FR 6’3-255 Janesville/Craig
Robby Ustruck OL SR 6’3-287 West Allis/Hale
Jake Wahl OL SO 6’2-235 Cudahy
Matt Weber OL SR 6’3-283 Oregon
Logan Allemand OL JR 6’3-310 Kenosha/Tremper
Ian McKechnie WR FR 5’9-163 New Berlin/Eisenhower
Derric Junakin TE FR 6’4-264 Cudahy
Adam Brandes WR SR 6’3-195 Burlington/Catholic Central
83 Joel McElvany WR SO 6’4-242 Monroe

Matt Winckler TE FR 6’4-237 DeForest
Anton Graham TE JR 6’2-246 Racine/Park
Anthony Dowery DL SO 5’10-260 Milwaukee/South Division
Wesley Hicks DL SR 6’3-278 Milwaukee/Vincent
Loussaint Minett DL FR 5’11-213 Whitewater
9Jake Hohlstein DL SO 6’0-279 Portage
99 Casey Casper DL JR 6’3-243 Dousman/Kettle Moraine

Week Four (9/25) WIAC Scoreboard

UW-Oshkosh 43, UW-River Falls 15 (in River Falls)

UW-Oshkosh and UW-River Falls were tied 7-7 after the first quarter of Saturday’s WIAC opener at Ramer Field in River Falls. The Titans dominated for the final three quarters for a 43-15 victory.

UWO quarterback Nick Wara paced the Titan offense completing an efficient 13 of 19 passes for 246 yards and four touchdowns. UWO outgained River Falls 420 yards to 239.

Oshkosh picked up five of its six sacks in the second half.

Taylor Edwards put in another fine performance breaking the 100-yard mark for the fourth consecutive game this season. Edwards, the leading rusher in the WIAC, carried the ball 27 times for 128 yards and a score in the losing effort.


(No. 11) North Central (Ill) 20, (No. 17) UW-Eau Claire 6 (in Naperville, Ill)

The 17th-ranked UW-Eau Claire football team fell for the first time this season, 20-6 to 11th-ranked North Central College (Ill.) at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium today.

Eau Claire had a tough day all the way around, accumulating just 186 yards of total offense. Blugold quarterback Austin Neu was sacked five times and finished with 173 passing yards (20-for-31) while throwing one interception. North Central shut down the Blugolds on the ground as they finished with just 13 yards. Sweeney led the rushing game with 28 yards but Neu had minus 16. David Goodman led the receivers with 74 yards on eight catches.

One bright spot for the Blugolds was the fact they only allowed North Central to score 20 points. The last time the Cardinals scored 20 or fewer points was the opening game in 2009 (Ohio Northern 28, North Central 19). The Blugolds also held the Cardinals to 354 yards of total offense, North Central’s lowest total since October 31, 2009.


UW-Stevens Point 59, Albion College (Mich) 14 (in Stevens Point)

The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point football team scored early and often Saturday as they defeated Albion College (Mich.) by a score of 59-14 on Saturday afternoon at Community Stadium at Goerke Park.

UWSP quarterback Jake Swank finished the day completing 14 of 24 passes for 217 yards and two touchdowns in leading the Pointer offense. Jared Jenkins led the team with seven catches, and Aker led the team in receiving yards hauling in five passes for 110 yards.

The Pointer running game finished the day with 248 yards on the ground, led by Mike Griffin who had 84 yards on the ground and Keith Ingram finished the day with 82 yards. Kyle Fuhrman added 61 yards on the ground as the Pointers added 5.5 yards per carry.

The game was also the first known pink game by any NCAA football team, as Pointer players wore white jerseys with pink numbers in a game dedicated to cancer awareness. Player’s jerseys were auctioned off after the game, as well as other prizes.

Former Green Bay Packer Bill Schroeder and former Pointer and Pittsburgh Steeler Clint Kriewaldt were in attendance signing autographs for fans during the game and all in all $20,400 was raised for cancer.


Missouri S&T 31, UW-La Crosse 24 (at Rolla, Missouri)

Chad Shockley’s biggest day as a Miner helped lead Missouri S&T into the win column for the first time in the 2010 season, as the Miners rallied in the fourth quarter to knock off UW-LaCrosse 31-24 Saturday afternoon at Allgood-Bailey Stadium in Rolla, Missouri.

Shockley caught three touchdown passes among his five receptions on the day, none bigger than a 25-yard scoring grab with 3:24 to play to give the Miners the lead for good. The senior wideout, who also had scoring catches of 77 and 47 yards in the first half, finished with 199 receiving yards – tying the third-highest single game total in S&T history – and 272 all-purpose yards, the fifth-best mark in a Miner contest of all-time.

Nick Anker threw for 338 yards in a losing effort for the Eagles, completing 25-of-42 passes on the day, while Lee Lauters finished with 174 all-purpose yards on his own behalf as he ran for 55 and caught five passes for 119 yards.

UW-L will take an 0 & 3 mark into next week’s WIAC opener at UW-Oshkosh.

Voice's Week-Four Prognostications

The conference season gets underway today in an abbreviated week-four schedule.

UW-Oshkosh (0-2) @ UW-River Falls (0-3) (2:00 PM)--UW-Oshkosh travels to River Falls for a matchup of two teams that played among the toughest nonconference schedules in the country, Combined, the two teams have played; (No. 2) Mount Union, (No. 4) St. Thomas, (No. 7) Central Iowa, (No. 10) Northern Ohio, (No. 14) Trine, (No. 18) St. Johns, (No. 23) Wheaton (Ill).

The Titans were extremely competitive despite losing to Central Iowa and Mount Union.

