PLATTEVILLE, Wis. — November 8, 2026 — The unbeaten season is over for the University of Wisconsin-Platteville football team. No. 4 UW-Whitewater beat the No. 2 Pioneers 24-21 on November 7, 2026, at Pioneer Stadium, keeping the Miner’s Axe in the annual George Chryst Memorial Bowl and handing Platteville its first loss of the season.

Platteville, which entered the game 8-0, struck first. The Pioneers needed only three plays to drive 48 yards and score on their opening possession, and the home crowd had every reason to believe the unbeaten run would continue. Whitewater answered late in the first quarter, capping a 12-play, 99-yard drive with a 12-yard scoring run by Tommy Novotny to tie the game at 7-7.

The game turned in the final minute of the first half. With 53 seconds left, Whitewater quarterback Justin Klinkner found Novotny open for a touchdown to put the Warhawks ahead. On the very next drive, Whitewater’s Carter Sessa intercepted Platteville quarterback Nathan Uselding at the Pioneer 40-yard line and returned it for a touchdown with 28 seconds on the clock. It was the first time all season a team had returned an interception for a touchdown against Platteville’s quarterback. Whitewater took a 21-7 lead into halftime.

Platteville came out of the break fighting. The Pioneers scored on their first drive of the second half to cut the gap to 21-14, and from there the defenses took over. Neither offense scored again until late in the fourth quarter, when Whitewater put together a 13-play drive and Grant Urban kicked a 19-yard field goal with 4 minutes, 19 seconds remaining to make it 24-14.

The Pioneers were not finished. They needed only 90 seconds to find the end zone, helped by two passing plays of more than 20 yards, and pulled within 24-21 with 2 minutes, 44 seconds left. But Whitewater’s offense did what it had to do on its final possession. Novotny carried twice up the middle for nine yards, and on third down Klinkner kept the ball himself and pushed through the line for four yards and a first down. From there, Whitewater went into victory formation and ran out the clock.

Novotny was the workhorse for the Warhawks, carrying 22 times for 87 yards and a rushing touchdown and adding four catches for 29 yards and another score. He was named the game’s offensive player of the game by the media in attendance. Sessa, whose interception return swung the game before halftime, was named the defensive player of the game. On defense, Karsten Libby made nine tackles, all of them solo, in his first game back.

The loss drops Platteville to 8-1 on the season. Whitewater closes out its regular season at UW-Eau Claire on November 14, 2026. Platteville’s next opponent was not stated in the game report.