Moriarty Rushes Titans Past Blugolds

Andy Moriarty scored three touchdowns and became UW-Oshkosh's all-time leading rusher as the Titans rallied to defeat UW-Eau Claire, 25-21, in a WIAC football contest held Saturday (Nov. 4) in Eau Claire.

Moriarty carried the football 36 times for 200 yards, with his last attempt going four yards and a touchdown to give the Titans a 24-21 lead with 3:42 to play. Moriarty also scored on three-yard touchdown runs at the 7:13 mark of the first quarter and 9:54 of the fourth.

Moriarty became UWO's all-time leading rusher with his day on the ground. He now has 2,755 yards with one game to go. He passed the old mark set by Ron Cardo, who rushed for 2,706 yards during his time with the Titans from 1965, 1968-70.

Following the Moriarty touchdown that put the Titans in the lead, UW-Eau Claire made a tough comeback on the ensuing series. During the drive that lasted 14 plays and 3:09, the Blugolds drove all the way from their own 31-yard line to the UW-Oshkosh five-yard line. The drive ended with Bryan Kent intercepting an UW-Eau Claire pass in the end zone to seal up the Titans' fifth win of the season.

The Titan defense had a bend-but-don't-break kind of day against the Blugold offense. On the ground, UW-Oshkosh surrendered just 88 yards. However, UW-Eau Claire's quarterback Kyle Paulson completed 26-of-46 passes for 291 yards. During his day he connected with eight different receivers. His only touchdown pass was a 38-yard completion to Matthew Evensen in the fourth quarter.

Lucas Raschke moved further up the list to be UW-Oshkosh's best kicker with his 29-yard field goal. Raschke also fell victim to UW-Eau Claire's special teams defense in the second quarter. The Blugolds blocked a Raschke punt - the fourth punt UW-Eau Claire has blocked this season.