Voice’s Pick: Oshkosh 31, River Falls 17
(No. 17) UW-Eau Claire (2-0) at (No. 11) North Central (1:00 P.M.)--An intriguing nonconference matchup between the WIAC and the CCIW. The Blugolds had last week off following its overtime win over St. Johns. Following two lopsided wins on the road, North Central played its home opener today against UWEC. This will be the Blugolds first game on the road in 2010.

Voice’s Pick: North Central (Ill) 24, Eau Claire 21

Albion (Mich) (1-2) @ UW-Stevens Point (1-1) (1 P.M.)--UWSP will be playing its third consecutive home game of the season today against 1 & 2 Albion (Mich) who is on the road for the first time in 2010. The Pointers are coming off of their fi rst win of the season as they defeated Missouri S&T by a score of 29-10 last week at Community Stadium at Goerke Park.

Voice’s Pick: Stevens Point 34, Albion 10

UW-La Crosse (0-2) @ Missouri University of Science & Technology (0-3) (1 P.M.)
--Two teams searching for a first victory in 2010. The Eagles defeated Missouri S & T, 49-0, last year at La Crosse. The Miners dropped a 29-10 decision at Stevens Point last week.

Voice’s Pick: La Crosse 21, Missouri S & T 13

UW-Stout, UW-Platteville, and UW-Whitewater are idle today

Warhawk Men's Basketball Team Ranked No. 8 in Sporting News Preseason Poll

The Sporting News College Basketball Preview Magazine has hit newstands.

UW-Stevens Point is ranked No. 1 & UW-Whitewater No. 8 in the Sporting News 2010/11 NCAA Division III Preseason Top 10 Poll.

Pat Miller's Warhawks will open the season November 11th and 12th by participating in the Wheaton (Ill) Tip-Off Tournament.

Three of the Warhawks four pre-Christmas WIAC games will be played on the road.

The conference season will open on Decmeber 1st with Whitewater hosting La Crosse.
December 4th at Stout, December 8th at Stevens Point and December 11th at Superior.

A reminder, I'll be hosting a UW-Whitewater Basketball Blog beginning on October 10th. The blog will be titled Voice's Eye on Warhawk Basketball

More information will be blogged soon here on http://www.voiceseyeonfootball.blogspot.com/

Back after no-blog bye-week vacation

Hello everybody - I'm back after taking a bye-week four-day blogging and Website posting break.

The Warhawks have Saturday off prior to opening the 2010 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference portion of the schedule with a rare Thursday night game next week at UW-Platteville.

The bye week couldn't have come at a better time for Coach Leipold's club. The Hawks travelled to Campbellsville, Kentucky last weekend for the season's longest reguar season road trip. Whitewater brought a 37-7 victory back to cheese country.

U-Dub-Dub will take a 3 & 0 record into the September 30th WIAC opener.

The WIAC season gets underway for two teams Saturday afternoon:
UW-Oshkosh at UW-River Falls
#17 UW-Eau Claire at #9 North Central (IL)
UW-La Crosse at Missouri Science & Technology
Albion (MI) at UW-Stevens Point

Eau Claire, Platteville, Stout and Whitewater will be idle

Voice's Random Thoughts Entering Week-Three

-- It feels good to be gearing up for this weekend's game down in Campbellsville, Kentucky. It is the first road game of the year with the team departing Whitewater later today following practice. The team will be staying tonight in Columbus, Indiana which is an hour south of Indianapolis on I-65.

--The KOOL 106.5 broadcast team won't be leaving until 6 a.m. Friday morning. We plan on arriving at Campbellsville University mid-afternoon Friday. We will be driving back to Whitewater immediately following Saturday's Warhawk win over the Tigers.

--I watched practice Thursday afternoon. Not a bad practice but a number of dropped passes etc. All of a sudden the practice turned more crisp. The reason? Possibly Tom Lange arriving a practice to watch from row 24 at the Perk. A large number of coaches and players yelled up to Tom, glad to see him back at practice. Lange is still recuperating from major heart surgery.

--The Catch of the Day at Thursday's practice was made by Adam Brandes. The senior from Burlington Catholic Central made another of his contorted body catches in the end zone. Brandes is averaging 29 yards per catch this season along with a team-high three touchdown receptions.

--Brandes will be my Player Profile halftime interview on Saturday's Warhawk-Tiger broadcast.

--Fall is definitely in the air!! A tree across Warhawk Drive from Williams Center has turned to its fall color of brilliant red.

--and last, but not least, happy 13th birthday to Sierra Folberg, one of my grand-daughters. Grandpa Tom bought her a new smart-phone. I had it activated prior to leaving Whitewater for the birthday party at Grandma's house in Madison. In the hour it took me to drive to the shore of Lake Mendota Sierra had 35 calls/text messages. And she is just 13!!!!!!!!! Happy birthday Sierra!!

UW-River Falls and WIAC Icon Don Page Passes Away

A "true icon" in the WIAC has passed away.

University of Wisconsin-River Falls athletic department and Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) icon Don Page died on Tuesday night (Sept. 14) at the River Falls Area Hospital. He was 83.

There is no one who has had more influence on Falcon athletics than Page who had a long and distinguished career as a teacher, coach and administrator at UW-River Falls. He served the University in many capacities from his arrival in 1957 until his retirement in 1992. Page will be long remembered for his leadership, coaching and teaching skills and the lasting friendships he made through his years as a coach, educator, official and athletic administrator.

Don Page became the "face" of UW-River Falls athletics,” said Falcon Head football Coach John O’Grady. “He also was a tremendous representative for our University in general. During his years the University grew and flourished. Athletic programs sprouted and UW-River Falls became widely known in the region. It is very difficult to find town or city in this state that doesn't know of Don Page.

