By Chris Lindeke
Assistant Athletic Director, Strategic Communications and Branding
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

Saturday, October 16, 2021

Final Stats: https://uwwsports.com/documents/2021/10/16/UWOUWW.pdf

The No. 3 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team secured its third victory over a nationally-ranked opponent of the 2021 season Saturday with a 32-13 win at No. 18 UW-Oshkosh in a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest.

The Warhawks (6-0 overall, 3-0 WIAC) tallied 22 unanswered points in the second quarter and made key defensive stops in the fourth quarter to withstand a comeback by the Titans. UW-W forced a pair of turnovers in the game and held the ball for nearly 11 minutes in the fourth quarter to secure the win.

Running back Alex Peete rushed for 79 yards and totaled two touchdowns (one rushing, one receiving) in the contest. Wide receiver Ryan Wisniewski caught six passes for 121 yards.

Quarterback Max Meylor completed 17-of-25 passes for 211 yards and two scores.

Linebacker Ryan LIszka totaled six tackles and two interceptions, including a pick-six late in the fourth quarter, to lead the defense, which limited UWO to 217 yards of total offense.

Linebacker Aaron Sturdevant posted a team-high nine tackles, and defensive back Egon Hein finished with five tackles.

UW-Oshkosh (3-2, 1-2) got on the board first scoring a touchdown with 3:45 to play in the first quarter for the first points allowed by the UW-W defense in any first quarter this season.

The Warhawks tied the game at 7-7 on their first drive of the second quarter. Meylor ran for 16 yards on the first play of the drive before back-to-back completions to Wisniewski of 41 and 28 yards, respectively. On third-and-goal from the UWO 7-yard line, Meylor hit Tyler Holte for a 7-yard score with 11:21 on the clock.

UW-Whitewater took the lead for good on the ensuing kickoff as the Titans were called for an illegal forward pass in the end zone for a safety.

On the next possession, Meylor hit Wisniewski for 42 yards and later found Holte for seven yards on third down to set up his 5-yard touchdown pass to Peete to make it 15-7 near the midway point of the second quarter.

The two teams exchanged punts before Liszka’s first pick set the Warhawks up at UW-Oshkosh’s 25-yard line. A 20-yard completion from Meylor to Sam DeLany on third down set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Peete with 39 seconds to play in the half for a 22-7 advantage.

The Titans controlled most of the third quarter, cutting their deficit to 22-13 with a touchdown drive on the first possession of the second half. UWO later drove inside UW-W territory, but a 41-yard field goal was pulled wide left to give the Warhawks the ball back with 12:57 to play in the contest.

On the ensuing drive, Peete carried nine times for 48 yards to help set up a 36-yard field goal by Matt Maldonado for a 25-13 lead with 4:54 remaining in the game.

The two teams exchanged punts before Liszka posted his second interception of the game, returning it 31 yards to the end zone with 1:26 left to account for the final margin.

The Warhawks visit UW-River Falls next Saturday, Oct. 23, at 1 p.m.