Titans Hold Off Charging Falcons
Wide receiver Jamie Braasch (Fr. • Oshkosh) did not catch a pass, but he took a teammate's fumble 45 yards for the go-ahead score in UW-Oshkosh's 31-29 win over the UW-River Falls football team on Saturday (Oct. 10) at J.J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium.
In a 7-7 game during the second quarter, Matt Haass (Jr. • Brownsville) fought for the first down on a 3rd-and-18 screen pass. At the end of the run, the ball came loose and Braasch picked it up at the UW-River Falls' 45-yard line. He sprinted to the end zone to go in front, 14-7, with 3:56 to play before halftime.
The Titans' defense intercepted three passes during the second half to seal the victory. UW-Oshkosh (3-2/1-1 WIAC) also rushed for 246 yards in the contest, including 137 on 19 carries by Jeremy Roach (Jr. • Deerfield). Nate Wara (Fr. • Oshkosh) had 67 yards passing, 64 yards rushing and two touchdowns.
Wara spun his way free for a 13-yard run to set up his scoring throw during the first quarter. Craig McClelland (Jr. • Union Grove) hauled in his third reception of the drive for the four-yard touchdown to tie the score at 7. UW-River Falls posted the game's first points on a Taylor Edwards nine-yard run the previous possession.
The Falcons (2-3/0-2 WIAC) got a 27-yard field goal by Chad Blair 42 seconds before intermission to cut their deficit to 14-10.
UW-Oshkosh's Nate Heard (Jr. • Milwaukee) picked off Ryan Luessenheide on the opening possession of the third period. Roach rushed for gains of 17 and 12 as the Titans capped the 50-yard drive with a four-yard scoring run from Wara.
Edwards, who registered UW-River Falls' first 13 carries, ran four times when the Falcons got the ball back. They answered with a Ryan Hansen 19-yard touchdown catch with 6:14 remaining in the third quarter. Hansen snatched the ball in the corner of the end zone and managed to stay inbounds. The two-point try failed to keep the Titans' lead at 21-16.
Runs of 36 and nine yards by Wara on the ensuing drive made sure UW-Oshkosh stayed in front. The longer of the two rushes converted a third down and put the Titans at the 12-yard line, where Charlie Weissman (So. • Colgate) carried twice to paydirt. His seven-yard touchdown made it a 28-16 contest with 4:11 left on the third-quarter clock.
James Taraboi (Sr. • Grafton), who topped all players with 14 tackles, intercepted a pass near midfield to set up another score. Roach scampered for gains of 23 and 11 before Andy Lindsay (So. • Howard) knocked through a 22-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter for a 15-point advantage.
UW-River Falls used back-to-back completions from Luessenheide to total 31 yards as it continued to scratch and claw. He then ran in from four yards out for a touchdown with 8:02 remaining. The extra point was no good to keep the tally at 31-22.
Eric Brewster got past the entire secondary for a 54-yard Falcons' gain after UW-Oshkosh punted the ball back. Michael Woodward caught a 15-yard score two plays later to trim the deficit to two points with 3:32 to play. The Titans were able to run for a pair of first downs to run the clock out and end the game.
UW-Oshkosh outgained UW-River Falls, 420-404. Garrie Fox (So. • Madison) topped the Titan receivers with five grabs for 25 yards, while the Falcons' Hansen hauled in seven passes for 77 yards. Edwards, who entered the game averaging 6.5 yards per rush, got 94 yards on 26 attempts (3.6 average). Completing 19-of-38 passes, Luessenheide recorded 250 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions.
The Falcon defense held UW-Oshkosh to just 4-of-12 conversions on third down. Ross Potter marked nine stops to lead the squad, which fell to the Titans for the fourth consecutive year. UW-River Falls was successful on seven of its 16 third-down tries and both of its fourth-down attempts.