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Football

Titans Finish Season With 7-3 Record

Box Score

The UW-Oshkosh football team capped the second-best four-year run in school history by defeating UW-River Falls, 23-20, on Saturday (Nov. 10).

The Titans close the season by accumulating a total of 24 wins from 2004-2007. It is UW-Oshkosh's second seven-win season in the last three years. They finished alone in third place in the WIAC, the Titans' highest standing since 1976.

The Titans (7-3/4-3 WIAC) pulled out the hard-fought victory thanks to seniors Joe Patek (Sr. • Cedarburg) and Andy Moriarty (Sr. • Mequon). Following a Josh Wara interception on the Falcons' opening drive, Patek connected with Matt Meronk for a 41-yard touchdown pass. UW-Oshkosh received two huge third-down conversions from Steve Stoltz on the 11-play, 80-yard drive.

UW-River Falls answered in the second quarter with a 14-play drive of its own that covered 66 yards. Michael Zweifel's 13-yard catch put the Falcons in position, and tailback Nathan Anderson converted a fourth and two to extend the possession. Anderson then ran in from one yard out to even the score at seven.

On the ensuing kickoff, the Titans' Jeremy Roach set up the offense in great field position at their own 45-yard line. Patek hit Steve Stoltz deep for a 52-yard completion that moved UW-Oshkosh to the Falcons' three-yard line. Andy Moriarty ran the ball in on the following play for a tie-breaking touchdown.

The Falcons trailed 14-7 at the half despite possessing the ball for 18:10 of the game's opening 30 minutes. The second half's first five possessions resulted in punts before UW-River Falls was stopped short with a run on fourth and ten deep in Titan territory. Picking up where he left off, Moriarty broke through the middle of the line and sprinted 68 yards down the sideline for a game-changing score. On the carry, Moriarty moved into second place all-time in WIAC rushing yards.

Patek opened the fourth quarter with a bang by again finding Matt Meronk, this time for a gain of 52 yards. Kyle Kubasa reeled in a 15-yard catch right after to put UW-Oshkosh in the red zone. From there, Lucas Raschke split the uprights on a 25-yard field goal that stretched the Titans' lead to 23-7.

Following a missed 42-yard attempt by Raschke, the Falcons' Nathan Anderson cleared the defense and appeared to be headed for a long touchdown run. Linebacker James Taraboi caught him from behind and held the play to a gain of 47 yards. Michael Zweifel picked up 14 yards on a crucial fourth and 14 and then capped the drive by snatching a five-yard pass from Storm Harmon for a touchdown. The Falcons' two-point conversion try failed when Anderson was stuffed inches from the goal line.

Zweifel struck again after UW-Oshkosh's Moriarty fumbled the ball near midfield. The Falcons' star wideout caught a 22-yard pass before closing out the possession with a four-yard touchdown reception on a fade pattern.

Moriarty made up for his turnover with a 20-yard scamper on the Titans' game-clinching drive as UW-Oshkosh ran out the clock. He finished with 214 yards and two scores on 39 carries, marking the third consecutive game he has surpassed the 200-yard plateau. Moriarty's spectacular career ends with 4,496 yards rushing and 42 touchdowns. His 262 career points is a school-record and the eighth-best total in WIAC history.

Placekicker Lucas Raschke ended his illustrious college tenure with the next-best scoring mark at UW-Oshkosh with a total of 251 points. This places him 10th all-time in the history of the conference. He finishes with 47 field goals made, which is the third-highest mark in NCAA Division III history.

Moving into fifth place on the school's all-time passing list was quarterback Joe Patek. Patek closes with 4,855 career passing yards. In the game, he completed 15 of his 21 attempts for 249 yards and one touchdown without an interception.

Matt Meronk used his two big grabs to lead the Titans with 93 receiving yards. Tight end Kyle Kubasa pulled in four passes for 41 yards and Andy Heiman totaled 30 yards on four catches. Steve Stoltz also reeled in three passes for 65 yards.

UW-River Falls' tailback Nathan Anderson posted an impressive 208 yards on 34 carries in the defeat. The Falcons' top receiver was Michael Zweifel, who pulled in 12 passes for a total of 111 yards and two touchdowns. Storm Harmon was intercepted twice on his way to 10 of 21 passing for 208 yards and two touchdowns.

The Titans' Josh Wara added a team-high 13 tackles to his key interception. Dave Dejewski also contributed to the effort with 10 stops in the game. UW-River Falls was led on defense by Bruce Baillargeon, who recorded 12 tackles and one sack. Sean Wolf rounded out the Falcons' squad with 8 stops.