News Flash to all Johnnie Fans: The UW-Whitewater Warhawks are not invincible! For those of you tired of seeing the St. John’s season end in Whitewater, WI, Saturday night’s game between the Warhawks and the St. Cloud State Huskies gives hope for a different—and better?—end to this season.
In losing playoff games at Whitewater by scores of 34-7 in 2005 and 17-14 in 2006, the Johnnies got eviscerated in the turnover battle. St. John’s lost 8 of 9 fumbles and threw 3 interceptions while only forcing 2 Warhawk turnovers. Against the Huskies, it was UW-Whitewater uncharacteristically making the mistakes as they coughed up 4 turnovers leading to 17 points for the Huskies. St. Cloud State fumbled twice but was able to recover both in a generally mistake-free performance.
The offensive story for the Warhawks should be a familiar name to Johnnie fans. Star Senior RB Justin Beaver had another phenomenal game, piling up 177 yards on 24 carries (7.4 yards per attempt). In the process, he set both the UW-Whitewater and WIAC career marks for rushing yardage—remarkable records when you consider he still has 8 more games and a potential playoff run to pad his totals.
Early in the game, Beaver was doing his damage on conventional, consistent, straight-ahead runs. As the SCSU defense adjusted, and the Warhawks fell behind and were forced to pass the ball more, Beaver started running more draws and delayed handoffs. That is where he really shined, ripping off 2nd Half gains of 32, 29, and 28 yards. The 28-yard run brought the Warhawks to the SCSU 1-yard line where they misfired on 3 plays and had a Field Goal blocked, wasting a terrific opportunity to get back in the game after falling behind 20-3.
The reason for the deficit was an inconsistent passing game led by California Lutheran transfer QB Danny Jones. While Jones threw several aesthetically pleasing passes, he often had little idea where they were going or when to release them. The Warhawk passing game was marred by numerous overthrown deep balls and 9 quarterback hurries. Dropped passes certainly could have played a role in the offenses’ inability to find a rhythm in the passing game. WR Jordan Wells dropped at least 3 catchable balls in the first half and Matt Gifford dropped a 4th Quarter pass in the end zone that aborted the Warhawks’ comeback hopes.
The UW-Whitewater special teams were breathtaking—both positively and negatively. All-American K Jeff Schelber boomed a 52-yard FG with the wind just before halftime to get the Warhawks on the board, but later had a 21-yard chip shot blocked. One of the Warhawks’ turnovers came on a short punt that hit a blocker and was recovered by the Huskies.
On defense, the Warhawks completely shut down the Huskies rushing attack (34 rushes, 37 yards) but allowed WR Derek Sedin to get open far too often. Sedin led all receivers with 13 catches for 158 yards and 2 TDs. Going into the game, no one expected to see an explosive offense from SCSU, but it was surprising how efficiently they were able to move the ball.
The Warhawks certainly proved they had the talent to compete with a decent D-II team and threaten for another run at the Stagg Bowl. The difference between the team that took the field last night at the teams that sent the Johnnies packing the last couple years were the small mistakes. While the Warhawks have a full season to work out the kinks, hopefully this will give St. John’s fan some additional hope if the two teams meet again this year.
