Titans Denied Upset Of Nationally Ranked Warhawks
The UW-Oshkosh football team came up short in its bid to upset two-time defending WIAC champion and nationally-ranked UW-Whitewater on Saturday (Oct. 13) in Whitewater.
UW-Whitewater (5-1/4-0 WIAC) put together three scoring drives in the fourth quarter and took advantage of two UW-Oshkosh (4-2/1-2 WIAC) turnovers to pull out a 27-14 victory in its Homecoming Game.
Following punts on five of the game's first six possessions, UW-Whitewater marched 24 yards in five plays to the UW-Oshkosh 35-yard line. Jeff Schebler then converted a 52-yard field goal attempt to give the Warhawks a 3-0 first quarter lead. The drive was highlighted by a 23-yard run by tailback Justin Beaver.
The Titans responded by putting together a six-play, 30-yard drive to set up a 41-yard field goal attempt by Lucas Raschke. The attempt was blocked, however, and UW-Oshkosh failed to tie the game.
Late in the first half, UW-Whitewater broke through for another score. After the Warhawks pinned UW-Oshkosh at its own one-yard line with a punt, UW-Whitewater forced the Titans to punt from deep in their own territory. The Warhawks took the ball 59 yards in eight plays, including a 25-yard pass from Danny Jones to Neil Mrkvicka. Josh Mishleau capped off the drive with a one-yard touchdown run to give UW-Whitewater a 10-0 halftime advantage.
UW-Oshkosh started off the second half with a bang. Jeremy Roach took back the opening kickoff 86 yards for a touchdown and made it a 10-7 score. The Titans couldn't keep the momentum, however, as the Warhawks methodically built their lead back up to 19-7 with drives that resulted in field goals of 34, 23 and 46 yards.
After the fourth UW-Whitewater field goal, the Titans went back to work. Tight end Kyle Kubasa made a 36-yard reception that sparked a seven play, 65-yard scoring drive. Joe Patek found Steve Stoltz for an 11-yard touchdown to cut the Warhawk lead to 19-14.
Patek couldn't keep it up on the ensuing possession as he threw just his second interception in 196 passes. UW-Whitewater's Ben Farley picked off Patek and returned the football 25 yards to the UW-Oshkosh seven-yard line. The Warhawks capitalized on the turnover as Jones tossed a two-yard touchdown pass to John Novak for the contest's final margin.
UW-Oshkosh tallied 204 yards of offense, with 27 of those coming on the ground. Andy Moriarty led the Titans with 44 yards on 14 carries. Jeremy Roach gained eight yards on two attempts as UW-Oshkosh converted only one of 13 third down opportunities.
One of the bright spots for the Titans was Kubasa. Kubasa made three big grabs for a total of 74 yards. Moriarty also paced the team in receptions with six for 35 yards. Andy Heiman and Stoltz each pulled in five balls on the day.
Patek completed 20 of his 37 passes for 177 yards. He had one touchdown, but was also intercepted twice. The Warhawks' Jones was quietly efficient, throwing for 120 yards and one touchdown on 11 of 23 passing. Mrkvicka hauled in six receptions for 80 yards to lead UW-Whitewater.
Beaver eclipsed the 5,000-yard mark for his career and finished the day with 179 yards on 35 carries. Beaver's strong running helped the Warhawks win the time of possession battle, 37:54 minutes to 22:06.
The Titans had four players who recorded double-digit tackles. Josh Wara led the team with 11 tackles, while James Taraboi, Bryan Kent, and Dave Dejewski each racked up 10 stops. Kent also recovered a fumble while Cameron Adams and Luke Bingen recorded one quarterback sack apiece.
UW-Whitewater harassed Patek into five sacks, with two coming from Anthony White. A.J. Raedel, Ryan Orgizovich, and Josh Jackson each took down the quarterback once. Andy Murray topped the squad with six tackles and Jace Rindahl had an interception.
UW-Oshkosh will look to rebound when they take on UW-La Crosse next week.