“St. John’s University football hopes to start strong against playoff rival Whitewater” is the headline in the SC [St. Cloud] Times article about the Warhawks’ away game on Saturday, September 3rd.
Quoting from the article, “It was Mark Twain who once said ‘if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.’ The Johnnies find themselves facing a hefty tadpole as they host the University of Wisconsin Whitewater for their season opener Saturday at Clemens Stadium.
Whitewater is ranked fourth in the D3football.com preseason poll. St. John’s is No. 5. The Johnnies won 42-18 in 2002, the only other regular season matchup between the two teams. Since then, Whitewater has hosted St. John’s four times in the playoffs, winning all four games.
In 2021, St. John’s went 11-1 overall, winning their 35th conference title and seventh consecutive trip to the NCAA Division III playoffs. Their season ended Nov. 27 with a 31-28 loss to Linfield at Clemens stadium in the second round.”
Here’s the view on the game from UW-W’s website:
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team opens the 2022 campaign this Saturday, September 3, at Saint John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. at Clemens Stadium.
The Warhawks enter the season after advancing to a national semifinal game in 2021 and capturing the program’s 38th Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title. Head Coach Kevin Bullis, a three-time WIAC Coach of the Year, led the 2021 squad to a 13-1 record. He enters his eighth year at the helm.
UW-Whitewater is a consensus fourth nationally in three preseason polls including d3football.com, College Football America, and Lindy’s Sports.
The Johnnies, a member of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, are ranked among the top 15 in the three polls with their highest mark, fifth, in the d3football.com release. SJU won a record 35th MIAC title last season.
ON THE AIR
Saturday’s game will air live online on Saint John’s streaming portal. The contest can also be heard on 105.9 FM The Hog in the Whitewater area, or online at www.1059thehog.com.
SERIES
This is the sixth meeting between the Warhawks and Johnnies. UW-Whitewater leads the all-time series 4-1. SJU won the first game of the series on their home field, 42-18 in 2002. The Warhawks rattled off the next four at Perkins Stadium winning 34-7 in 2005, 17-14 in 2006, 37-7 in 2008, and 35-32 in 2019.
NOTABLE
- UW-Whitewater has been unbeaten in its non-conference slate three consecutive seasons. UW-W’s most recent regular season, non-conference loss at Perkins Stadium came against Buffalo State in 2012.
- Since the start of the 2004 season, UW-Whitewater is 49-4 in regular season non-conference games, good for a .923 winning percentage. Two of those losses came during the 2017 season and another came against Division II St. Cloud State (2007).
