Box Score Dickinson, N.D. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse football team fell 23-17 at Dickinson State University (N.D.) Saturday afternoon at the Henry Biesiot Activities Center. The Eagles, ranked 16th on D3football.com, drop to 2-1 on the season while the Bluehawks, ranked 16th in National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), improve to 2-1. 

Meeting for the second time in school history, Dickinson State (N.D.) took a 7-0 lead on its first possession of the game. The Bluehawks went 36 yards in 11 plays and 4:07 as Amad Andrews Jr. scored on a one-yard run with 9:09 left in the opening quarter. Dickinson State (N.D.) earned a 35-17 victory in La Crosse in 2018.  

UWL quickly responded Saturday to tie the game. The Eagles went 59 yards in seven plays and 2:38 with Joey Stutzman scoring on a four-yard run with 6:31 left in the first quarter. UWL later took a 14-7 lead with :34 remaining in the opening period as Stutzman scored on a one-yard run. The touchdown was set-up after Evan Lewandowski's 23-yard completion to Ryan Beirne to the one-yard line. UWL had taken over after a Hayden Gibson fumble. 

The game remained 14-7 until Jeremiah Paine's 34-yard field goal for Dickinson State (N.D.) cut the lead to 14-10 with :05 left in the half. UWL led, 14-10, at halftime. 

Paine missed a 40-yard field goal with 5:35 left in the third quarter to keep the score at 14-10 after three periods. Dickinson State (N.D.) used a 13-play, 68-yard drive with 6:28 to take a 17-14 advantage with 12:17 remaining in the game on Gibson's five-yard touchdown pass to Tyger Frye. After a UWL punt, the Bluehawks went 80 yards in 13 plays and 6:30 for a 23-14 advantage as Gibson threw a seven-yard touchdown pass to Noah Sickler with 3:35 left. The extra-point was missed.  

Dillon Reiner intercepted UWL's Jack Dwyer at Dickinson State's (N.D.) seven-yard line with 1:07 left. UWL forced a punt and cut the deficit to 23-17 as Beirne's made a 42-yard field goal with :25 remaining. The Eagles went 25 yards in four plays and :12. Rusty Murphy recovered the ensuing onside kick with UWL taking over at the Eagles' 46-yard line. Dwyer's pass to Stutzman moved the ball to the Bluehawks' 34-yard line, but Dwyer was called for intentional grounding on the next play resulting in a :10 runoff to end the game. 

UWL finished with 17 first downs while totaling 329 yards, including 107 rushing and 222 passing. Stutzman led the Eagles with 82 yards rushing on 15 carries and two touchdowns. Dwyer went 14-of-25 for 185 yards with one interception while Lewandowski finished 3-of-10 for 37 yards. Jake Simuncak finished with six catches for 100 yards. 

Dickinson State (N.D.) recorded 22 first downs. The Bluehawks finished with 286 yards of offense, including 102 rushing and 184 passing. Andrews Jr. finished with 89 yards rushing on 27 attempts and one touchdown. Gibson went 23-of-37 for 184 yards and two touchdowns. Frye caught six passes for 60 yards and one touchdown. 

Murphy totaled 14 tackles for UWL, including 3.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 quarterback sacks. Zach Pierce finished with nine tackles and Zachary Zillmer eight. Zillmer had 2.5 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks. Kevin Brown led Dickinson State (N.D.) with eight tackles. 

UWL returns to action Saturday, October 5 opening Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) play at UW-Platteville at 1 p.m.