Emotionally Drained.
Depressed.
Stunned.
These
are a few of the words that describe Whitewater’s shocking loss to the Division
2 Buffalo State Bengals. In a hard-fought, defensive minded game, Whitewater’s
dominant defense just could not hold the Bengals one more time. Whitewater
forced two interceptions and caused a huge fumble to halt a long Buffalo State
drive in the early fourth quarter. The Bengals also forced two interceptions of
Lee Brekke, although one of them was on the last play’s desperation heave.
This
game was not one to be proud of for the Warhawks. The defense performed
spectacularly with only allowing seven points and forcing three turnovers. The
offense sputtered all day though. They never really looked in sync. They were
led by Lee Brekke who was 14-22 for 188 yards. 84 of those yards went to Tyler
Huber who had 5 catches. Ryan Givens fought hard for his 71 yards on 14
carries. He had to break multiple tackles to even make it out of the backfield
on nearly every play. The offensive line really struggled to give him room to
run all day. Although, the offense did lead them to two missed field goal opportunities.
The
defense really shined. Embodying the motto of bend but don’t break, the
defense aallowed Buffalo State outgain
the Warhawks in yards. The difference was that the defense made many
game-changing plays that put the Warhawks into a position to win the game. It
took a hook and ladder play with two pitches to convert on a 4th and
10 with 30 seconds left to keep the final drive alive. The defense also had
some luck in the fact that the Bengals missed three field goals of their own. But,
when it mattered most, Buffalo State drove it 80 yards in a minute and a half
for a touchdown. Buffalo State quarterback Casey Kacz connected with receiver
Ryan Carney on a slant for a heartbreaking 10 yard touchdown catch with 3
seconds left.
All in all, the defense did what it
had to do. The Warhawk’s defense has only given up 7 points through the first
two games. Yes, they gave up the winning touchdown, but that was when they were
extremely tired and Buffalo State used 2 trick plays to keep the drive moving.
This one can be blamed on the sputtering offense who struggled mightily to put
points on the board.
Talking to many freshmen, they echoed some of
the same words I used to describe the loss. One girl thought it was a bad omen
that the 46 game win streak was snapped in the home opener of her freshman
year. I could not agree more. The Warhawks will have a tough road ahead to make
it back to the Stagg Bowl in Salem, Virginia. They hope to make it eight years
in a row going up against Mount Union for the division three national championship.
The Warhawks will look to start a new win streak next Saturday when they host UW-Stevens
Point in a non-conference game at 1:00 in Perkins Stadium.
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