RIVER FALLS, Wis. - The UW-River Falls football team and No. 3-ranked UW-Whitewater battled to a 34-28 Warhawk victory on Saturday afternoon from Smith Stadium at Ramer Field.
After the visiting Warhawks (7-0, 4-0 WIAC) quickly went up 14-0 in the first quarter, the Falcons (5-2, 2-2 WIAC) responded well with a 21-point second quarter to claim a lead heading into halftime. However, turnovers plagued the Falcons in the second half and a pair of UWW field goals sealed the six-point margin of victory for the visitors with minutes remaining in regulation.
Down 14-0,
Kole Hinrichsen and the UWRF offense completed three passing touchdowns to three separate Falcons;
Andy Groebner,
Anthony Silva, and
Charlie Huschka, granting the Falcons a 21-14 halftime lead. The Falcons were 5-of-5 on fourth-down conversions in the first half and were paced defensively with a pair of sacks by
Ted Androli.
UWW bounced back in the second half, forcing a Falcon fumble and capitalizing to tie the game at 21-21. The Warhawks then scored on their next drive to take a 28-21 lead.
The Falcons opened the scoring in the fourth quarter after an
Aaron Borgerding interception led to a 24-yard touchdown reception from Hinrichsen to Groebner - the pair's second connection of the game to tie the game at 28-28 with five and half minutes remaining.
Warhawk kicker Matt Maldonado was successful from 28 yards out to put UWW up 31-28 and on the ensuing kickoff, the visitors forced another Falcon fumble and turnover. Maldonado and the Warhawks then converted another field goal to go up 34-28.
During its last offensive opportunity with under two minutes remaining, Hinrichsen threw an interception to seal the win for Whitewater.
UWRF finished with 349 yards of total offense compared to UWW's 337. The Falcons limited Whitewater to 3-of-12 on third-down conversions.
Hinrichsen finished with 212 passing yards along with 79 rushing while totaling career-highs with 27 completed passes and four TD passes. Defensively,
Dominique Turner led the Falcons with a season-high eight tackles (six solo). Androli finished with a game-high four tackles for a loss of 12 Warhawk yards.
The Falcons return to Ramer Field next Saturday, hosting UW-Platteville.
