UW-Whitewater's 46-game win streak, the longest active streak in
college football, came to an end with a 7-6 loss to Buffalo State
at Perkins Stadium in Whitewater, Wisconsin Saturday. The loss also
halts a 30-game win streak at Perkins Stadium.
Buffalo took the opening drive to Whitewater's 21 yard line, where
it ended with a missed 38 yard field goal. Buffalo stopped UW-W's
first series with an interception by the Bengals' Chris Hall.
Defensive back Ryan Wenkman got the ball back for the Warhawks with
his interception at UW-W's 31.
UW-W moved the ball to Buffalo's four yard line, where Eric
Kindler gave the Warhawks a 3-0 lead with a 21 yard field with 2:58
left in the first.
With 7:41 left in the second quarter Whitewater moved the ball
from its 14-yard line, and 13 plays later, with the ball on
Buffalo's 26, UW-W missed a 41-yard field goal with 6:31 on the
clock.
The Warhawk defense limited the Bengals to five first downs and
133 total yards going into halftime with the 3-0 lead.
Buffalo's first drive on the second half covered 52 yards, but did
not result in a score as the Bengals missed a 38 yard field
goal.
Wenkman stopped the next Bengals' possession, on just the second
play, with his second interception of the day, putting the Warhawk
offense on Buffalo's 33 at 6:46. The Warhawks moved the ball five
yards, and a missed 45 yard field goal kept the score at 3-0.
With 7:07 left in the game UW-W began a 52 yard drive that ended with a 29 yard field goal by Eric Kindler with 1:35 left in the game.
The Bengals took the ball at the 25 on a touchback on the ensuing kickoff. A 39 yard Casey Kacz to Brooks Estarfaa put Buffalo on Whitewater's 31. A personal foul moved the ball back to Buffalo's 49. The Kacz to Estarfaa combination came back with 33 yard completion that put the ball on Whitewater's 10. Two incomplete passes made it third and goal, and Kacz came through with a scoring toss to Ryan Carney to make it 6-6 with 0:03 on the clock. Nate Benoit's PAT provided the winning margin.
The final score isn't the only indication that defenses dominated the game. The Bengals went 2-12 on third down conversions and Whitewater was 7-17. There were a total of five turnovers in the game. Bengal's senior linebacker Pasquale Vacchio led both teams with 12 total tackles, including five solo and one behind the line. Neither defense allowed the big play, or any play longer than 39 yards. UW-W senior defensive back Steve McCollom was credited with 7.5 tackles, six of them solo.
The six points scored by the Warhawks is the team's low mark since a 7-6 loss at UW-Platteville October 2, 2004.
UW-W will host UW-Stevens Point Saturday, September 22 at 1:00 in Perkins Stadium. The day is also part of the celebration of the Student Athlete Complex being dedicated to former head coach Bob Berezowitz.