The UW-Whitewater football team defeated the 23rd ranked UW-Stout Blue Devils 14-0. The Warhawks return to action Friday, October 13 at 7 p.m. when they host UW-La Crosse for its third conference game of the season.

Country singer Jackie Lee will perform a free concert for those in attendance before the kickoff. Friday night kickoffs are odd in the world of college football, but UW-W head coach Kevin Bullis says he and his team are looking forward to the game.

“That’s going to be a fun Friday night game, it’ll feel like high school again.” Bullis said postgame, also noting that “La Crosse is a heck of a football team now.”

The Warhawks, now 2-3, were led by the play of their defense as they finished the game with seven sacks.

“The sacks were huge,” defensive lineman Harry Henschler said. “As a d-line we’re getting better as the season goes and I think we can have more.”

Their defense forced three turnovers, two fumbles and an interception, while the offense didn’t commit any of their own. Henschler also noted once the Warhawks saw the rain, that they knew they’d focus on creating turnovers.

On the offensive end, junior quarterback Cole Wilber threw both of his touchdown passes in the first half. The first one was a 28-yard screen pass to senior tight end Tony Gumina. The second touchdown was a 20-yard connection between Wilber and senior wide receiver Marcus Hudson.

See also: “Warhawks Down No. 23 Blue Devils in home opener” for more photos

Wilber finished the game with 141 yards and two touchdowns. The game against the Blue Devils was Hudson’s second game back from injury. He now has two touchdowns in those two games.

“Having (Hudson) back definitely helps a lot,” Gumina said postgame. “Rather than teams just being able to key on me and Drew (Patterson), they have to key in on Marcus as well…We have a lot of weapons offensively and adding him is just another piece of the puzzle.”

Both teams went scoreless in the second half despite being able to move the ball.

In the second half, the Warhawks went with a heavy dose of the ground game, particularly with junior running back Drew Patterson. Patterson finished the game with 28 carries for 110 yards. Seventeen of those carries came in the second half.

The Blue Devils were able to move the ball into Warhawk territory two times in the second half. About halfway through the third quarter the Blue Devils got down to the Warhawks 11-yard line, but quarterback Jay Alston fumbled the ball after being hit by sophomore linebacker Jacob Erbs. Erbs was able to recover the fumble. Erbs, despite being undersized, has come up with big fumble recoveries in back to back games.

“When they say dynamite comes in small packages, that’s Jacob Erbs.” Bullis said. “He truly plays the game with passion and energy, and those are the guys that show up at the ball.”

Then on the Stout’s first drive of the fourth quarter the Blue Devils made it down to the Warhawks 30-yard line before turning it over on downs effectively ending the game.

Bullis was most pleased with the Warhawks run defense. UW-W’s defense responded from what Bullis and his team called an “embarrassing” performance in their loss to UW-Oshkosh. The Warhawks allowed 72 yards on the ground to the Blue Devils after giving up 248 to the Titans a week earlier.

The game versus UW-Stout was the home opener, family fest and alumni day for UW-Whitewater. All these events drew a crowd of more than 6,000 to Perkins Stadium.

UW-La Crosse will come into Perkins Stadium with a 5-0 record following a 45-14 defeat of UW-Eau Claire. The Warhawks beat the Eagles 14 straight times heading into Friday’s contest.