Titans Stun Warhawks With Late Scores

Only now that the season has ended does Phil Meyer even begin to think he understands how his frenetic University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh football team works.

Give it a challenge, tell it can't succeed, put some obstacles up to make it even tougher and then watch what happens. It may not be pretty and it certainly isn't the best way to navigate through a football season, but for Meyer and the Titans it is apparently the only way to play.

Seven times this season, the Titans had a chance to win a game on their final possession. Five times they failed and the other two — including Saturday — they succeeded.

So it was in the season finale in the snow flurries at Titan Stadium as Oshkosh rallied from 13 points down in the final seven minutes to beat Whitewater, 21-20. That follows a 21-point fourth quarter comeback two weeks ago that beat Platteville.

"This was huge," said a red-eyed Meyer afterward. "They believed they were going to win and they kept their cool. I'm just so happy for these guys. There's just no quit in this team."

Oshkosh finished its season 4-6, its best mark since 1998, and went 2-5 in the WIAC in which four of those losses came by a total of 13 points.

The Titans rallied again behind the arm and legs of sophomore quarterback Nick Wara, who shook off knee and shoulder injuries to guide Oshkosh to two late touchdowns, including his 10-yard quarterback draw with 24 seconds to play, followed by Ryan Fitzgerald's extra point, that won the game.

Wara, who threw on nearly every down in the second half as Oshkosh went to its no-huddle offense, completed 37 of 59 passes for 330 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. The 37 completions broke the previous school record of 31 set by Dennis Bogacz in 1989.

"We had a good, strong, young quarterback," said senior wide receiver Steve Wagner, who finished his UWO career with 12 catches for 140 yards and a score. "And we had three senior receivers (including Jeremy James and Kris Johnson who combined for 11 receptions) who really wanted to step up."

It was Wagner's six-yard touchdown reception with 4:34 to play that cut Whitewater's lead to 20-13. Then, after stopping the Warhawks on fourth down on the UWO 33, Wara and the Titans went back to work.

Wara connected with Wagner on a seven-yard completion for a first down on fourth and six from the Whitewater 41 and, on third and seven from the Warhawks 30, Wara scrambled 20 yards down the right sideline to set up the winning score.

On second down from the 10, Wara stepped back then raced through a huge hole up the middle for the touchdown. Fitzgerald's extra point gave Oshkosh the lead and, eventually, its first win over Whitewater since 1987.

"He was really banged up and I thought I might have to take him out," Meyer said of Wara's injuries that forced Oshkosh to abandon the quarterback draws Wara likes to run. "But on the last play, we had to do it. He's a tough kid and a great leader."
Whitewater did get to the Oshkosh 43 but on the final play, backup quarterback Reggie Stauss' pass was knocked down by a host of Titans in the end zone.

"I think after the Platteville game we knew we had a shot," senior defensive end Justin Schneider said.

But it didn't look that way most of the game as Whitewater built a 20-7 lead and then went into an offensive shell. It didn't help that starting quarterback Randy Borgardt left in the second quarter with an ankle injury and didn't return and Stauss completed just nine of 21 passes for 146 yards and one interception.