Titans Collar Nationally Ranked Pointers
The UW-Oshkosh football team took down 22nd-ranked UW-Stevens Point, 27-10, on Saturday (Oct. 27) at J.J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium.
Titans' running back Andy Moriarty racked up 288 yards on 50 carries to lead UW-Oshkosh to its second WIAC win of the year. The 288 yards rushing is the second-highest total in school history, trailing only Moriarty's 316-yard effort against UW-Eau Claire in 2005.
UW-Oshkosh (5-3/2-3 WIAC) snapped a two-game losing streak in holding UW-Stevens Point (6-2/3-2 WIAC) to its lowest point total of the year. The Titans and Pointers own the longest rivalry between two public schools in the NCAA Division III.
Moriarty surpassed the 1,000-yard plateau for the season and moved into sixth place in WIAC history in rushing. It was the senior tailback's fifth career game of 200 yards or more.
Following a turnover on downs by the Titans at midfield, UW-Stevens Point got on the board first. Ryan Graboski capped the eight-play, 29-yard drive with a 37-yard field goal to give the Pointers a 3-0 lead.
The Titans responded with an 80-yard drive on 16 plays after a missed UW-Stevens Point field goal. Moriarty had runs of 15 and 16 yards on the possession before finishing it off with a touchdown run from three yards out. The game went to halftime with UW-Oshkosh holding a 7-3 advantage.
Nate Heard intercepted a Jake Swank pass on the opening drive of the third quarter to set up the Titans' offense. The momentum appeared to stall for a moment before punter Lucas Raschke completed a fake punt pass to Jeremy Roach for 21 yards on fourth and five. Raschke then cashed in the conversion with a 41-yard field goal into a strong headwind to put UW-Oshkosh up 10-3.
UW-Stevens Point looked poised to tie the contest late in the third period as they had the ball on the Titans' 10-yard line. Linebacker Eric Stenbroten put an end to the threat with a sack and forced a fumble on the Pointers' quarterback. David Consiglio scooped up the ball and sprinted 78 yards to paydirt for the game-changing touchdown.
Josh Wara also put UW-Oshkosh in scoring position with an interception on the final play of the third quarter. The Titans methodically drove 55 yards in 10 plays to set up Raschke's second field goal, this time from 27 yards. Raschke scored nine points on the day to bump his career total to 241, which places him 10th in WIAC history.
The Pointers tried to get back into the game with a 60-yard drive that took just three plays in the middle of the fourth quarter. Jared Jenkins caught passes of 31 and 22 yards before Jack Marx found the end zone on a seven-yard touchdown run to cut the deficit to 20-10.
When UW-Stevens Point approached the red zone once again, the Titans' defense stiffened. Cameron Adams and Justin Viste combined for a sack on fourth down to dampen the Pointers' chances. UW-Oshkosh's defense came up big on its next possession as well with a sack on fourth down. This time it was Spencer Schulz taking down the quarterback and returning the ball to Moriarty and the Titans' offense.
Moriarty capped off his record-setting day with a seven-yard touchdown in the game's final minute. The Titans finished with 292 yards on the ground, easily out-gaining UW-Stevens Point's total of 92 yards.
Joe Patek completed five of his 18 attempts in the game for 26 yards, but the Titans' passing attack wasn't needed all day. Jeremy Roach caught two passes for 24 yards and Kyle Nakatsuji also pulled in two receptions for 14 yards.
UW-Stevens Point got 37 yards on 15 carries from quarterback Jake Swank to lead the team in rushing. Jack Marx chipped in with 10 attempts for 32 yards and Mike Ferron gained 25 yards in eight rushes.
Through the air, Swank connected on 13-of-26 passes for 128 yards. He was intercepted twice and did not throw a touchdown. Jared Jenkins led the Pointers in the receiving department with five grabs for 81 yards. Brad Kalsow also gained 32 yards on five receptions.
The Titans' defense came through with its finest performance of this year's conference play by holding UW-Stevens Point to just 10 points. The Pointers entered the contest with the WIAC's best scoring offense at 34.4 points per game.
Linebacker Dave Dejewski paced UW-Oshkosh with 10 tackles on the day. Cameron Adams posted seven stops, including half of a sack. David Consiglio had six tackles as did Eric Stenbroten, who also recorded one sack in the game.
The Pointers ended up with three players notching double-digit tackle totals on a day where a single Titans' tailback carried the ball 50 times. Dustin Robinson led the squad with 13 stops and a sack, Brett Hirsch posted 12 tackles, and Lincoln Berg rounded out the team with 10 takedowns.