MOUNT BERRY, Ga. - Despite holding No. 4 Wisconsin-Whitewater to a net of 98 yards rushing, Berry was handed its first loss of the season, 17-3, on Saturday at Valhalla Stadium at Williams Field.

"We told the guys in the locker room after the game that there were a lot of guys that showed up ready to play today," said Berry head coach Tony Kunczewski. "We'll go back and look at the film, but at the end of the day, our real season starts after our bye week at Birmingham-Southern. I can't think of a better way to prep us for conference play than by playing one of the perennial powers in the country."

The Vikings and Warhawks defenses came to play, as the two teams combined for just 120 yards on the ground for the game. UW-Whitewater had a chance to put points on the board early but missed a 37-yard field goal attempt midway through kept the game scoreless. Berry would force a turnover on the next drive by the Warhawks as Brock Skinner jumped on a loose ball.

The early turning point of the game came early in the second quarter. The Vikings were on the UW-Whitewater 27 yard line, facing a 4th-and-4. The pass over the middle by Gavin Gray would be picked off by the Warhawks defense and returned to the visitor's 44-yard line. One play later, Evan Lewandowski connected with Steven Hein for a 56-yard touchdown pass to put the guests on the board.

After a 10-play drive resulted in another score for UW-Whitewater, the Vikings were in danger of giving up another score as the guests were on the Berry 36-yard line in the final minute. Instead, Nick Willis came up with an interception in the end zone, giving Berry life. BC would use three plays to drive 46 yards, setting up Matthew Syverson for a lengthy field goal attempt. The senior connected from 52 yards out, setting a new Berry record and giving the Vikings life as they trailed 14-3 heading into halftime.

Both defenses continued to put up a fight coming out of the locker room; the only points scored in the third quarter came from a UW-Whitewater field goal.

The Warhawks had another missed field goal to start the fourth quarter keeping the score at 17-3 on a kick that may have been partially deflected by the Berry special teams at the line of scrimmage. Berry then mountecits longest drive of the game, marching 76 yards to the UW-Whitewater four-yard line. However, the guests would keep the Vikings out of the end zone, ending Berry's best chance at a touchdown for the day.

Gray was 15-37 passing for 229 yards and one interception. Deiondre Wilson had five receptions for 84 yards, and Trace Wells had three receptions for 70 yards on the day. Brock Skinner had the team high in tackles with nine, with Nick Willis tacking on three passes broken up and one interception.

The Vikings head into a bye week next weekend, but will return when they travel over to Birmingham Southern on Oct. 1, with kickoff is set for 7 P.M. EDT.