UW-Whitewater defeated St. Xavier 49-14 on Saturday. The Warhawks scored 28 unanswered points across four scoring drives from late in the second quarter into the fourth.

A third-down fumble set up the Warhawks’ first score, with Noah Moris (Union Grove, Wis./Union Grove) forcing the ball loose and Carson Clausen (Freedom, Wis./Freedom) recovering at the St. Xavier 27 before Justin Klinkner (Two Rivers, Wis./Two Rivers) ran for a 27-yard touchdown on the next play. Hunter Liszka’s (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North) PAT made it 7-0, and the Warhawks’ defense added a sack by EJ Gritzner (Lake Geneva, Wis./Badger) and Jayden Fowler (Morton Grove, Ill./Niles Township West) while holding St. Xavier to minus-12 rushing yards in the first quarter. The Warhawks finished the quarter ahead 7-0 with possession at the St. Xavier 28.

In the second quarter, the Warhawks created separation with two rushing touchdowns, first on Tommy Novotny’s (Milwaukee, Wis./Marquette) 61-yard run at 11:53 and later on Justin Klinkner’s (Two Rivers, Wis./Two Rivers) 3-yard keeper with 40 seconds left. After St. Xavier cut the score to 14-7, the Warhawks kept it there when the defense held St. Xavier to a missed 40-yard field goal, then Klinkner led a 76-yard scoring drive. Karsten Libby (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North) added an interception in the closing seconds, and the Warhawks finished the quarter ahead 21-7.

The Warhawks scored on their first and last possessions of the third quarter, starting with Tyler Vasey’s (Crystal Lake, Ill/Prairie Ridge) 2-yard touchdown run and ending with Klinkner’s 36-yard touchdown pass to Vasey as time expired. The defense held St. Xavier scoreless in the quarter and came away with two interceptions, including Ashton Maney’s (Three Lakes, Wis./Three Lakes) pick with seven seconds left that preceded the final touchdown. Liszka made both extra points, and the Warhawks finished the quarter ahead 35-7.

In the fourth quarter, the Warhawks turned two takeaways into touchdowns, first when Drew Kortz (Freedom, Wis./Freedom) intercepted Dominic D’Ambrosio and Klinkner hit Luke Roeder (Collierville, Tenn./Collierville) for a 65-yard touchdown on the next snap to make it 42-7 after Liszka’s kick. After St. Xavier answered with a 9-yard touchdown pass, Andrew Dawson (Oak Forest, Ill./Oak Forest) forced a fumble that Jayden Daniel (Glen Ellyn, Ill./Glenbard West) recovered at the SXU24, and Cole Warren (Roscoe, Ill./Hononegah) found Kade Sainz (Goshen, Ind./North Ridge) for an 8-yard touchdown two plays later. Grant Urban’s (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East) extra point supplied the final score in a 49-14 Warhawks win.

Klinkner completed 13 of 24 passes for 267 yards and two touchdowns and added 24 rushing yards with two rushing scores. Novotny rushed 15 times for 120 yards and a touchdown and added a 14-yard reception. Vasey caught three passes for 66 yards and a touchdown and also rushed for 19 yards and a score. Libby recorded seven tackles and added an interception with an 18-yard return.

Editor’s note: The box score and other stats may be found here.

The Whippet Varsity Volleyball Team opened conference play with a 3-0 sweep of the visiting Monroe Cheesemakers on Thursday, September 10. The Whippets came out strong from the start and never looked back in sets one and two winning 25-19 and 25-21.

Coach Dowden commented, “It was fun to see the players put it all together. They were aggressive and played as a team all night. It was great to see and feel the energy both on the court and from our fans all match. Leading into tonight we discussed three keys to this match: communication, serve receive and transitioning fast at the net. In addition, we talked about limiting our mistakes and moving on to the next play. Short of set three when our serve receive struggled a bit, the team really pulled together and accomplished our goals, and we couldn’t be more proud of their effort. This was a great team win.”

