By Erik Lewis
The UW-Whitewater Warhawks football team had their way with conference rival UW-La Crosse last weekend, 47-3. To say that it was an unexpected blowout would be an understatement. No score in the history of the Eagles-Warhawks matchup has ever been that large.
One big difference head coach Lance Leipold said has been finishing games, which has made the ’Hawks (4-0, 1-0) the hunter and not the hunted in the WIAC and in the national conversation this season. That conversation is seemingly where the team should be based on the program’s tradition.
This weekend, the hunt continues against the UW-Stout Blue Devils (2-2, 0-1), an opponent that has been growing ever since Leipold returned to the league because of head coach Clayt Birmingham.
“[They’re] well coached on defense, that’s his forte,” Leipold said. “He mixes his fronts well. He plays some four man stuff, some three man stuff. He’s doing stuff where they’re always active and physical. Since my return to the league I’ve been extremely impressed with their lines on both sides of the ball.
Leipold expects a stout (no pun intended) Blue Devils defense that will switch from four to three-man fronts sporadically.
“They’re always a physical group,” Leipold said. “The other thing that’s caught my attention has been the John O’Grady effect in there where John’s putting his stamp on this program much like he did with Oshkosh. You can see the similarities that are starting to be evident in their offense. They’re gaining confidence in their offense as they get more comfortable with it each and every week.”
That O’Grady effect is the running game of the Blue Devils. Stout is averaging 160 rushing yards per game but is also giving up an average of 150 yards on the ground.
Like the ’Hawks, the Blue Devils have three tailbacks that share the bulk of the carries every game. The Blue Devils may be forced to pass more, though, especially because the ’Hawks have only given up one rushing touchdown and 315 yards on the ground so far this season.
The ’Hawks’ rushing attack took a slight hit last week losing tailback Nick Patterson to an injury. Before getting hurt, Patterson had 93 yards on 16 carries.
Leipold doesn’t know the extent of his injury, but the rest of the backs will pick up the slack as they have done all season, Leipold said.
“We’ve been playing a lot of backs anyway, he said. “We’ve played five the last few weeks. We’ll continue to use backs in different situations.”
The ’Hawks will also have to key on wide receiver Trevor Morning. Morning leads the WIAC in yards per game (110) and total yards (440) this season.
Morning is a speed threat that has the ability to score on one play and has scored four of the Blue Devils six receiving touchdowns.
“Watching all the games, [Morning has] made some catches, he’s quick and has made some plays,” Leipold said. “We’re going to have to know where he’s lined up each and every play.”
The game is set for a 2:30 p.m. start and the game will be aired on Fox Sports Wisconsin.
