Titans Reel In Muskies After Four Overtimes

Mike Kinateder's (So. • Waukesha) 20-yard field goal from the right hash mark in the fourth overtime period gave the UW-Oshkosh football team a 26-23 victory over Lakeland College on Saturday (Sept. 20) at Titan Stadium. The overtime contest was the second in UW-Oshkosh history, with the other being a 20-14 loss to UW-Stevens Point at Titan Stadium in 1981.

Lakeland College (2-1) sent the game to overtime tied at 14 on quarterback Brent Luebke's 15-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Shaun Behrend and placekicker Gerald Starner's extra point kick with 2:56 left in the fourth period. The Muskies had trailed the Titans (3-0) by scores of 7-0 after the first and second quarters and 14-7 after the third.

UW-Oshkosh and Lakeland College both misfired on a couple of scoring opportunities in regulation play. UW-Oshkosh missed out on three scores as Kinateder had a 40-yard field goal attempt hit the left upright in the first quarter and a 22-yard field goal try miss left in the second. The Titans also had a second period fumble by quarterback Nick Wara (Jr. • Oshkosh) roll out of the Lakeland College end zone. Lakeland College, a second-time opponent of UW-Oshkosh, missed out on two scoring chances as Starner had a 21-yard field goal attempt blocked in the second quarter and a 33-yard field goal try miss left in the fourth.

In the first overtime period, neither team scored as Lakeland College ran out of downs before UW-Oshkosh's Kinateder had a 34-yard field goal miss left. The two teams reversed the order of possession in the second overtime period and remained tied after Kinateder made a 37-yard field goal before Lakeland College's Starner connected on a 29-yard field goal.

The third overtime period resulted in touchdowns for both teams as Lakeland College scored on a 10-yard pass from Luebke to Behrend and UW-Oshkosh on a 22-yard pass from Wara to fullback Aaron Chaltry (Jr. • Peshtigo). Both teams came up empty on the mandated two-point try on the extra point as Luebke and Wara threw incomplete passes.

In the fourth overtime period, UW-Oshkosh gained first possession and moved the football 23 yards in five plays before Kinateder made his 20-yard field goal. Down 26-23, Lakeland College then took control of the football and ran out of plays as Luebke threw incomplete passes on third and fourth downs. A big defensive play was made by the Titans on second down as tackle Dustin Drexel (Jr. • Campbellsport) sacked Luebke for a two-yard loss.

UW-Oshkosh took a 7-0 lead on Wara's 21-yard touchdown run and Kinateder's extra point kick at the 4:29 mark of the first period. Both teams scored touchdowns via the air in the third quarter as Lakeland College's Behrend caught a 24-yard pass from Luebke at the 10:55 mark and UW-Oshkosh tight end Chad Lindsley (Sr. • Oconomowoc) a 10-yard pass from Wara at the 6:37 mark. Extra point kicks were added by Starner of the Muskies and Kinateder of the Titans.

UW-Oshkosh totaled 396 yards of offense in the game, including 202 in the air as Wara completed 15 of 25 passes. Lindsley caught five of Wara's aerials for 83 yards, while Chad LaLuzerne (Fr. • Algoma) grabbed three for 40 yards and Kinateder three for 35. On the ground, halfback Andrew Stern (So. • Wisconsin Rapids) accounted for 83 yards and Wara 48 of the Titans' total of 194.

Lakeland College rolled up 344 yards of offense, with 301 coming on Luebke's 30 pass completions in 53 attempts. Behrend caught 12 of Luebke's passes for 153 yards, while wide receiver Jeff Taff snatched 10 for 78. The Muskies were held to just 43 yards rushing in 43 attempts, with the longest gain being an 18-yard scramble by Luebke.

Defensively, UW-Oshkosh was led by cornerback Noah Paquin (Sr. • Oak Creek), linebacker Craig Korth and strong safety Ryan Slowik (So. • Green Bay) who registered 11 tackles each and defensive end Jason Boehlke (Jr. • Germantown) who blocked a field goal, forced a fumble and recorded three quarterback sacks among his eight tackles. Paqin's tackle count included a game-high nine solo.

Linebackers Mike Gregory and Roosevelt Moore led Lakeland College with 12 and 11 tackles, respectively.