Eagles Fly Away From Titans
UW-La Crosse scored 29 unanswered points over the last three quarters on its way to a 35-7 victory over UW-Oshkosh on Saturday (Oct. 25) at J.J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium.
The Eagles (2-5/2-2 WIAC) took control in the second half, holding the Titans to just three first downs and 36 yards of offense. Eric Donoval rushed 27 times for 155 yards and a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns to seal the game, while Nick Anker completed 12-of-26 passes for 219 yards and two scores through the air. Kyle Steffen caught five passes for 67 yards and a touchdown, to go along with three receptions for 84 yards and a score by Tyler Keeney.
Donoval ran for 11 yards on UW-La Crosse's opening play before the Titans' (3-3/1-3 WIAC) defense forced a 3rd-and-17 situation. Reid Oldenburg then took a screen pass and scampered for a gain of 45 yards to keep the drive going. Oldenburg ran in from three yards out to put UW-La Crosse up, 6-0, five minutes into the game.
UW-Oshkosh got the ball back on downs in the middle of the opening period. Dieter Juedes (Sr. • Sheboygan Falls) found Steve Levonowich (Jr. • Kenosha) on a 20-yard pass play to convert a third-and-long. Three plays later, Juedes rolled out and connected with Charlie Weissman (Fr. • Colgate), who took off and outran the secondary for a 61-yard touchdown. The Titans took a 7-6 lead on the extra point with 4:36 left in the first quarter.
The contest's next six drives resulted in punts before UW-La Crosse struck again. The Eagles' five-play, 63-yard drive began with a 32-yard pass from Anker to Steffen. Keeney tacked on a 16-yard catch before Steffen pulled in a 12-yard pass for the score. Chris Johnson converted the two-point try on a reception to make it 14-7 with 2:10 to go in the half.
In the third quarter, Derek Dreher halted a UW-Oshkosh drive with an interception near midfield. Anker led the Eagles down the field with a pair of 10-yard completions to Steffen and Travis Bordeau. UW-La Crosse increased its lead to 21-7 when Keeney reeled in a 29-yard touchdown with 6:07 remaining in the third period.
The Titans' defense managed to keep points off the board with a takeaway late in the quarter. Jon DeVillers (Sr. • Menomonee Falls) intercepted a deflected pass at the UW-Oshkosh six-yard line, but the Titans could not get anything going on offense. Donoval ran five times after getting the ball back, taking his final carry into the end zone for a seven-yard touchdown. With 11:44 to play, the Eagles held a 28-7 advantage.
Dustin Drath picked of a Juedes pass on the ensuing possession and ran it back into Titans' territory. Keeney ran by the defense once again, snatching a 39-yard pass inside the red zone. Donoval capped off the drive with a 14-yard touchdown run with 7:38 left on the clock.
UW-Oshkosh finished with 175 yards of offense, compared to the Eagles' total of 391. UW-La Crosse also converted 10-of-18 third downs, a much better mark than the Titans' 5-of-16 figure. Levonowich carried 13 times for 35 yards to lead the UW-Oshkosh ground game and also had 21 yards on three catches in the passing category. Juedes ended up with 107 yards and one touchdown on 9-of-27 throws with two interceptions.
James Taraboi (Jr. • Grafton) led all players with 10 tackles, including four for a loss and two sacks, in the contest. Kevin Bahl (Jr. • Muskego) contributed eight stops, while Dan Kleitsch topped the Eagles with seven. Aaron Johnson also recorded two quarterback sacks for UW-La Crosse.