#1 Warhawks Jump on #17 Campbellsville
You almost expected Van Halen out of the Perkins Stadium PA system as #1 UW-Whitewater, 3-0, "jumped" all over Campbellsville University, 2-1 and ranked 17th in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics poll, 54-14 Saturday afternoon in Perkins Stadium in Whitewater, Wisconsin.
box score
photo gallery (Photos available for purchase courtesy of Crystal Meyer)
photo gallery (Photos available for purchase courtesy of Ryan Kolter)
UW-Whitewater scored the first four times it had the ball, and the string of six scores in seven attempts was only broken by a missed field goal on the way to a 37-7 halftime lead.
Whitewater's first possession began at their 18. A five play, 82 yard drive ended with Matt Blanchard (Lake Zurich, IL/Lake Zurich)'s 50 yard pass to Cory Robinson (Cambridge/Cambridge) that took just 2:18 off the clock. The next time it took just three plays, and 1:14, for UW-W to score on Desmin Ward (Milwaukee/Hamilton)'s 48 yard run to make it 14-0.
Campbellsville QB Zach Eastham was picked off at the CU 49 by Noah Timm (Two Rivers/Two Rivers). Six plays later Eric Kindler (Germantown/Germantown) kicked a 40 yard field goal with 1:47 left in the first to up the margin to 17-0. A CU punt set up the Warhawks at their own 46 with six seconds left in the first. Blanchard hooked up with Tyler Huber (Mukwonago/North Prairie) for the score, and with a muffed snap on the PAT, UW-W led 23-0 at the end of the first.
The next possession was the only time in the streak that UW-W did not score, with Kindler's 49 yard attempt falling short.
The Tigers took over on their 32. After a false start penalty moved CU back to the 27, Patrick Henry hit wide out Stan Warrenhuffman down the right sideline for a 73 yard score to bring the score to 23-7.
On the next kickoff, Whitewater took over on the 23 after a illegal block penalty. It took just 1:39, and four plays, for the Warhawks to increase the lead to 30-7 after Blanchard and Huber combined for 64 yards on the score.
Facing a fourth and seven at their 23, Campbellsville's Carl Ojala had his punt blocked at the 30 by Ronnie Blaszkowski (Oak Forest, IL/Oak Forest) and UW-W took over at the 30. It took just two plays, a Blanchard to Luke Menzel (Sheboygan Falls/Oostburg) 28 yard pass and a Levell Coppage (Oak Park, IL/Oak Park) two yard run, to up Whitewater's lead to 37-7. The Warhawks took that lead into the locker room at the half.
Whitewater amassed 431 yards by halftime.
Second verse, same as the first (Herman's Hermits 1968). Whitewater received the second half kickoff and took just one play, a Coppage 60 yard run, to give the Warhawks a 44-7 lead.
With both teams substituting liberally, the next score didn't come until 5:53 in the third, when Kindler made his second field goal of the day, this time from 45 yards out and a 47-7 Whitewater bulge.
UW-W defensive lineman Anthony Dowery (Saint Francis/Milwaukee South) picked up a Patrick Henry fumble at CU's 21, and the Whitewater offense converted with Lee Brekke (Sun Prairie/Sun Prairie) throwing a three yard TD pass to Kominiko Sila (American Somoa/Anchorage, AK) for a 54-7 lead.
The scoring ended on another Henry bomb, this time for 66 yards to Diaz Bolden with 6:14 left in the game.
Whitewater piled up 571 yards to 254 for CU. UW-W averaged 5.2 yards per rush and had 22 first downs. The Tigers averaged 2.2 yards per run and had 11 first downs. Time of possession was 36:13 to 23:47 in favor of the Warhawks.
Blanchard, who played less than a half, was coldly efficient, hitting on 12-15 passes for 294 yards and the three touchdowns. Eight receivers share the catches. Coppage, also playing less than half a game, rushed 15 times for 117 yards, and Desmin Ward carried the ball 9 times for 92. Sophomore linebacker Cole Klotz (Elm Grove/New Berlin Eisenhower) was credited with three solo tackles and five assists.
Henry, who came in when starter Zach Eastham went out with an injury, completed just 4-22 passes, but two of those went for the long scores. Wayne Coffee carried the ball 15 times for 55 yards. Warrenhuffman had three catches for 87 yards. Defensive back Jeffery Demary was the game's leading tackler, with 11.
UW-W has a bye next week. The Warhawks, looking for a seventh straight Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title, will host UW-Platteville Saturday, October 1 for a 2:00 kickoff in Perkins Stadium.
