Blue Devils Top Titans In Season Finale

Patrick Mengelkoch hauled in all three UW-Stout touchdowns as the Blue Devils ran for 213 yards in their 27-24 victory over the UW-Oshkosh football team on Saturday (Nov. 14) at J.J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium.

UW-Stout (8-2/5-2 WIAC) got five receptions and 69 yards from Mengelkoch, who caught a touchdown pass in each of the first, second and fourth quarters. Craig Warminski paced the ground game with 25 carries for 121 yards as he eclipsed 1,000 yards on the season. Quarterback Kyle Provos threw for 131 yards and ran for 41 more.

Each team turned the ball over on downs on its opening possession of the contest. On their second drive, the Blue Devils marched 86 yards in 10 plays, including a pair of 18-yard runs from Warminski. Mengelkoch then posted a touchdown reception from 12 yards out late in the first quarter for a 7-0 lead.

Jeremy Roach (Jr. • Deerfield) broke off a 14-yard run as the Titans (4-6/2-5 WIAC) answered with a scoring drive of their own. UW-Oshkosh appeared to find the end zone on a completed flea-flicker, but a penalty wiped out the play. Andy Lindsay (So. • Howard) came in and drilled a career-long 37-yard field goal to make it 7-3 with 13:49 to play in the first half.

Warminski got right back to work by returning the ensuing kickoff to the Blue Devils' 45-yard line. A 33-yard run by Carlos Concepcion set up Kyle Martin, who converted a 25-yard field goal for a 10-3 lead.

UW-Stout put together a 70-yard drive to score once again before halftime. Provos ran for 19 yards to convert one third down, which he followed up with a 10-yard completion to Adam Winberg on 3rd-and-5. With 6:21 remaining in the second quarter, Mengelkoch got free over the middle for an 18-yard touchdown to give the Blue Devils a 17-3 advantage.

Charlie Weissman (So. • Colgate) jump-started the Titans' running game out of the locker room. He ripped off gains of 13 and 22 yards before picking up four on fourth-and-one. Two plays later, Nate Wara (Fr. • Oshkosh) found Craig McClelland (Jr. • Union Grove) in the end zone for a 10-yard score.

The teams exchanged punts on the next two possessions, but the Blue Devils got the upper hand with a 35-yard return by Warminski. He added an 11-yard run on the drive, which also included a 27-yard grab from Mengelkoch. Martin knocked through a 22-yard attempt midway through the third period to go up, 20-10.

Needing a score, the Titans moved down the field with the short passing attack. The strategy failed when Weissman threw an interception in the end zone on an option play. UW-Oshkosh's defense made up for it on the next snap when Andy Kremel (Jr. • Waukesha) recovered a UW-Stout fumble. For just the second time this season, Weissman ran into the end zone from 14 yards out to cut the Titans' deficit to 20-17. Tyler Wegner (So. • Oshkosh) entered the game for an injured Wara and made a crucial block on Weissman's touchdown.

A Wegner interception set up the Blue Devils just 22 yards from pay dirt. On 3rd-and-8, Provos again hit Mengelkoch for a 10-yard touchdown. The scoreboard showed a 27-17 tally with 10:44 to play.

The UW-Oshkosh offense stepped up, reeling off an 88-yard drive to remain in the contest. Justin Budiac (So. • Mukwonago), who marked the third-most receptions in school history with 12, caught passes for gains of 10 and eight yards. After a roughing-the-passer penalty gave the Titans a fresh set of downs, Roach spun in for a 21-yard touchdown with 6:50 on the clock.

Nate Heard (Jr. • Milwaukee) made a crucial pass deflection to end the Blue Devils' next drive on fourth down. A Budiac catch kept UW-Oshkosh on the field during a fourth down, but once the Titans reached the 50-yard line, Wara was intercepted by Kendall Wade to seal the outcome.

The Titans racked up 209 rushing yards, including 94 on 17 attempts by Weissman and 54 on seven carries by Roach. Wara ran for 45 yards in addition to his 22-of-31 accuracy for 144 yards through the air. Garrie Fox (So. • Madison) totaled 51 yards on six catches for UW-Oshkosh, which finished with 406 yards on offense.

UW-Stout amassed 344 total yards as it converted 6-of-13 third downs to the Titans' 8-of-17. The Blue Devils got 12 tackles from Ryan Pearcy and two sacks from Marcus Ball, while James Taraboi (Sr. • Grafton) topped UW-Oshkosh with 15 stops. Taraboi concludes the season with 145 tackles for the second-highest total in school history.