College football: UW-Whitewater cruises into quarterfinals
Nov. 28—WHITEWATER — Another easy win, but the road figures to get much harder from here.
The No. 3 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team scored 38 first-half points and put forth a complete effort on both sides of the ball Saturday on its way to a 45-0 victory against DePauw (Ind.) in a second round game of the NCAA Division III Playoffs at Perkins Stadium.
The Warhawks (12-0 overall) advance to the national quarterfinals, where they'll face eighth-ranked Central (Iowa) next Saturday, Dec. 4, at a location and time to be determined.
UW-W totaled 600 yards of offense and limited the Tigers (9-3) to 171 yards, including minus-2 on the ground.
UW-Whitewater coach Kevin Bullis said setting the tone early in the trenches was crucial.
"I'm so pleased with our line play today on both sides of the ball," Bullis said. "The defensive line shut down the DePauw running game, and the offensive line created holes for our running backs and time to throw for our quarterback."
Senior running back Alex Peete led the Warhawks with 14 carries for 209 yards and four touchdowns, tying the program record for the most scoring runs in one game in program history. Senior quarterback Max Meylor completed 13-of-20 passes for 208 yards and one touchdown while adding a rushing touchdown.
Senior Ryan Wisniewski led the receiving corps with six catches for 124 yards and one score.
Sophomore defensive lineman Niko Lemle led the UW-W defense with seven taclkes, including 2.5 sacks and four tackles for loss. Kyle Gallagher tallied three tackles for a loss, including two sacks, and Matt Burba finished with 1.5 sacks. The Warhawks' nine sacks as a team matched a program record for sacks in one game, which was last accomplished in 2017.
The two teams exchanged empty possessions to start the game before UW-Whitewater got on the board with a nine-play, 71-yard drive capped by a 3-yard touchdown run on third and goal by Peete with 4:25 left in the first quarter.
The Warhawks added to the lead with 1:51 remaining in the period on a 27-yard field goal by freshman placekicker Matt Maldonado.
Following another defensive stop, Peete recorded his second touchdown of the day, a 39-yard run with 10:57 on the clock in the second quarter.
Peete posted another long run for his third score, a 56-yarder just over three minutes later for a 24-0 UW-W lead.
Burba and senior defensive lineman Mackenzie Balanganayi combined for a sack on third down to force another punt, and UW-Whitewater drove 60 yards on seven plays, with Meylor's 19-yard pass to Wisniewski on third down giving the team a 31-0 advantage with 2:35 to play in the half.
The Warhawks got the ball back one more time in DePauw territory thanks to a blocked punt by Kamrin Hutt and Meylor scampered 14 yards with an assist from the offensive line near the goal line for a touchdown with two seconds to play in the half.
UW-Whitewater scored on its first drive of the second half as Peete weaved through the defense for a 40-yard touchdown, his fourth of the contest, for a 45-0 lead with 11:22 to play in the third quarter.
Neither team was able to put points on the board the rest of the way as the UW-W defense continued its strong pass rush and stout play at the line of scrimmage.
The Warhawks last played Central on Nov. 19, 2005, in the first round of the NCAA Playoffs, defeating the Dutch 34-14.
Central (12-0), the American Rivers Conference champion, defeated No. 6 Wheaton (Ill.) 30-28 on a last-second touchdown in Saturday's second round.
Elsewhere in the DIII playoffs on Saturday, No. 1 North Central defeated UW-LaCrosse, 34-20; No. 2 Mary Hardin-Baylor dispatched Birmingham Southern, 42-7; and No. 4 Mount Union bested Johns Hopkins, 45-35.
Next Saturday's quarterfinals shape up as follows: North Central vs. Rensselaer; Mary Hardin-Baylor vs. Linfield; UW-Whitewater vs. Central; and Mount Union vs. Muhlenberg . All games are time and location TBD.