Page was hired at UW-River Falls as the head basketball and baseball coach in 1957. He coached the Falcon basketball team from 1957-1966 and the baseball team from 1957-1974. He was an assistant football coach for the Falcons for 15 years. He led the 1964 and 1965 Falcon baseball teams to WIAC championships. In 1973 he took on the duties of coaching the men’s tennis program, which he continued to do until 1980 and again from 1982-87.

In 1970, Page was named UW-River Falls’ athletic director and served in that position until his retirement in 1992.

Cannon Guy survives 70 point barrage vs. Dakota State

Best newspaper story lead following Warhawk win over Dakota State last weekend was Tim Wester's lead in the Janesville Gazette...

Dakota State’s football team probably has a pretty good idea of what General Custer felt like during his infamous last stand.
The Trojans quietly limped off the Perkins Stadium turf in a haze of gunpowder from all the celebratory cannon shots fired after each UW-Whitewater touchdown during their painful 70-7 annihilation at the hands of the top-ranked Warhawks here Saturday.
The cannon fire is courtesy of Mike Lesco, the Cannon Guy, who has fired his Civil War vintage cannon at Warhawk football games in Perkins Stadium for the past two decades.

The NCAA will not allow the cannon inside the Perkins Stadium gates during the NCAA Division III playoff games which drew very vocal protest from UW-Whitewater football fans for the past five seasons.

The past four years during the playoffs, Lesco moved his artillery on top of the hill overlooking Perkins Stadium from the southeastern side. During the playoff games Lesco is actually firing off howitzers.

One of the funniest Cannon Guy stories happened during the 2005 playoff game vs. St. Johns at the Perk.

The Johnnies iconic head coach John Gagliardi almost jumped out of his shoes after the Warhawks scored its first touchdown on the way to 34-7 win in the first game between the two schools at Perkins Stadium.

It was shortly after that incident the U-Dub-Dub received word from the NCAA that the cannon would not be allowed inside the stadium during postseason games.

Another school complained the cannon fire following each Warhawk touchdown was “embarrassing” for his team.

Lesco, unable to have his cannon at the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl the past five years posted the following here on Warhawkfootball.com: The NCAA may have silenced Mike Lesco's cannon during game action last week vs. Wesley. The cannon will not be silenced today however. Mike Lesco, AKA (Cannon Guy), writes in this Web site's guest book,The cannon is standing by (my house) in West Bend. You can bet I'll be watching ESPN and running outside to fire it for every touchdown. GO WARHAWKS!!!! EXPECT A "BIG BOOM"!!

Adrian College bounces back nicely following loss at Whitewater

In Adrian's season opener at UW-Whitewater, the Warhawk's defense limited the Trojans to 162 yards, including 74 yards on 41 rushing attempts, a 1.8 yard per carry average.

Adrian College bounced back nicely Saturday with a 40-14 victory over Defiance College (Ohio).

Jared Edwards rushed for a career-high 208 yards as the Adrian offense rushed for 385 yards on 47 carries (8.2 average). Adrian again had Justin Hemm and Mike McGee rotate at QB. Hemm, the first quarterback to play vs. UWW rushed for a career-high 138 yards.

The Bulldogs had more total yards in the first quarter (167) than in last week’s loss at Whitewater (162).

Defiance was picked to finish seventh this season in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference.

Random Thoughts On Week-Two In the WIAC

• UW-Oshkosh is 0-2 this season but are the BEST 0-2 team in the country. On Saturday the Titans hosted perennial Division III powerhouse Mount Union. Despite falling 45-28, UW-O through a huge scare into a Tip-10 ranked team. In week-one, the Titans lost a 35-28 heartbreaker at No. 7 Central Iowa. UW-O’s 2010 schedule is teaching the Titans what it takes to challenge the “big boys.” The 28 points was the most points MUC has given up in 123 regular season games!

• No huge surprise in Eau Claire’s 23-20 overtime win over St. Johns at Carson Park Saturday night. The two teams have had a history of competitive games. Last year SJU scored a late touchdown for a 35-28 win in Collegeville. Last time at Carson Park, the Blugolds fell by the same score – 35-28. The Blugolds have won a very respectable 5 of the 12 games vs. the intrastate rivals.

• Congratulations to UW-Eau Claire fans for flocking in droves to beautiful Carson Park the first two weeks of the season. 4527 were in the stands for last night’s pulsating overtime win over St. Johns. 3218 turned out for the season-opener vs Bethel (Tennessee). Eau Claire trails only UW-Whitewater in attendance through two weeks of the season.

• As a result of its 24-19 loss to Mary Hardin-Baylor, the UW-La Crosse football team has now lost six straight, going back to the four losses to end last season, for the first time since 1963.

• “There are no moral victories,” La Crosse coach Larry Terry said. “We’re an 0-2 ballclub, that’s what we are, but you know what, I like our guys and we’ve got a lot of football to play.”

• There has been a lot of Dakota Athletic Conference bashing following Whitewater’s 70-7 win over Dakota State (SD) yesterday at Perkins Stadium. ACTUALLY, the DAC has had remarkable success against teams from the WIAC this season. Black Hills State (SD) stunned UW-Stout 14-13 in overtime in week-one in Spearfish, South Dakota. Yesterday Stout needed to score field goal for a 27-24 win over the Jimmies out of the DAC. Isn’t Stout predicted to be a challenger to Whitewater in the WIAC this season?

• UW-Platteville sophomore quarterback Nick Anderson connected with Darin Blaser for a 17-yard scoring pass with 1:12 remaining, lifting the orange-clad Pioneers to a 21-17 win over the University of Dubuque Saturday evening in Platteville.

• I wonder how much UD head coach Stan Zweifel wants to beat a team out of the WIAC?

