Today is Saturday, October 10, 2026
Editor’s note: Attendance was reported to be a very strong 15,236. Last year’s high attendance was 15,406 against UW-Platteville on Oct. 9.
By Angela Kelm
Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Information
The No. 8 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team defeated No. 4 Saint John’s 56-28 in the Warhawks’ home opener Saturday.
UW-Whitewater registered 500 yards of offense for the second straight game. Tamir Thomas registered four touchdowns in the game for the third time in his career while posting a career-high in rushing yards, 179. Jason Ceniti posted a career-high 175 yards on 11-16 passing with three touchdowns. He added a fourth on the ground.
The first half was a back-and-forth affair with the teams heading into the intermission knotted at 21. UWW took the early lead with quarterback Ceniti punching it in from two yards out to cap a six-play, 63-yard opening drive. Jeff Isotalo-McGuire’s kick made it 7-0 UW-Whitewater just over three minutes into the contest.
Saint John’s responded before the end of the quarter on a seven-yard touchdown through the air to make it 7-7.
The Warhawks posted back-to-back scores in the second quarter. The big play in the next UWW scoring drive was the one that hit pay dirt as Ceniti dropped a dime to Drake Martin who took it all the way into the endzone from 45 yards out for a 14-7 lead.
The next UW-Whitewater drive took just one play as Thomas took the handoff, burst through the middle of the line and ran away from the Johnnie defense for a nearly untouched 59-yard scoring scamper. Isotalo-McGuire’s kick made it 21-7.
Once again SJU responded – the first scoring drive was capped by a one-yard touchdown pass. The Johnnies capitalized on an interception deep in Warhawk territory with a touchdown with just four seconds remaining in the half to make it 21-21.
After the break, SJU took their opening drive 71 yards for the go-ahead touchdown on a 29-yard pass play. After that play the defense stiffened and gave the Warhawks great field position the rest of the way.
In UWW’s first possession of the second half, Ceniti hit Steven Hein in stride from 35 yards out for the tying touchdown with 5:21 left in the third. The Warhawks added another seven before the end of the quarter on Thomas’ 10-yard run off the left side of the line to make it 35-28.
Halfway through the fourth, it was Thomas crossing the goal line again, this time on a reception from Ceniti to cap a 9-play, 61-yard drive. The kick made it 42-28 UW-Whitewater.
Alijah Maher-Parr wrote his name into the scoring column with a 30-yard bull rush through the middle for another rushing touchdown.
On the defensive side of the ball, Joey Antonietti jumped a passing lane for the pick to hand the ball back to the Warhawks’ surging offense. UWW capitalized with Thomas bouncing it off the right side of the line for a nine-yard touchdown run, his fourth score of the game. Isotalo-McGuire made it 56-28.
Defensively, Hawk Heffner led the Warhawks with nine tackles including partnering with a teammate for a sack. Matt Burba posted three tackles including 1.5 for a loss of 23 yards adding a forced fumble. The defensive backs were stingy with three passes broken up and an interception while the line pressured the Johnnies quarterback with eight hurries.
Editor’s note: The below information was posted to the UW-W Athletics site. Parking must be purchased in advance; cash is not accepted. Passes may be purchased here – only general parking is left. There has been a change to the Carry-In Policy and factory sealed water bottles are now permitted. This link will direct you to information on Tailgating Policy.
Ketterhagen Ford Football Preview — Game 2 vs. SJU
The No. 8 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team host No. 4 Saint John’s University at Perkins Stadium for the Warhawks’ home-opener Saturday, September 9. Kickoff is slated for 1 pm.
The Warhawks moved up three spots after last week’s 27-23 win at No. 14 (formerly No. 19) John Carroll to eighth in the latest D3football.com poll. The Johnnies moved up two spots to fourth in the latest poll after defeating Trinity (Texas) 34-31 at home last Saturday.
UW-Whitewater put together a phenomenal second half posting 24 points en route to the comeback win at JCU a week ago. The Warhawks trailed 13-3 after the first half but held the Blue Streaks to 10 points in the second half. UWW put up over 500 yards of offense in their first outing of the season included 232 yards on the ground. Nick Wind (Downers Grove, Ill./Montini Catholic) corralled an acrobatic catch in the corner of the endzone for the game-winning catch while Thomas Wojnowski (Oak Creek, Wis./Oak Creek) picked off the JCU quarterback with five seconds left to seal the game.
