Eau Claire, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse football team fell, 27-10, at UW-Eau Claire Saturday afternoon at Carson Park.
The Eagles drop to 3-5 overall and 2-3 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) while the Blugolds improve to 6-2 overall and 3-2 in the conference.
RANKINGS:
* UWL entered the game receiving votes on the D3football.com Top 25 Poll and American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Top 25 Poll.
SERIES RECORD:
* UWL leads the all-time series, 62-29-2, with UW-Eau Claire.
* UW-Eau Claire snapped an eight-game losing streak to UWL with Saturday's win. The Blugolds last earned a victory (20-14) in the series in 2016 in Eau Claire.
HOW IT HAPPENED – 1ST QUARTER:
* UW-Eau Claire took the opening kickoff and a 7-0 lead with Ayden Helder throwing a 15-yard touchdown pass to Nick Kihn with 11:14 remaining. The drive went 66 yards in eight plays and 3:41. Connor Radaj made the extra-point.
* UWL tied the game on its first possession, going 72 yards in eight plays and 2:43, as
Kyle Haas connected on a 29-yard touchdown pass to
Evan Richmond with 8:24 left.
Maddox Pratt converted the extra-point.
* Radaj's 34-yard field goal with 1:44 remaining gave UW-Eau Claire a 10-7 lead. The Blugolds went 58 yards in 13 plays and 6:40.
HOW IT HAPPENED – 2ND QUARTER:
* UWL tied the game at 10-10 with 4:45 left on Pratt's 29-yard field goal. The Eagles went three-of-four on third-down and converted a fourth-down attempt. UWL used 6:32 and 15 plays to go 54 yards.
* On the first play from scrimmage after the field goal, Paxton Rothmeier scored on a 77-yard touchdown run to give UW-Eau Claire a 17-10 lead with 4:34 remaining.
* Radaj extended the Blugolds' lead to 20-10 at halftime with a 25-yard field goal on the final play of the first half. UW-Eau Claire went 74 yards in 16 plays and 2:16.
HOW IT HAPPENED – 3RD QUARTER:
* The Eagles'
Nolan Wulf fumbled on the first possession of the third quarter at the Blugolds' 32-yard line with Max Marty recovering for UW-Eau Claire.
* Both teams punted on its next two possessions.
HOW IT HAPPENED – 4TH QUARTER:
* Helder's one-yard touchdown run with 9:27 remaining gave UW-Eau Claire a 27-10 lead as the Blugolds went 75 yards in 15 plays and 9:27.
*
Keaton Arendt fumbled on UWL's next drive at UW-Eau Claire's nine-yard line with Marty recovering for the second time in the game.
* Haas was intercepted on the Eagles' final drive in the end zone by Ryan Spickerman.
UWL TEAM STATS:
* The Eagles finished with 335 yards, including 96 rushing and 239 passing. UWL had 20 first downs, finished four-of-12 on third-down and three-of-three on fourth-down.
* UWL was one-of-three in the red-zone.
UWL INDIVIDUAL LEADERS:
* Haas finished 22-of-38 for 239 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He became UWL's career leader in passing yards (6,433) and attempts (903) on Saturday, breaking
Dennis Goettl's (1988-91) school record of 6,340 yards and
Nick Anker's (2007-10) record of 887 attempts. Haas is also UWL's career leader in completions (580) and touchdowns (57).
*
Braeden Ott had a team-high 65 rushing yards on 11 carries.
* Richmond finished with 88 yards receiving on four catches and one touchdown. Arendt (34 yards) and
Calahan Miles (29) each had five receptions.
*
Sal Balistrieri,
Carver Cram and
Ben Ott each had 11 tackles.
UW-EAU CLAIRE TEAM STATS:
* The Blugolds finished with 419 yards, including 351 rushing and 68 passing. UW-Eau Claire totaled 25 first downs while going 10-of-17 on third-down and one-of-one on fourth-down.
* UW-Eau Claire was four-of-four in the red-zone and won the time of possession, 37:03 to 22:57.
UW-EAU CLAIRE INDIVIDUAL LEADERS:
* Helder went 10-of-19 for 68 yards with one touchdown.
* Rothmeier had 301 yards rushing on 45 carries and one touchdown.
* Kihn led the team with 26 yards receiving on two catches with one touchdown while Mason Sullivan (11 yards) and a team-high three receptions.
* Jack Scheldroup led the team with 13 tackles, including 11 unassisted.
UP NEXT:
* UWL returns to Roger Harring Stadium at Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex hosting UW-River Falls on Saturday, November 7 at 1 p.m.