• It appeared the Dakota State Football team was a little intimidated by the size and atmosphere of Perkins Stadium. The Trojans came out of the locker room 12 minutes prior to kickoff and lined up along the sidelines for the National Anthem. Unfortunately, the Anthem wouldn’t happen until the six minute mark. It reminded me a little of the scene from Hoosiers when Hickory arrived at Hinkle Field House back in 1954.

September 11th WIAC Scores

UW-Whitewater 70, Dakota State (SD) 7: UW-Whitewater, rated No. D3football.com, used a dominating rushing attack to crush Dakota State (S.D.), 70-7, Saturday at Perkins Stadium and earn its 17th straight victory.

The Warhawks (2-0) outrushed the Trojans (0-2), 423 yards to minus-2. Former Wisconsin tailback Booker Stanley gained 187 yards and had three touchdowns; Antwan Anderson rushed for 110 yards and a TD; and Levell Coppage had 108 yards and two TDs.

UW-Eau Claire 23, St. John's (Minn.) 20 (OT): Joel Sweeney had two key TD runs as the host Blugolds (2-0) beat the No. 9 Johnnies (1-1) in overtime.

Sweeney's 6-yard run with 2:04 left gave Eau Claire its first lead, 17-10. St. John's tied it with 6 seconds left, and then kicked a field goal on its overtime possession. After the Blugolds converted on a fourth-down play in OT, Sweeney ran in from 2 yards to win it.

Mount Union 45, UW-Oshkosh 28: The host Titans (0-2) tagged the No. 2 Purple Raiders (1-0) for the most points they've allowed in 123 games but couldn't slow Neal Seaman, who threw for 328 yards and five TDs.

Mary Hardin-Baylor 24, La Crosse 19: The Eagles (0-2) jumped to a 19-0 lead in La Crosse, but the No. 6 Crusaders (1-0) scored the final 24 points.

St. Thomas (Minn.) 27, River Falls 3: The No. 5 Tommies (2-0) beat Dakota Tracy passed for two TDs and ran for one as the No. the Falcons (0-2) in St. Paul, Minn.

UW-Stout 27, Jamestown (N.D.) 24: Richard Marteney kicked a 34-yard field goal with 1:15 left to boost the Blue Devils (1-1) in Menomonie.

Platteville 21, Dubuque 17: Nick Anderson rushed for one TD and threw for another in the final 7½ minutes as the Pioneers (2-0) overtook the Spartans (1-1) in Platteville.

Voice's Eye on Football Blog vs. BleedPurple's Blog Weekly WIAC Predictions Battle

For UW-Whitewater football fans, keeping up with Warhawk and WIAC football news is as simple as clicking on to the two Warhawk football fan blogs, Voice's Eye on Football Blog and BleedPurple Warhawk Fan Blog. along with Warhawkfootball.com Website. Both fan blogs are making weekly WIAC football prognostications.

The following compares the week-two BleedPurple vs Voice predictions.

(No. 2) Mt. Union (OH) @ UW-Oshkosh

Voice Pattison's Pick: Mount Union 42, UW-O 17 BleedPurple’s Pick: Mount Union: 45, UW-O: 17

(No. 9) St. John's (MN) @ UW-Eau Claire

Voice Pattison's Pick: St. Johns 24, UWEC 14
BleedPurple’s Pick: St. John’s 31, Eau Claire 21

(No. 6) Mary Hardin-Baylor (TX) @ UW-La Crosse

Voice Pattison's Pick: UMHB 31, UW-L 21
BleedPurple’s Pick: UMHB 35, LaCrosse 21

UW-River Falls @ St. Thomas (MN) (No. 5)
Voice Pattison's Pick: UWRF 28, St. Thomas 24
BleedPurple’s Pick: UW-River Falls 23, St. Thomas 21

Dubuque (IA) @ UW-Platteville Voice Pattison's Pick: Platteville 24, Dubuque 21
BleedPurple’s Pick: UW-Platteville 24, DU 21

Jamestown (ND) @ UW-Stout Voice Pattison's Pick: Stout 38, Jamestown 10
BleedPurple’s Pick: UW-Stout 31, Jamestown 20


Dakota State (SD) @ UW-Whitewater (No. 1) Voice Pattison's Pick: Whitewater 52, Dakota State 3 BleedPurple’s Pick: UW-Whitewater 70, Dakota State 0

Note: Voice's Picks were published on Thursday @ 8:24 p.m.
BleedPurple published his picks on Friday (today) @ 2:30 p.m.

Voice's Week-Two WIAC Prognostications

The Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference takes center stage in week-two with games involving five of D3football.com's Top-10 teams.

(No. 9) St. John's (MN) @ UW-Eau Claire This is the 12th meeting between SJU and Wisconsin-Eau Claire. The Johnnies are 7-4 all-time against the Blugolds. SJU won the last meeting 35-27 on Sept. 5, 2009, in Collegeville.
Pattison's Pick: St. Johns 24, UWEC 14

(No. 6) Mary Hardin-Baylor (TX) @ UW-La Crosse Mary Hardin-Baylor Cru is headed to La Crosse, Wisconsin for its first-ever meeting with UW-La Crosse at 1:00 PM on Saturday. UMHB is 0-2 all-time in the state of Wisconsin with a pair of losses at Wisconsin-Whitewater during the 2007 season. This will be the season-opener for the Cru. UW-L is coming off a mistake-filled loss to East Texas Baptist last Saturday. I think La Crosse is an improved team over last year's.
Pattison's Pick: UMHB 31, UW-L 21

(No. 2) Mt. Union (OH) @ UW-Oshkosh UW-Oshkosh is coming off an "impressive 34-28 loss at Central Iowa in week-one. This week, the Titans take on perennial Division III power Mount Union in UW-O's home opener. It will be the season opener for the Purple Raiders. Can Oshkosh give another Top 10 ranked team a game for the second week in a row?
Pattison's Pick: Mount Union 42, UW-O 17

