Titans Total 517 Yards In Season-Opening Win Over Red Hawks

Jeremy Roach (Jr. • Deerfield) scored three touchdowns and Jamie Braasch (Fr. • Oshkosh) two as the UW-Oshkosh football team piled up 517 yards of offense in a 40-16 season-opening victory over Ripon College on Saturday (Sept. 5) in Ripon.

The Titans (1-0) totaled 294 yards on the ground and 223 through the air in defeating the Red Hawks (0-1) for the 10th consecutive game. UW-Oshkosh scored six touchdowns in the contest, including four on its first five possessions of the second half, to win its season opener for the 27th time in 29 years.

Charlie Weissman (So. • Colgate) led UW-Oshkosh's ground attack with 92 yards on seven carries. Roach added 49 yards on nine carries and Nate Wara (Fr. • Oshkosh) 43 on seven.

Wara, who was making his first collegiate start at quarterback, completed 14-of-21 passes for 182 yards and one touchdown. Tyler Wegner (So. • Oshkosh) also played quarterback for the Titans. He completed 9-of-16 passes for 41 yards and two touchdowns while rushing six times for 26 yards.

UW-Oshkosh got a defensive three-and-out on the game's opening possession to set up its first points of the season. The Titans drove 82 yards in seven plays to take a 7-0 lead just 3:24 into the contest. The scoring drive, which was capped by a five-yard touchdown run by Roach, featured Garrie Fox (So. • Madison) catching three passes for 36 yards.

Three runs of at least 11 yards got UW-Oshkosh moving again on its next possession. The Titans were unable to increase their lead, however, as a 36-yard field goal attempt by James Taraboi (Sr. • Grafton) sailed to the right.

Ripon College cut its deficit to 7-6 on Matthew Miller's five-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Fink at the 7:22 mark of the second quarter. Fink set up the 25-yard scoring drive with a 31-yard punt return. The extra point was missed, allowing the Titans to retain a one-point lead.

UW-Oshkosh received a gift late in the second quarter when Kyle Lutz (Sr. • Menomonee Falls) recovered a Ripon College fumble deep in Red Hawk territory. Two plays later, Wara threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to Roach to give the Titans a 13-6 lead at the 1:39 mark of the period.

After Taraboi's extra point was blocked, Ripon College drove 54 yards in eight plays to cut its deficit to 13-9. Jacob Gehart booted a 25-yard field goal with 21 seconds left in the second quarter to cap a scoring drive that featured a 26-yard run by T.J. Pierce and a 28-yard pass from Miller to Fink.

UW-Oshkosh stormed out of the halftime break with touchdowns on its first two possessions of the third quarter. The Titans took advantage of a short kickoff and drove 35 yards to take a 20-9 lead. Wara rushed the final seven yards for a touchdown at the 11:57 mark of the period. Wara followed his score with a 16-yard pass to Roach and 15-yard run on the Titans' next drive. UW-Oshkosh extended its lead to 26-9 on a one-yard touchdown run by Roach with 7:36 left in the frame.

UW-Oshkosh's third scoring drive of the third quarter began with a 60-yard run by Weissman. Four plays later, Wegner lofted a one-yard touchdown pass to Braasch to give the Titans a 33-9 lead with 2:09 left in the period.

UW-Oshkosh closed its scoring with a 16-play, 81-yard drive in the fourth quarter. The possession included a 16-yard run from Fox, as well as a 12-yard pass reception by Braasch. The Titans reached the end zone on Wegner's two-yard touchdown pass to Braasch with 8:53 to play.

Ripon College scored the game's final points on Miller's 17-yard touchdown pass to Craig Bednarek with 2:34 remaining. The 11-play, 67-yard scoring drive featured eight runs by Pierce, who finished the contest with 145 yards rushing in 25 attempts.

UW-Oshkosh had nine players catch passes, including Fox who caught seven for 93 yards. Braasch hauled in four passes for 17 yards and Craig McClelland (Jr. • Union Grove) three for 39.

Ripon College totaled 293 yards of offense. Miller completed 6-of-15 passes for 115 yards and two touchdowns, while Bednarek and Fink both caught two passes.

UW-Oshkosh was led defensively by the 14 tackles of Justin Metzger (Sr. • Howard), nine of Taraboi and the seven of Nate Gross (So. • Hartland). Vince Sciano (So. • Franklin) had two tackles for a loss, including a quarterback sack. Ripon College, which suffered its first loss in nine home games, was paced by the 12 tackles of Joe Faulds and the 10 of Ryan Andersen.

Ripon College, which recorded its highest point total against UW-Oshkosh since 1921, trails the all-time series with the Titans by a 18-12-6 tally.