Titans Record Second Straight Shutout Victory
Brett Kasper threw three second-quarter touchdown passes and the defense added two scores to lead the nationally ranked UW-Oshkosh football team to a 35-0 victory over first-time opponent North Park University (Ill.) on Saturday (Sept. 19) at J. J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium.
Coupled with UW-Oshkosh's 86-0 win over Finlandia University (Mich.) last Saturday (Sept. 12), the Titans recorded consecutive shutouts for the first time since 1996, when they opened the season with a pair of 44-0 victories over St. Norbert College and Saint Xavier University (Ill.).
UW-Oshkosh (2-1), ranked 20th in the NCAA Division III by D3football.com, outgained North Park University, 450-293, including 333-99 in the first half.
Kasper completed 22 of 32 passes for 266 yards. Two of his scoring strikes went to Sam Mentkowski and the other went to Zach Kasuboski. Rajon Hall and Trevor Fiegel recorded the Titans' defensive touchdowns.
UW-Oshkosh fumbled on the game's opening possession at its own 46-yard line, but North Park University's 10-play drive stalled at the Titan 21-yard line when Johnny Eagan stopped Vikings wide receiver Anthony Burton two yards shy of the first down on fourth-and-nine.
Following a Titan punt, the Vikings once again turned the ball over on downs as T.D. Conway's pass fell incomplete on fourth-and-five from the UW-Oshkosh 30-yard line with 4:18 remaining in the first quarter.
The Titans marched to the North Park University 29-yard line in four plays, including a 29-yard completion from Kasper to Kasuboski, before turning the ball back over to the Vikings on downs.
On the first play of the ensuing possession, Hall intercepted Conway and raced 26 yards for a touchdown with 2:46 left in the first quarter.
The Vikings punted four times and had a one-play drive on their final five possessions before halftime, and Kasper and the Titans took advantage with three straight touchdowns to take control.
Kasper connected with Mentkowski over the middle for a 52-yard touchdown that capped a three-play, 82-yard drive with 9:39 remaining before halftime. Kasper hit Mentkowski again for a 34-yard score to conclude a seven-play, 70-yard drive at the 7:07 mark, and Kasper found Kasuboski alone on the left side for a 5-yard touchdown that ended a nine-play, 64-yard drive with 19 seconds left before intermission.
Mentkowski notched his third touchdown of the season, while Kosuboski recorded his third score the year and 19th of his career. Kasper upped his season total to six touchdown passes without an interception.
Kasper completed 7 of 11 passes for 147 of the Titans' 212 total yards in the second quarter, while North Park University was held to just 40 total yards on 16 plays during the period.
The teams traded punts to begin the second half before Fiegel scooped up a fumble by Conway on a botched handoff and capped the scoring with a 42-yard return. Eli Wettstein's fifth straight extra point of the contest gave UW-Oshkosh a 35-0 advantage with 5:28 left in the third quarter.
Fiegel snuffed out North Park University's best scoring chance when he tackled Conway for a loss on fourth-and-one at the UW-Oshkosh 4-yard line with 2:12 to go in the third quarter.
North Park University (1-2) had a 1st-and goal at the UW-Oshkosh 8-yard line late in the fourth quarter, but four straight incompletions by Conway led to the Vikings' fourth turnover on downs.
Cole Yoder then intercepted a Conway pass at the UW-Oshkosh 5-yard line on the last play of the game to preserve the shutout.
Steve Forner paced the UW-Oshkosh defense with 11 tackles. Reese Dziedzic had seven stops, including one sack, and one pass breakup. Matt Gasper and Yoder added six tackles apiece for the Titans. Justin Watson chipped in two tackles, including one sack.
Conway ended the contest 24-for-48 for 200 yards with two interceptions.
Burton led the Vikings with nine catches for 78 yards, while Filo Langkilde topped six North Park University ball carriers with five rushes for 27 yards.
North Park University was limited to 93 yards on 30 carries for a 3.1 average.
Chaun Maiava made a game-high 10 tackles and forced one fumble for the Vikings. Brendon Dull added nine tackles for North Park University, which also received seven tackles, including six solo, to go along with a fumble recovery and two pass breakups from David Simmons Jr. Joe Butz, Mark Mamola and Hunter Corrigan contributed six tackles each. Butz also recovered a fumble.
The Titans are idle until they travel to UW-Stout for their conference opener on Oct. 3.