UW-River Falls @ St. Thomas (MN) (No. 5) Much like Oshkosh, UW-River Falls faces it's second Top 10 ranked team in as many weeks. The Falcons make the short trek to St. Paul to take on St. Thomas. UWRF was tied 21-all at Ohio Northern last week before falling 35-21. The Tommies feel that this will be their year in the MIAC. In my upset special of the weekend (on a hunch)...
Pattison's Pick: UWRF 28, St. Thomas 24

Dubuque (IA) @ UW-Platteville This annual southwest Wisconsin, back-yard, non-conference battle is very interesting. The Pioneers are coming off a 12th consecutive season opening win under coach Mike Emendorfer. Dubuque, under head coach Stan Zweifel. The Pioneers lead the all-time series 11-2-2. UWP has claimed the last eight meetings. The Pioneers won 28-20 last year in Dubuque. Tough call. I'll go with the home team...
Pattison's Pick: Platteville 24, Dubuque 21

Jamestown (ND) @ UW-Stout For the second consecutive week, the Blue Devils are playing a team out of the Dakota Athletic Conference. Stout lost 14-13 in overtime last week at Black Hills State. Look for Stout to bounce back in a big way Saturday when Jamestown (ND) invades Don and Nona Williams Stadium...
Pattison's Pick: Stout 38, Jamestown 10

Dakota State (SD) @ UW-Whitewater (No. 1) Despite winning 35-0 last week over Adrian (Mich) in the season opener, the UWW coaching staff wants the Warhawks to improve on a week-one "spotty performance." Dakota State will bring an extremely young team into Perkins Stadium with two-thirds of the roster either freshmen or sophomores.
Pattison's Pick: Whitewater 52, Dakota State 3

Enjoy the games this week!

Saturday's Dakota State at UW-Whitewater football game designated at Take a Kid to the Game Day

Saturday's UW-Whitewater football game vs. Dakota State University at Perkins Stadium has been designated Take a Kid to the Game Day.

All kids wearing a jersey get free admission into Saturday's game!!

Entering its 15th year, the Take A Kid to the Game (TAKG) program provides NCAA® member institutions a national grassroots program that is easily implemented at NCAA Football and men's and women's basketball games.

This nationally-recognized program encourages adults to take children to collegiate athletic contests.

We'll see you at Perkins Stadium Saturday afternoon - kickoff is set for 12-Noon.

For more information, you may call United Way's, Dan McCrea at 920-563-8880.

Get Your Corporate Team Into the United Way Punt, Pass and Kick Contest

United Way of Jefferson and North Walworth County has its "KICK-OFF" Event coming up on Wednesday September 22, 2010 at 4:30 PM at Perkins Stadium.

Announcing the 2010 Punt, Pass and Kick contest.

Enter your corporate coed team(s) of three to compete against other teams in amassing total yardage by punting, passing and kicking a collegiate size football on the FieldTurf, artificial turf at Perkins Stadium.

Shane Sparks, of 940 WFAW / KOOL 106.5 / LITE 107.3, will serve as the on-field emcee of the competition that will be broadcast throughout the stadium and on the Perkins Stadium scoreboard.

At the conclusion of the event, the top two teams in total yardage will advance to compete at halftime of the October 9th Warhawk Football game against visiting UW Stout.

2009 Corporate Winner - Whitewater Police Department
2008 Corporate Winner - Fort HealthCare, Therapy & Sport

One time team registration is $20 and payable the day of the event.

for online registration click on the following link:
https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/eventReg?llr=skjesnbab&oeidk=a07e30mdnxf15443343&oseq=a012bepmt3adm

For more information, you may call Dan McCrea at 920-563-8880.

Around the WIAC (9/8)

• The WIAC’s 2010 non-conference football schedule is one of the strongest in the nation. 10 pre-conference games are against Top 25 ranked teams in the nation.

In week-one, UW-River Falls, UW-Oshkosh and UW-Stevens Point dropped games to the No. 8, No. 11 and No. 18 teams in the D3football.com Preseason Top 25.

The WIAC non-conference schedule is even more difficult this week with four games vs. Top 10 ranked teams..
(No. 2) Mount Union @ UW-Oshkosh
UW-River Falls @ (No. 5) St. Thomas (Minn)
(No. 6) Mary Hardin-Baylor @ UW-La Crosse
(No. 9) St. Johns @ UW-Eau Claire
Elsewhere in the WIAC on Saturday...
Jamestown (ND) at #RV UW-Stout
Dubuque (IA) at UW-Platteville
Dakota State (SD) at (No. 1) UW-Whitewater


• Quarterback Nick Anker experienced a rough season opener in UW-La Crosse’s 33-20 season opening loss to East Texas Baptist Saturday evening in La Crosse. Anker threw four interceptions and the Eagles coughed the ball up five times, twice in the final three minutes as they were driving toward a potential go-ahead touchdown. In addition to UWL's five turnovers, the offense didn't convert a third down until the 9-minute, 12-second mark of the fourth quarter. La Crosse finished 3-for-13 after a flurry of conversions on its final drive.

• UW-Stevens Point coach John Miech following the Pointer’s 33-14 loss to No. 18 Willamette after having a 14-0 first quarter lead. "I told the guys that was one of the best teams in the nation. I told them to look at the scoreboard, and that is how much we need to improve to beat the best team."

• UW-Oshkosh will try to snap Mount Union’s 43-game regular season win streak when the Titans and Purple Raiders face off on Saturday (Sept. 11) in Oshkosh. The University of Mount Union (Ohio), ranked second in the NCAA Division III by D3football.com, has not lost a regular-season contest since 2005 against Ohio Northern. Defending NCAA Division III national champion UW-Whitewater will come to Oshkosh on Nov. 6, making UW-Oshkosh the second team ever to host both of the previous year’s Stagg Bowl qualifiers. The Titans gave (No. 8) Central Iowa all it could handle before falling 34-28 at Central.

