Detroit, Mich. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse football team earned its first win of the season with a 47-13 victory at National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II Wayne State University (Mich.) Saturday afternoon at Tom Adams Field. The Warriors drop to 0-3 on the season.
UWL entered the game ranked 21st on the D3football.com Top 25 Poll and tied for 23rd on the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Top 25 Poll.
It is the first win for first-year head coach
Michael Zweifel. He spent the previous four seasons as an assistant coach with the Eagles.
SERIES RECORD
* UWL now leads the all-time series, 3-0, with Wayne State (Mich.). The Eagles earned a 28-21 road win in 2022 and a 31-22 home victory last season.
Nolan Wulf finished with seven catches for 112 yards.
HOW IT HAPPENED – 1st Quarter
* After forcing Wayne State to punt on the first possession of the game, UWL took a 7-0 lead on
Brady Kuhn's two-yard touchdown run with 7:59 left.
Maddox Pratt converted the extra-point. The drive was extended after the Warriors were called for a roughing the passer on third-down at UWL's 43-yard line. The Eagles went 71 yards in 13 plays and 4:02.
* Wayne State's Nikkos Davis was intercepted by UWL's
Kameron Zielke on the Warriors' next possession. Haas threw a two-yard touchdown pass to
Calahan Miles with 2:21 remaining. Pratt's extra-point gave UWL a 14-0 lead. The drive used 10 plays and 4:35 to go 60 yards.
HOW IT HAPPENED – 2nd Quarter
* Wayne State cut the lead to 14-7 with 9:57 left on a Davis 80-yard touchdown pass to Kristian Kilpatrick. Griffin Nowak converted the extra-point. The touchdown came on the first play after a UWL punt.
* It was the first points of the season for Wayne State, who entered the game being outscored, 101-0.
* UWL extended its lead to 21-7 with 3:35 remaining on
Marc Coy's one-yard touchdown run. Pratt made the extra-point. The Eagles went 72 yards in 13 plays and 6:08.
HOW IT HAPPENED – 3rd Quarter
* After the teams traded punts to start the second half, Kuhn scored on a 26-yard run with 10:32 remaining to give UWL a 28-7 lead. The drive went 58 yards in four plays and 1:18.
* Pratt's 30-yard field goal made it 31-7 with 5:00 left after a nine-play, 59-yard drive in 3:43.
* Davis was called for intentional grounding in the end-zone for a safety to extend the lead to 33-7 with 4:00 remaining.
HOW IT HAPPENED – 4th Quarter
* Haas and Miles connected for a touchdown for the second time, this one from 14-yards out with 14:54 remaining and 40-7 lead. UWL went 53 yards in eight plays and 3:59.
*
Noah Gehin forced a fumble with
Jake Bova returning it 30-yards to give UWL the ball at Wayne State's 19-yard line. Two plays later,
Owen Leitel scored on a 13-yard run to extend the lead to 47-7 with 12:18 left.
Colin O'Neil recorded an interception Saturday.
* Wayne State cut the lead to 47-13 on a Gary Jefferson Jr. 16-yard run with 8:58 remaining. The Warriors went 75 yards in seven plays and 3:20.
* UWL ran out the final 8:58 of the game.
* UWL outscored Wayne State, 26-6, in the second half.
UWL TEAM STATS
* The Eagles finished with 442 yards, including 201 rushing and 241 passing. UWL had 29 first downs, finished eight-of-14 on third-down and two-of-two on fourth-down.
* UWL won the time of possession, 39:42 to 20:18.
* The Eagles were six-of-seven in the red-zone.
UWL INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
* Haas finished 17-of-27 for 241 yards with two touchdowns. He moved into second in career touchdown passes with 44. Craig Kusick (1993-95) is the all-time leader with 48.
* Kuhn had 15 carries for 69 yards and two touchdowns. Haas finished with 43 yards on 10 attempts while Leitel totaled 41 yards on seven carries and one touchdown.
Bradley Check finished with 33 yards rushing on nine carries.
*
Nolan Wulf led UWL with seven catches for 112 yards. Miles had two catches for 16 yards, both for touchdowns.
*
Ben Ott had five tackles. Jack Wesolowsi recorded 2.0 quarterback sacks.
* Zielke and
Colin O'Neil each had an interception. Bova recorded a fumble recovery.
WAYNE STATE TEAM STATS
* The Warriors totaled 220 yards, including 81 rushing and 139 passing. Wayne State had 13 first downs and finished three-of-10 on third-down.
* Wayne State converted its only red-zone opportunity.
WAYNE STATE INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
* Davis finished 10-of-23 for 139 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.
* Kilpatrick had three receptions for 91 yards and one touchdown. Jefferson Jr. led the team with 13 carries for 68 yards and one touchdown.
* Amauri Haller finished with a team-high 10 tackles.
UP NEXT
* UWL opens Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) play at UW-Oshkosh on Saturday, October 3 at 1 p.m.