Probably the most exciting to see was the team’s grit in set three of the match. Coming out slow, the Whippets dug themselves a hole in the set finding themselves down 0-6 before etching their way back into the set. Closing out the set, the Whippets were down 16-18 and fought back to make it 20-20. Monroe called a time out and the battle continued back and forth with the Whippets dominating the final points behind the serves of Emi Islas, blocks of Emery Kachel, and the swings of Jasmine Kilar; the Whippets won 25-22.

Stat leaders on the night include Sophomore Jasmine Kilar leading the way with 8 kills, 10 digs, and 2 service aces. Junior Mary Mason notched 6 aces on the night. Junior Emery Kachel added 6 kills and 2 blocks. Finally, Seniors Maddie Morton and Rowan Seaver added 1 block and 15 assists on the night.

The Whippets will travel away to Dodgeland for a tournament this Saturday. 

Article and Photo Submitted by Mary Kilar

East Troy defeated Whitewater 6-1 in girls’ tennis on September 10th. East Troy swept all three doubles matches, while Whitewater earned its lone point at No. 1 singles.

Whitewater’s Taryn Rothwell (8-3) continues her strong season and claimed the top singles match over East Troy’s Avorie Murphy (15-6), 6-7 (6), 4-6.

East Troy opened the match with a tribute to the fallen after 9-11. The Whitewater Girls watched and dedicated the match to former Boston College La Crosse player and NYC firefighter Welles Crowther, who led people to safety after terrorists struck the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Crowther is known as the man in the red bandana. You can learn more about his story at https://www.youtubeeducation.com/watch?v=S77KYbkmjwc

Singles:
No. 1 – Taryn Rothwell, Whitewater def. Avorie Murphy, East Troy, 6-7 (6), 4-6 , -;
No. 2 – Megan Meeks , East Troy def. Madeline Joseph, Whitewater, 6-0 , 6-1 , -;
No. 3 – Cadence Kehl, East Troy def. Jordyn Weeden, Whitewater, 6-0 , 6-0 , -;
No. 4 – Kendyl Feucht, East Troy def. Ruth Lopez , Whitewater, 6-0 , 6-1 , -;

Doubles:
No. 1 – Mia Taylor, East Troy – Kaylee Kohley , East Troy def. Abby Treder, Whitewater – Izzy Lawton, Whitewater, 6-1 , 6-3 , -;
No. 2 – Alex Szymankiewicz, East Troy – Edie Seiler , East Troy def. Isabel S, Whitewater – Sophia W, Whitewater, 6-0 , 6-0 , -;
No. 3 – Riahlyn Cain, East Troy – Elena Milne, East Troy def. Serena Soto, Whitewater – Emma S, Whitewater, 6-2 , 6-1 , -;

Photos Courtesy of Greg Stewart and Dave Lindow East Troy

Whippet Soccer had another dominant performance on Tuesday, September 1, with a 6-1 win over Racine Lutheran. After a slow start, your Whippets really stepped on the gas and really brought the heat on an already scorching evening. The humidity didn’t seem to slow down WHS with goals by Elijah Gutierez, Wesley Baker, and Niko Valdez. Derick Martinez contributed a hat trick to cap off another special performance from him. Keeper Asher Bangert had an 8 save evening which really solidified Whitewater’s strong defensive performance. 

On Thursday evening, September 3, the Whippets traveled to Cambridge where their start of the game left a lot to be desired. However, after falling behind 2-0 in just the 12th minute, WHS showed tremendous fight and spirit to push forward to a 4-4 tie. Derick Martinez yet again contributed 2 goals and continued his tremendous run of form. Elijah Gutierez converted a penalty, and Bastian Portales buried a beautiful header off of a corner to round out the scoring. Emiliano Olivares had a great game as well while contributing 2 assists. Whippet Soccer saw both varsity keepers on the field with Asher Banger contributing 5 saves and Esteban Lopez-Villanueva saving 2. 

Keep up the good work Whippets, and we hope to see you all again on Tuesday, September 8, when Lakeside Lutheran comes to town. 

Article and Image Submitted by Sam Burns
Whitewater High School Head Boys’ Soccer Coach
dburns@wwusd.org