• UW-River Falls plays (No. 5) University of St. Thomas (Minn) Saturday in the Falcon’s home opener. It will also be the second consecutive game vs. a Top 15 team. Ohio Northern outscored the Falcon football team, 21-6, in the second half en route to a 35-21 win in a game played in Ada, Ohio last Thursday afternoon. The contest was tied, 21-21, midway through the third quarter before the Polar Bears scored twice to take the win in both teams' first game of the 2010 season. UWRF running back Taylor Edwards rushed for 191 yards and two touchdowns.

Why is Willie Warhawk smarter than Bucky Badger? Read on

Bucky Badger is back where he belongs this morning after someone made off with the mascot over the weekend. A UW-Madison student, who is one several who don the Bucky ensemble, said he and his roommates had a get together with friends at their W. Gilman Street apartment Sunday night, and that his 28-pound Bucky head was missing when he awoke Monday morning. The student contacted school officials and the MPD. He indicated if the $4,000 mascot head was returned unscathed there would be no desire to pursue criminal charges. The reporting officer noted in his report that stealing and concealing the popular mascot’s head would not be easy: “For anyone to have the head in question in their possession, it would be difficult to explain how they had acquired it. It is an uncommon item and would have to be hidden.” Perhaps in the sober light of day this became obvious to someone, for this morning "Bucky" was found outside of the W. Gilman Street apartment, which the badger – if he spoke – might refer to as his den.

Wille Warhawk - please take note!!!!!!!!!

Gameday at the Perk is No. 1 in the WIAC

Attending a UW-Whitewater football game at Perkins Stadium certainly does not take a backseat to gameday at big brother Camp Randall Stadium in Madison.

I find it amazing how popular pre and post-game tailgating is in the Perkins Stadium and Williams Center parking lots on game day.

In the adjacent photo, even Tom Coe (seated on the right in all black) feels right at home at a Warhawk football tailgate. The former Whitewater newspaper scribe drives a red SUV with Badger sticker on the back - but still has great allegiance to Warhawk football. Plus he throws a magnificent tailgate and its not somewhere behind a building off Park Street in Madison. We treat him well on Warhawk Football Saturdays!!!

At last Saturday's season-opener over 6000, fans were in the Perk to witness the unvieling of UW-Whitewater's second NCAA Division III championship flag in the last three seasons.

Look down on the crowd from the KOOL 106.5 press box seats it looked like a sea of purple.

The student members of Purple Reign located behind the UW-W bench added color and atmosphere in the Stadium.

Dr. Glenn Hayes' Warhawk marching band is a tradition both at halftime, and following the game with its 5th quarter performance.

Willie Warhawk and Mike the Cannon Man make UW-Whitewater football at Perkins Stadium a huge favorite for the whole family!

Make your plans to gather the family and take in a UW-Whitewater home football game this season. You'll get to watch the Warhawks as they seek a 6th consecutive Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship.

Once again - a Gameday Saturday at Perkins Stadium is much more than JUST a football game!

Week 1 WIAC Wrap

(No. 18) Willamette (Oregon) 33, (No. 16) UW-Stevens Point 14 (@ UWSP)

The first 11 minutes of its season opener went as well as it could for the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point football team Saturday.

The final 49 minutes against Willamette University couldn't have gone much worse.
A promising start to the season for UW-Stevens Point ended with a disappointing 33-14 setback at the hands of the Bearcats in a matchup of nationally ranked Division III teams at Community Stadium at Goerke Park.

"I told the guys that was one of the best teams in the nation. I told them to look at the scoreboard, and that is how much we need to improve to beat the best teams," UW-Stevens Point coach John Miech said.


(No. 7) Central Iowa 34, UW-Oshkosh 28 (@ Pella, Iowa)

Nationally ranked Central College (Iowa) converted 9-of-9 third down opportunities to open the second half as it held off UW-Oshkosh, 34-28, on Saturday (Sept. 4) in Pella, Iowa.

Central College (1-0), ranked seventh in the NCAA Division III by D3football.com, went just 1-for-6 on third down in the opening half. Nate Snead executed the offense smoothly after the break, including a pair of completions late to run down the clock. UW-Oshkosh (0-1) got the ball with 1:10 remaining, but two short passes failed before Aaron Steenhoek recorded a sack to put the game away.

The loss was just the third setback for the Titans in their last 30 season openers. UW-Oshkosh did not turn the ball over in the contest while getting 179 yards passing and 50 yards rushing from Nathan Wara (So. • Oshkosh). Central College’s Snead was even better, accounting for 257 passing yards, 76 rushing yards and all four touchdowns. The Dutch, who have gone undefeated in three of the last four regular seasons, totaled 442 yards and possessed the ball for nearly 38 minutes.


East Texas Baptist 33, UW-La Crosse 20 (@ UW-L)

The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse football team opened its 2010 season with a 33-20 loss to East Texas Baptist University Saturday night at Roger Harring Stadium at Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex. It was also the Tigers' season-opener.

The Eagles' Lee Lauters rushed for a career-high 214 yards on 28 carries.

UW-L finished with 440 yards of offense, including 257 rushing and 183 passing. Anker was 14-of-34 for 183 yards with four interceptions. Travis Bordeau caught five passes for 50 yards while Kyle Steffen had four receptions for 76 yards.

ETBU totaled 423 yards, including 280 rushing and 143 passing. Harris accounted for 404 yards, finishing with 261 rushing and two touchdowns. He was 17-of-32 passing for 143 yards with two touchdowns.

