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UW-Whitewater football team earns WIAC honors

WHITEWATER — Six members of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team have earned All-Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference honors for the 2012 season. The honorees include offensive lineman Jimmy Norris (Hoffman Estates, IL/William Fremd), placekicker Eric Kindler (Germantown/Germantown), linebacker Kyle Wismer (Spring Grove, IL/Richmond-Burton), defensive back Ryan Wenkman (Wisconsin Dells/Wisconsin Dells), and defensive linemen Jake Hohlstein (Portage/Portage) and Loussaint Minett (Whitewater/Whitewater).

Norris played left guard for the Warhawks. He helped UW-Whitewater average 4.1 yards per rushing attempt and complete 56% of the passes attempted. He paved the way for a 1,000 yard rusher, and the UW-W offensive line was second in the WIAC in sacks allowed (12).

Kindler repeated the All-WIAC First Team recognition he received in 2011. He went 17-25 on field goal attempts, the longest being 46 yards. Seven of the eight field goals he missed were longer than 40 yards. Kindler led the league in field goal percentage. He earned two sports on the all-conference team, also earned All-WIAC Second Team as a punter, where he averaged 41.8 yards per kick. Of his 28 punts ten were inside the twenty yard line, nine were fair caught, and three went for touchbacks. Kindler was named WIAC Special Teams Player of the Week October 2 and November 12.

The four defensive players were recognized for their role in making UW-Whitewater's defense the best in the WIAC -- and possibly in Division III. In the WIAC UW-Whitewater was number one in scoring (10.2), rushing (52.7), total defense (241.5), first downs allowed (117), opponents third down conversions (26.7), pass efficiency defense, and red zone defense. Nationally, UW-W was second in scoring, second in rushing, and seventh in total defense in the NCAA III statistics.

Hohlstein, a tackle, was credited with 12 solo tackles, ten assists, 6.5 tackles for a loss of 22 yards, and 2.5 sacks for a loss of ten yards. Wenkman made 33 solo tackles, assisted on 20 tackles, had one tackle for a loss and recovered one fumble. He also led UW-W and ranked third in the WIAC with five interceptions. Hohlstein and Wenkman were second team all-conference in 2011. Wismer had 24 solo tackles and 18 assists, with nine tackles for a loss of 24 yards. He also forced one fumble, recovered two, and had one interception. Minett, a defensive end, was third in the WIAC with 11.5 tackles for a loss, with 5.5 sacks for 45 yards. He forced two fumbles, had one recovery, made 13 solo tackles and assisted on ten. Minett was named WIAC Defensive Player of the Week November 12.

Whitewater's defense, particularly the linebacking corps, was highly regarded in the WIAC. Linebacker Cole Klotz (Elm Grove/New Berlin Eisenhower) was named All-WIAC Second Team, and linebackers Ryan Cortez (Palatine, IL/Palatine, IL) and Josh Williams (Milwaukee/Mukwonago) were honorable mention picks, a compliment to the players to have four linebackers feted in Whitewater's 4-3-4 alignment. Cortez, with 35 tackles and six tackles for a loss this year, was All-WIAC Second Team in 2011. Klotz led Warhawk defenders with 63 total tackles, and Williams was second on the team with 54, not including eight tackles behind the line of scrimmage. He was the WIAC Defensive Player of the Week October 2. Freshman defensive back Marcus McLin(Delavan/Delavan), Whitewater's leader with eight passes broken up and second on the team with four interceptions, was accorded honorable mention recognition.

The Warhawks' backfield tandem of tailback Desmin Ward (Milwaukee/Hamilton) and fullback Bernie Tamsett (Waterford/Waterford) were named to the second team offense. Ward finished third in rushing in the WIAC with 1,028 yards in ten games, averaging 4.9 yards per carry with eight touchdowns. Tamsett, who caught 12 passes, was the lead back for most of Ward's yards.

Senior defensive back Steve McCollom (Farmington/Shrine Catholic), who returned to the starting lineup after missing all of 2011 with an injury, was UW-W's representative on the WIAC All-Sportsmanship Team.

UW-Whitewater went 7-3 overall and tied for second place in the WIAC with a 5-2 mark. The Warhawks finished the regular season among the teams in the "others receiving votes" in both national Division III polls.