University of Wisconsin La Crosse Athletics

Collegeville, Minn. - In a match-up of top-11 ranked teams, the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse football team fell, 24-21, at Saint John's University (Minn.) Saturday afternoon at Clemens Stadium in the season opener for both teams.

The Eagles are ranked 10th on the D3football.com and American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Top 25 Polls while the Johnnies are ranked 11th on both polls.

Saint John's (Minn.) now leads the all-time series, 7-1, including 4-0 during the regular season. The Johnnies are 3-1 all-time in the series in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Playoffs.

UWL, under first year head coach Michael Zweifel, had its 11-game winning streak snapped in season openers with Saturday's loss. The Eagles' last opening game loss came to the University of Dubuque (Iowa) by the score of 35-24 in 2013. Zweifel was an assistant coach for Dubuque (Iowa).

UWL scored on the opening possession of the season on Saturday, going 75 yards in nine plays and 2:43. Kyle Haas went five-of-seven on the drive for 70 yards, including a 28-yard completion to Calahan Miles to get down to the Saint John's (Minn.) 20-yard line. Braeden Ott later scored on a two-yard run and Maddox Pratt's extra point made it 7-0 with 12:17 left in the first quarter.

Saint John's (Minn.) also scored on its first possession of the game. The Johnnies used eight plays to go 80 yards in 3:50 to force a 7-7 tie after Trey Fenney connected on a 35-yard touchdown pass to Riley Schwellenbach. Matt Hansen's extra-point tied the game with 8:21 remaining in the opening quarter.

The Eagles were forced to punt on their second possession. The Johnnies took their first lead of the game at 10-7 with 12:43 left in the second quarter on Hansen's 21-yard field goal. Saint John's (Minn.) went 83 yards in 14 plays and 6:12.

Both teams traded punts before UWL tied the game on a Pratt 34-yard field goal with 4:36 remaining in the first half. The Eagles used 5:37 to go 64 yards in 13 plays.
 

Feeney was intercepted by UWL's Ben Ott on the Johnnies' next drive, but Haas was sacked by Andrew Molenaar on fourth-and-one at the Saint John's (Minn.) 33-yard line to turn the ball over on downs.

The Johnnies took a 17-10 lead with :09 left in the second quarter with Feeney throwing a six-yard touchdown pass to Charlie Plum. The drive used six plays and 1:02 to go 58 yards. Saint John's led, 17-10, at halftime.

After forcing the Johnnies to punt on the opening drive of the second half, the Eagles cut their deficit to 17-13 with 8:10 remaining as Pratt connected on a 44-yard field goal. UWL went 65 yards in 14 plays and 4:51.

Saint John's (Minn.) had four plays at UWL's one-yard line on its next possession, but two incompletions and two rushing attempts turned the ball over on downs. The Eagles turned the ball over downs on their next drive, failing to convert a fourth-and-one at the Johnnies' 27-yard line.

The teams traded punts with Saint John's (Minn.) taking over at its seven-yard line after Pratt's 60-yard field goal. The Johnnies extended their lead to 24-13 after Feeney combined on a six-yard touchdown pass with Andrew Harren. Hansen's extra point made it 24-13 with 4:50 left as the drive went 93 yards in 10 plays and 4:45.

UWL responded on the ensuing drive to make it a one possession game. The Eagles went 75 yards in eight plays and 2:02 as Haas went five-of-seven, including an eight-yard completion to Calahan Miles for a touchdown with 2:44 remaining. The duo connected on the two-point conversion to cut the lead to 24-21.

UWL's on-side kick was recovered by Saint John's (Minn.) at the Eagles' 47-yard line. The Johnnies were able to run out the clock after a pair of first downs.

UWL finished with 367 yards of offense on Saturday, including 35 rushing and 332 passing. The Eagles had 20 first downs while going seven-of-15 on third-down and one-of-three on fourth-down. 

Haas went 25-of-42 for 332 yards with one touchdown. He was sacked three times. Najeh Mitchell led the Eagles with 16 rushing yards on four attempts with Ott finishing with 14 yards and one touchdown on four carries. Brady Kuhn had 13 yards on five attempts. Brodie Mickschl led UWL with eight catches for 142 yards. Miles finished with 81 yards and one touchdown on four receptions while Keaton Arendt had 40 yards on four catches.

Saint John's (Minn.) totaled 447 yards, including 61 rushing and 386 passing. The team finished with 23 first downs and were seven-of-13 on third-down. The Johnnies missed their only fourth down attempt. Saint John's (Minn.) won the time of possession, 32:19 to 27:41.

Feeney went 36-of-51 passing for 386 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. Corey Bohmert led the Johnnies with 59 yards rushing on 14 carries. He also had a team-high eight receptions. Thomas Jacobs (96 yards) and Plum (59) each finished with seven catches.

Stephen Munson led UWL with eight tackles, including six unassisted, while Sal Balistrieri finished with seven tackles. Ben Ott and Colin O'Neil each had six tackles with Ott recorded 1.0 tackle for loss and the interception.

Saint John's (Minn.) was led by Vincent Pyne with 11 tackles, including seven unassisted.

UWL returns to action Saturday, September 12 hosting 15th-ranked Hardin-Simmons University (Texas) in its home opener at Roger Harring Stadium at Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.


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