The Eagles coughed the ball up five times, twice in the final three minutes as they were driving toward a potential go-ahead touchdown.


UW-Platteville 31, Buena Vista 2 (@ Storm Lake, Iowa)

UW-Platteville ran its season-opening streak to 12 straight years under Coach Mike Emendorfer, winning 31-2 Saturday at Buena Vista in Storm Lake, Iowa.

Nick Anderson threw three first-half touchdown passes, and Tommy Magna returned an interception 37 yards for a third-quarter score for the Pioneers.

The defense held the Beaver offense without a score, recorded nine sacks and forced seven turnovers. Magna had two interceptions, Gabe Epting had one, and the Pioneers recovered four fumbles.


UW-Eau Claire 35, Bethel (Tennessee) 31 (@ UWEC)

Joel Sweeney scored three touchdowns in his collegiate debut to help lead the Blugolds to a 35-31 victory over Bethel University (Tenn.) at Carson Park on Saturday.

The Blugolds have won their previous four season openers, three of which have come against the Wildcats, a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. The Blugolds have never lost to Bethel, improving to 3-0 all-time against the Wildcats. Bethel falls to 0-2 on the season.


Black Hills State 14, UW-Stout 13 (OT) (Friday night in Spearfish, SD)

Ohio Northern 35, UW-River Falls 21 (Thursday afternoon in Ada, Ohio)

Hawks pitch a 35-0 shutout over Adrian College

The UW-Whitewater football team kicked-off the 2010 season with a 35-0 victory over Adrian College (Mich) Saturday afternoon at Perkins Stadium.

Despite a slow feeling out process first quarter, in my opinion played a pretty solid week-one game both offensively and defensively.

One of the big questions heading into the season was replacing 2009 WIAC PLayer of the Year, Jeff Donovan at quarterback. Matt Blanchard did his best to answer the question.

Blanchard, in his first start at quarterback since high school was impressive, completing 19 of 25 passes for 289 yards, two touchdowns passing, one rushing, and no interceptions.

Whitewater rushed for a respectable 183 yards in week-one. For the 6014 fans inside Perkins Stadium in the season opener, it was almost an optical illusion. Instead of Levell Coppage or Antwan Anderson carrying the ball 20-plus times for big yardage, Steve Dinkle's offense used a rushing game by committee approach vs. the Bulldogs.

Levell Coppage led the way with 56 yards on 12 carries and a touchdown. Blanchard was second UWW’s rushing list with five carries for 46 yards. That is 9.2 yards per carry. Antwan Anderson finished with 44 yards on the ground. And in his first game as a Warhawk, Booker Stanley gained 35 yards and scored the Hawks' final touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Aaron Rusch led all receivers with five catches for 78 yards and a touchdown. Fellow Amigo, Adam Brandes, made a couple sensational catches finishing with four for 131 yards and two TDs.

Brian Borland’s Warhawk defense limited Adrian to 162 yards total yards in the game. The Bulldogs were held to just 74 yards on the ground on 41 rushing attempts

Senior’s Matt McCulloch and Lane Olson topped the Warhawk defenders with 9 tackles each, with seven of McCullouch's coming on solo stops. McCulloch, the lone starter returning from last year's secondary also picked up the first interception of the year for the Warhawks.

The highlight of special teams play was Stephan Jonsson's blocked punt early in the fourth quarter set up a UW-W score.

You had to feel bad for Steve Guelff who won the training camp battle to replace NCAA record holder Jeff Schebler as the Hawks field goal kicker. The freshman from Lake Placid, Florida missed three consecutive extra points before being replaced by another freshman - Eric Kindler from Germantown.

Guelff is a quality kicker and now has to erase Saturday's performance from his mind. Hopefully he'll get the chance to get some confidence vs. Dakota State next Saturday.

What is the old saying? A football team often makes its biggest improvement from game-one to game-two? That is what I'll be looking for in next Saturdsy afternoon vs. Dakota State at the Perk.

2010 got underway early for UWRF and UWS

UWRF Loses Opener, 35-21, at No. 11 Ohio Northern

Ohio Northern outscored the Falcon football team, 21-6, in the second half en route to a 35-21 win in a game played in Ada, Ohio on Thursday afternoon.

The contest was tied, 21-21, midway through the third quarter before the Polar Bears scored twice to take the win in both teams' first game of the 2010 season.

UWRF running back Taylor Edwards (Janesville, Parker) rushed for 191 yards and two touchdowns.

Blue Devils nipped in overtime in Black Hills

-- The Black Hills State University football team won an overtime thriller over NCAA Division III opponent Wisconsin-Stout Friday night in Spearfish, South Dakota. Stout trailed 7-0 after three quarters prior to a 4th quarter touchdown to force overtime in the season-opener for the Blue Devils. Black Hills State claimed the one point victory over Stout, 14-13, on a fourth-and-goal touchdown and point after in OT.

The rest of the WIAC opens 2010 on Saturday

UW-Oshkosh @ No. 7 Central Iowa
No. 18 Willamette (Oregon) @ UW-Stevens Point
East Texas Baptist (Texas) @ UW-La Crosse
UW-Platteville @ Buena Vista (Iowa)
Bethel (Tennessee) @ UW-Eau Claire
Adrian (Michigan) @ No. 1 UW-Whitewater

2009 seniors back for pregame ceremony honoring Division III National Champs

The Warhawk begin another journey Saturday afternoon by opening the season vs. Adrian College (Michigan) in a 12-Noon kickoff at Perkins Stadium.

The UW-Whitewater football program enters the season ranked No. 1 in the nation in the D3football.com Preseason Top 25. The Hawks are also coming off it's second NCAA Division III Championship in the past three years.

The seniors off last year's championship team will be back on campus Satuday, and will be honored in a special pregame ceremony.

