31-point Second Quarter Lifts Warhawk Football to Victory

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team bounced back with a dominant win over UW-Eau Claire on a cold Saturday afternoon. The Warhawks started clicking in the second quarter, exploding for 31 second quarter points to enter the halftime up 41-3. The Warhawks kept the Blugolds at bay, taking the 51-10 victory as it started to snow on Perkins Field.

After a three-and-out on their first drive, the Warhawks put together a promising 10-play, 50-yard drive to get the ball moving early in the game. The Blugolds managed to hold UWW out of the endzone, but Hunter Liszka (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North) hit the field goal from 30-yards out to add the first three points on the board.

UW-Eau Claire drove down the field their next drive and was able to match the field goal to tie the game 3-3.

From there, the flood gates opened. UW-Whitewater kept stringing together big plays and scored 38 unanswered points with a huge help from the defensive turnovers.

During the stretch, Ty Schultz (Lockport, Ill./Lockport) ran for three touchdowns, including a 67-yard touchdown to kickstart the run. Schultz then ran it twice more after Kaden Sleets (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park River Forest) and Ethan Gallagher (Homer Glen, Ill./Lockport Township) each grabbed an interception on back-to-back Blugold drives.

The Warhawks then decided to showcase the passing game. Justin Klinker connected with Jacques Brooks (Franklin, Wis./Franklin) on a 41-yard pass in the endzone to add another score on the board. The following drive, Hunter Liszka (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North) made his field goal from 43 yards out to put the Warhawks up 34-3.

The Blugolds managed to get the ball away from the Warhawks after five straight scoring drives with an interception but then threw an interception to Efrein Ramirez on UWEC’s very first offensive play of the drive. UWW marched down the field to give Justin Klinkner (Two Rivers, Wis./Two Rivers) a rushing touchdown before the end of the half. 

In the first half alone, the Warhawks put up 357 total yards of offense (206 rushing, 151 passing) while holding UW-Eau Claire to just 83 total yards (1 rushing, 82 passing).

The Warhawks’ big plays slowed down in the second half, as they were controlling the clock and their large lead. UW-Eau Claire scored their first touchdown of the game with five minutes left in the third, set-up by good field position after recovering a Warhawk fumble.

Hunter Liszka (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North) capped off his perfect day with a 25-yard field goal to add another three points to the board. The Warhawks forced another punt, and gave Ty Schultz (Lockport, Ill./Lockport) his fourth rushing touchdown of the game, tying the Single Game Rushing Touchdown mark in the Warhawks’ record book. Schultz finished with 171 yards in 20 carries.

UW-Eau Claire started to drive down the field again, but Ashton Maney (Three Lakes, Wis./Three Lakes) yanked the ball out of the receiver’s hands to get the interception and stop the Blugolds from adding another touchdown at the end of the game.

The Warhawks finished the day with over 311 yards rushing and 210 yards passing. The defense held UW-Eau Claire to just 214 yards with 87 yards on the ground. Kartsen Libby led the team with 10 tackles, including two tackles for a loss.

The Warhawks will head out to Oshkosh to face the Titans next weekend in the regular season finale. Kick-off is set for 1 PM on November 15th. 

The No. 24 UW-Whitewater women’s basketball team opened the 2025-26 campaign with a huge 63-58 win over No. 19 Washington University in St. Louis Saturday afternoon in Kachel Gym. 

A big first quarter gave the Warhawks an early cushion that came in handy late. UWW shot nearly 45% in the first ten minutes to open up a 19-14 lead by the end of the quarter. A 5-0 run bolstered by a pair of jumpers from Mia Gillis and Caden Krohn in the middle of the period gave UWW the five-point lead they held to the break. 

UW-Whitewater extended the gap into double figures by the midway point of the second quarter. A Camryn Nies five-point run courtesy of a three-pointer pushed the margin to 12, 29-17, with 4:28 left before halftime. The Bears closed the half on a 6-0 run to send the teams into locker rooms with UWW leading 29-24. 

On the other side of the break, the Warhawks scored the first eight points of the third quarter to take their largest lead of the contest, 37-24. Once again WashU turned on the offense late in the period tallying seven of the last nine points of the period to make it 44-37 heading into the fourth. 

The Bears whittled away at the margin pulling to within two multiple times, the latest with just 32 seconds left in the game. From that point, UW-Whitewater sealed the game from the free throw line. Gillis hit a pair with 24 seconds to go. Bri McCurdy drained a pair with 14 to go and then sealed the game with two more with three seconds left. 

Gillis paced the Warhawk offense with 18 on 8-15 from the floor adding five boards. McCurdy ended with 13 bolstered by an 8-10 performance from the free throw line. She added a game-high three steals. Nies rounded out the double-digit scorers with 11 including three triples in the contest. Renee Rittmeyer was the most active on the glass with seven rebounds. 

UW-Whitewater will head to Bloomington, Illinois to compete in a tournament hosted by Illinois Wesleyan next weekend. Millikin is on the docket for Saturday at noon followed by a top 25 battle with the Titans Sunday at 2 PM. 

Editor’s note: The above press release was provided by UW-Whitewater Athletics.

The UW-Whitewater wrestling team fell to Division II UW-Parkside 30-9 in Russell Arena Saturday morning. 

The match started with the 174-pound weight class that featured a pair of ranked brawlers. Jermaine Butler, ranked twelfth in Division III, battled but fell to seventh-ranked Dajun Johnson by 4-3 decision.

Gavin Kohel had the response in a thrilling bout at 184. Kohel connected on a shot on the opening whistle for an early takedown and fended off a late attack from Parkside’s Brady Schuh for a 13-10 decision. 

The Rangers won the next three bouts with Cooper Caray winning by 16-1 technical fall over Isaak Smith at 285, second-ranked Shane Corrigan won by 16-1 technical fall over Brady Phelps at 125 and Elon Rodriguez picked up a 7-2 decision over UWW’s Jordan Rasof. 

Justin Fortugno, ranked tenth, added three to the Warhawk total with a 7-2 decision over Troy Dolphin. Fourth-ranked Jalen Spuhler won by technical fall, 16-1, over Dominik Mallinder at 149 pounds. At 157, it was Parkside’s Easton Worachek with a close 4-3 decision over Luke Swan. 

Brayden Peet capped the dual with a phenomenal win over Brody Hemauer. Peet, ranked third, registered a takedown to take the lead. Hemauer, ranked fourth in DII, was able to tally a late escape to set up a thrilling end. The wrestlers battled with Peet fending off a few Hemauer shots to hold on for the 3-1 decision. 

Editor’s note: This press release was provided by UW-Whitewater Athletics.

The boys’ and girls’ cross country teams wrapped up their season Wednesday evening with a celebration recognizing the athletes, their accomplishments, and the memories shared throughout the year. Team parent Sara Brautigam beautifully decorated the event, helping highlight just how special the sport of cross country truly is.

Major awards were presented to the following athletes:

• Most Valuable Runner: Virginia Nelson, Tyler Carollo
• Most Improved: Melody Smith, Ian Agen
• Heart and Soul: Delaney Hammack, Quinton O’Toole
• Jack Daniels Award: Quinton O’Toole
• Phyllis Sievert Award: Delaney Hammack

Congratulations to all Whippet runners on a great season!

Article and Photos Submitted by Chad Carstens
Whitewater High School Head Cross Country Coach
ccarstens@wwusd.org