Plagued by miscues, the No.3 UW-Whitewater football team fell 17-10 on Sept. 2 against Illinois Wesleyan in the team’s season opener at Tucci Stadium in Bloomington, Ill.

The Warhawks had three turnovers in Titan territory, two of which were botched snaps at the 1-yard line.

“We moved the ball offensively,” head coach Kevin Bullis said. “Defensively we didn’t give up any long plays. Ultimately, that game really melts down to three different times we had the ball at the 1-yard line for a total of three points.”

UW-W struck first to go up 3-0 with an 18-yard chip shot from freshman kicker Wojciech Gasienica with 8:19 remaining in the second quarter after the Warhawks were stuffed on three straight runs at the Titans’ goal line.

The Titans responded right back.

IWU sophomore quarterback Brandon Bauer connected with fellow sophomore Jack Healy for a 21-yard touchdown, which capped a 12-play, 71-yard drive, and put the Titans ahead 7-3 with 3:51 until half-time.

UW-W was primed to take the lead into halftime after junior quarterback Cole Wilber found sophomore wide receiver Dylan Bernard on a 46-yard bomb that put the Warhawks at the Titan’s 1-yard line.

Bernard finished the game with three receptions and a team-high 63 yards receiving.

The following play, the Warhawk snap went over Wilber’s head and was recovered 25-yards down the field by the Titans with just 56 seconds remaining in the first half of play.

The Titans went up 10-3 after senior kicker Anthony Sciarini drilled a 40-yard field goal with 10:38 remaining in the third quarter.

Just six minutes later, the Warhawks knotted the game at 10-10 when Wilber threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Canton Larson.

Wilber ended the game 22-of-37 for 258 yards and a touchdown.

The Warhawks looked as if they were poised to take the lead early in the fourth quarter after junior running back Drew Patterson converted on a crucial fourth-and-four from IWU’s 35-yard line.

The following play, similar to the one in the first half, the Warhawks botched the snap and the Titans recovered the fumble.

The Titans took advantage of the turnover with 8:02 remaining in the game. Bauer zipped a five-yard touchdown pass to Healy for his second touchdown catch of the day and put IWU up 17-10.

It was déjà vu for the Warhawks with just over a minute remaining in the game. With first-and-goal from the 1-yard line, Wilber couldn’t corral the snap and the Titans recovered the fumble to seal the game.

Although the Warhawk defense only gave up 17 points and a total of 269 yards, the defense failed to create any turnovers, leading to the Warhawks’ minus-three turnover margin.

“You got to give credit to them [Illinois Wesleyan], they did protect the ball really well,” senior linebacker Matt Seitz said. “We did try and go after it when we had a guy wrapped up. We’d always get another guy in there and try to punch the ball out.”

Even though UW-W had some costly mistakes, it’s nothing that can’t be fixed according to Bullis.

“I think we got some obvious easy corrections,” Bullis said. “Nothing that’s complicated, but things we need to take care of.”

Up next for the Warhawks is a trip to Moorhead, Minnesota on Sept. 9 where the team will look to capture its first win of the year vs. Concordia-Moorhead.