During the Warhawks run of five consecutive WIAC Championship and five straight national title games vs. Mount Union, the focus is always look ahead - not back. Saturday's ceremony will be conducted prior to the game with the Warhawk players and coaches still in the Student Athletic Complex.

For Warhawk fans, it is a chance to honor the 2009 National Champs one more time before focusing on a record sixth consecutive WIAC Title.

Janesville Gazette: Warhawk mantra: Hit us with your best shot

(Editor's Note: The following is a story excerpt, written by Tom Miller, was published in today's edition of the Janesville Gazette

Adrian College is a prime example of what UW-Whitewater football teams have faced on a weekly basis for the past several seasons.

Every opponent enters the game primed to play its best against the best.

That will be the case when Adrian travels to Perkins Stadium for a noon season opener Saturday.

“It’s not every week you have an opportunity to play the best team in the nation, and it’s a great opportunity for (the players),” first-year Adrian coach Jim Deere told the Adrian Daily Telegram. “If you want to compete on a national scale, you’ve got to play national championship caliber of teams.”

Deere, who is described as “intense,” was promoted to head coach after spending 18 seasons as an Adrian assistant, most recently as defensive coordinator.

“He’s a super-competitive guy,” Adrian athletic director Mike Duffy told the Michigan newspaper. “He’d rather play games like this. ‘Where are we at? How do we stack up? What kind of recruiting do I have to do to be like Whitewater?’

“That’s the eventual goal. They’ve been there. They won the whole thing. You have to learn something from them.”

The Warhawks will be prepared to dish out a lesson. The defending NCAA Division III national champions are 42-3 in Lance Leipold’s three seasons as head coach, including two national titles.

The 2009 national championship team will be honored in pregame ceremonies.





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Voice's Week-One Prognostications

Week-One of the 2010 season brings a strong set of non-conference games for the WIAC.
The following is your Webmaster, Voice's Week-One picks......

UW-River Falls @ No. 11 Ohio Northern The Falcons and Polar Bears play this (Thursday) afternoon (2 pm CDT kickoff). Ohio Northern is expected to be a prime challenger to Mount Union for the Ohio Athletic Conference Title this fall.
Voice's Pick: Ohio Northern 35, River Falls 10

UW-Stout @ Black Hills State (South Dakota) Stout is coming off an excellent 8 & 2 season and may be better this season. The Blue Devils roll Friday night in Spearfish.
Voice's Pick: UW-Stout 42, Black Hills State 13

UW-Oshkosh @ No. 7 Central Iowa The Titans play at Central on Saturday before returning home to take on No. 2 ranked Mount Union next Saturday.
Voice's Pick: Central (Iowa) 28, Oshkosh 13

No. 18 Willamette (Oregon) @ UW-Stevens Point The Pointers and Bearcats game is one of the feature opening week games in NCAA Division III action.
I give the Pointers the advantage with Willamette having to make the long trek to cheese country.
Voice's Pick: Stout 27, Willamette 24

UW-Platteville @ Buena Vista (Iowa) The Pioneers have won all 11 season-opening games under Coach Emmedorfer. Make it 12 in a row.
Voice's Pick: Platteville 20, Buena Vista 10

Bethel (Tennessee) @ UW-Eau Claire Home field advantage for the Blugolds.
Voice's Pick: UW-Eau Claire 24, Bethel (Tennessee) 13

East Texas Baptist (Texas) @ UW-La Crosse UW-L beat ETB 28-13 last year down on the plains of Texas. Eagles look to be improved this season.
Voice's Pick: UW-La Crosse 35, East Texas Baptist 7

Adrian (Michigan) @ No. 1 UW-Whitewater The defending Division III National Champion Warhawks host Adrian (Michigan) a team that looks to challenge for the MIAA title in 2010. The Bulldogs have an excellent defense.
Voice's Pick: UW-Whitewater 38, Adrian 7

UW-River Falls and Ohio Northern to kickoff 2010's Division III season this afternoon

UW-River Falls and the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference will get some national publicity this afternoon.

11th-ranked Ohio Northern University will face River Falls at 2 pm (CDT) today in the first game nationally of the NCAA Division III season.

The game can be seen live on a pay-per-view basis for just $10 on OhioCollegeFootball.com.

Meanwhile, UW-Stout is out in the Black Hills preparing for it's season opener Friday night vs. (NAIA) Black Hills State College in Spearfish, South Dakota.

The remainder of the WIAC are set to open the 2010 season on Saturday.

The Warhawks will welcome Adrian College (Michigan) to Perkins Stadium. It is Welcome Back Students Day and last year's seniors return to the Perk for a special pregame ceremony honoring the 2009 NCAA Division III Champions with the raising of the second national championship flag in three years at U-Dub-Dub.

2010 UW-Whitewater football roster released Wednesday evening

UW-Whitewater released it’s official 2010 roster Wednesday evening on the UWW Athletics Website.

The roster breaks down this way: 48 (offense), 49 (defense), (3 punter/kickers)

On offense: 4 quarterbacks, 6 running backs, 4 fullbacks, 10 wide recievers, 8 tight ends and 16 offensive linemen.

On defense: 18 defensive linemen, 14 linebackers, 17 defensive backs

On special teams: Kris Rosholt (punter), Stephen Guelff (FG and Extra Points) Eric Kindler (kicking and punting)

To access the roster click onto the UW-Whitewater Athletics/Football Website or click onto the Warhawkfootball.com News Wire

NWS calling for sunshine and 68 degrees on Saturday

The National Weather Service is calling for a touch of fall for the Warhawks season opener on Saturday at Perkins Stadium. The forecast calls for partly cloudy skies with a fall-like 68 degrees. Perfect early-season football weather at the Perk