Alijah Maher-Parr (Wauwatosa, Wis./Arrowhead) averaged over seven yards a carry to lead the ground game. Alec Ogden (Marshall, Wis./Monona Grove) was 23-41 for 230 yards and a pair of touchdowns through the air. He added another touchdown with his feet. Tommy Coates (Chicago, Ill./De La Salle Institute) was Ogden’s favorite target with nine catches for 77 yards while Steven Hein (St. Charles, Ill./North) hauled in six catches for 99 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, Parker Breunig (Sauk City, Wis./Sauk Prairie) and Wojnowski tallied interceptions. Hawk Heffner (Grafton, Wis./Grafton) led the Warhawks with eight tackles.
SJU put up 17 points in the fourth quarter alone to send their season-opener into overtime. Johnnie kicker Connor Murphy split the uprights in the first OT possession. SJU’s Cayden Saxon picked off a pass on Trinity’s first play of their overtime possession to seal the win. The Johnnies gained just 87 yards on the ground, but averaged 8.5 per passing play with four touchdowns through the air.
Aaron Syverson was 24-33 for 281 yards and four touchdowns without tossing an interception. Troy Feddema had 18 carries for 91 yards on the ground. Alex Larson was the top receiver with 60 yards on seven catches.
Defensively, Jacob Munoz led the SJU defense with nine tackles, two tackles for a loss, a sack and a forced fumble.
ON THE AIR
Saturday’s game will air live online on the WIAC Network and locally on UWWTV. The contest can be heard on 105.9 FM The Hog in the Whitewater area, or online at www.1059thehog.com, or on ESPN Radio in the Madison and Milwaukee areas.
SERIES
This is the seventh meeting between the Warhawks and the Johnnies with UWW leading the all-time series with four wins. The two squads met in the 2022 season-opener in Collegeville, Minnesota. SJU won that battle of Top 25 teams 24-10.
The Girls’ Tennis Team had a tough battle against Monroe on Thursday, September 7, but managed to come out on top, winning the meet 4-3. The Whippets are now 3-0 halfway through the conference season.
Singles:
- No. 1 – Emilia Houwers def. Lindsay Leuzinger 6-2, 6-2
- No. 2 – Kate Kundert def. Jackie Franco 6-0, 6-4
- No. 3 – Liz Servin def. Adeline Eckerman 6-2, 6-1
- No. 4 – Ryann Dahlman def. Vicki Ramirez 6-2, 6-1
Doubles:
- No. 1 – Maritza Vidales & Stephanie Wence def. Emma Tran & Brooke Hanson 6-4, 6-0
- No. 2 – Delaney Fortney & Sydney Wunschel def. Vanesa Wence & Leah Newmann 6-4, 7-5
- No. 3 – Isabel Aranda & Aimee Servin def. Layla Pallesen & Chyler Blackburn 4-6, 6-4, 10-4
Article and Photo Submitted by Baron West
Whitewater High School Head Tennis Coach
bwest@wwusd.org
The Whitewater Volleyball team fell to visiting Delavan-Darien (14-25, 16-25, 25-23, 21-25) on Thursday, September 7. “This was a disappointing loss. We prepared well with film; we just didn’t play our game tonight. We failed to control the ball on serve receive, passing only a 1.6, and saw ourselves out of system way too many times. Our communication broke down, and we played most of the night tight. We had some great rallies, but costly errors at unfortunate times saw us playing from behind most of the night. We didn’t capitalize on our game plan, and that cost us. However, it really is early in the season, and we will continue to put the work in to get better every single day. It truly will be a matter of staying focused and positive so we can peak at the right time.”
“This team works hard, they put in the time and effort every day at practice. We won’t shy away from that, and we will continue to put in the work to get stronger and better each day. I have confidence in this group; I just want them to play with that same confidence!”
Calli Grosinske put up another double-double on the night with 12 kills and 21 digs. Marina Linos led us in assists with 14. Ella Spear had 3 aces, and Meg Roselle and Zoe Kohl posted two blocks apiece.
Next up, the Whippets travel to Dodgeland for a tournament on Saturday, September 9. Then they play two away matches at Monroe and Jefferson next week.
Article Submitted by Mary Kilar
Whitewater High School Head Volleyball Coach
mkilar@wwusd.org
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