By Angela Kelm
Asst. Athletic Director for Sports Information
Box Score – The No. 3 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team opened the 2024 campaign in stellar fashion. The Warhawks cruised to a 34-7 win over John Carroll University in front of the UWW faithful at Perkins Stadium Saturday afternoon. UW-Whitewater is now 18-2 in season openers in the last 20 seasons.
The pace may have looked a little different than years past, but the result was the same. After a touchback on the opening kick, the Warhawk offense jogged out to the 25 for their first possession of 2024. UW-Whitewater established the run game right off the bat with Tamir Thomas gaining eight yards on the first carry of the game. He would take the handoff six more times in the drive hitting paydirt from one yard out for UWW’s first score of the season. Jackson Fox split the uprights on the extra point and the Warhawks had a 7-0 lead less than six minutes into the game.
The UW-Whitewater defense followed with a three-and-out. After a seven-yard gain to open the Blue Streaks’ first drive, Lucas Sadler got into the backfield and sacked the JCU quarterback for a loss of six. On third down, Trey Castella and Jakob Simmons blasted through the line for another sack and a loss of 11 to force a punt.
The punt was down at the 22 and the UWW offense returned with all of the momentum. Following a couple of short gains, Brian Stanton was tapped for the handoff, burst through the line and bounced to the outside bolting up the sideline past defenders for the 56-yard touchdown run. Fox hit the point after for a 14-0 Warhawk lead with just over four minutes left in the first quarter.
The teams turned the ball over on downs on the next two drives before the UWW defense forced a turnover early in the second quarter. Six plays into a Blue Streak drive, a short pass up the middle was completed and fumbled at the Warhawk 36. Mika Gutoski jumped on the loose ball to bring the UWW offense back onto the field.
UW-Whitewater capitalized on the turnover with a 28-yard field goal by Fox.
As halftime neared, head coach Jace Rindahl did a phenomenal job of managing the clock to give the Warhawks another scoring chance. The defense forced a punt and Jason Ceniti led UWW back onto the field with 1:35 left to drive 87 yards – and that’s exactly what they did.
Ceniti hit Nick Wind on a crossing pattern for a 31-yard gain. Two plays later, he found Brian Wilterdink for 12 more and another first down at the JCU 20. Next, it was Wind again, this time for nine yards to the Blue Streak 11. From there, Thomas got the nod once again. He found his way through the middle and into the end zone for an 11-yard touchdown scamper. Fox’s extra point made it 24-0 at the break.
After a scoreless third, the Warhawks scored on the first play of the fourth quarter. Ceniti found Wind in the end zone from 11-yards out for the team’s first touchdown through the air of the season. Fox hit the point after to give UWW a 31-0 advantage. Fox would connect on a 24-yard field goal later in the fourth for UW-Whitewater’s final score of the game.
John Carroll’s final drive lasted nearly five minutes. The Blue Streaks negated the shutout with a touchdown strike with just one second remaining. The extra point was good to make it 34-7 and the game ended as time expired on the ensuing kickoff.
UWW registered 439 yards of total offense including 286 yards on the ground. The defense held JCU to just 226 yards on the day.
Ceniti was 14-25 for 153 yards through the air. He added 43 yards with his feet. Blake Haggerty was Ceniti’s favorite target on the day with five receptions for 79 yards. Wind added three catches for 51 yards.
Stanton led the Warhawks in the ground game with 123 yards on 10 carries. Thomas registered 77 yards on 14 rushing attempts. The duo combined for three rushing touchdowns in the game.
Ethan Gallagher posted a team-high seven tackles while Castella tallied 1.5 tackles for a loss of 10 yards.
