17th-Ranked Eagles Grind Out Victory Over Titans
UW-La Crosse's trio of Reid Oldenburg, Lee Lauters and Nick Anker rushed for 264 yards to earn a 32-25 victory over the UW-Oshkosh football team on Saturday (Oct. 3) in La Crosse. The game was the WIAC opener for both squads.
Oldenburg led the runners with 101 yards on 15 carries, all coming in the first half. The third and fourth periods belonged to Lauters, who finished with 19 rushes for 97 yards. Anker carried 18 times for 66 yards in addition to a career-high 273 yards through the air on 21-of-37 attempts.
A pair of long pass plays from Nate Wara (Fr. • Oshkosh) pulled the Titans (2-2/0-1 WIAC) within striking distance late in the contest. He hooked up with Paul Coburn (Jr. • Sussex) for 29 yards to reach UW-La Crosse territory. Ben Rosandick (Sr. • Pittsville) then pulled in a 28-yard touchdown two plays later to cut the deficit to just three points. After the Titans' extra-point try was blocked, the final period began with a 25-22 Eagles' lead.
Travis Bordeau, who topped all receivers with seven catches for 94 yards, hauled in a 15-yard pass as the Eagles (4-0/1-0 WIAC) extended their lead. Lauters ran into the end zone from eight yards out with 11:52 remaining to make it 32-22. The Titans got an Andy Lindsay (So. • Howard) 35-yard field goal with 1:49 left, but their onside kick was recovered by UW-La Crosse to seal the game.
UW-Oshkosh hung in the contest thanks to four takeaways. The running game, however, never got rolling. The Titans entered the bout averaging 5.2 yards per carry, but were only able to muster 2.4 yards against the Eagles. UW-La Crosse's defense contributed to its win with four sacks for a total loss of 46 yards.
Each team went three-and-out on its opening possession before the Titans came through on offense. Jeremy Roach's (Jr. • Deerfield) 24-yard run on 3rd-and-7 kept a drive going, as did a 17-yard pickup on a third-down reception from Matt Haass (Jr. • Brownsville). Lindsay cashed in the 67-yard drive with a 25-yard field goal for a 3-0 advantage.
The Eagles, who entered the game ranked 17th in the NCAA Division III by D3football.com, came right back with an Oldenburg 17-yard run. UW-La Crosse gained seven yards on each of its next three plays before a 24-yard catch by Bordeau to set up its kicker. Dylan Rude knocked through a 23-yard try to tie the game at 3 with 4:15 to play in the opening quarter.
A good punt from UW-Oshkosh pinned the Eagles at their own eight-yard line, but they responded with a seven-play scoring drive. Anker connected with Oldenburg for 15 yards before hitting Alex Maxinoski on a 61-yard score. The completion made it a 9-3 tally with 11:55 left in the second quarter.
Jake Schnetzer (Sr. • Menasha) posted the Titans' second interception when he picked off Anker at the goal line. UW-Oshkosh had to punt once again, where Oldenburg carried on four of the next six plays. He gained 40 yards, including a 20-yard run into the end zone. UW-La Crosse failed on the extra-point attempt to keep it 15-3 with 5:08 remaining in the half.
The second-half kickoff went to the Eagles, who outgained UW-Oshkosh, 307-42, in the first two quarters. Anker sprinted free for a 19-yard run during the possession, which ended with a 24-yard field goal by Rude.
UW-Oshkosh continued the wild third frame that featured 29 total points. Roach had a 24-yard reception on the Titans' first play and then finished the drive with a 27-yard touchdown run. That made it an 18-10 score with 9:40 left in the quarter.
Another Schnetzer interception set up the Titans, who got a 20-yard run from Justin Budiac (So. • Mukwonago). They had to punt, but got the ball back on a fumble at the Eagles' seven-yard line. From there, Tyler Wegner (So. • Oshkosh) found Garrie Fox (So. • Madison) for a two-yard touchdown. The two-point try to equal the score failed.
Lauters carried the load for UW-La Crosse on its next possession. His six rushes for 39 yards got the Eagles into position, where Bordeau hauled in a six-yard touchdown reception. The 10-play, 73-yard drive resulted in a 25-16 lead with 1:59 to play in the third quarter.
Wara connected on 14 of his 27 passes for 150 yards, with Budiac leading UW-Oshkosh receivers on four catches for 31 yards. Roach took his 11 carries for 85 yards and one touchdown, while Charlie Weissman (So • Colgate) added 26 yards on seven attempts.
UW-La Crosse posted a 537-261 edge in offensive yards, as well as a 31-14 advantage in first downs. The Eagles converted 8-of-15 third downs, while the Titans were successful on 7-of-18.
James Taraboi (Sr. • Grafton) compiled 13 tackles to pace UW-Oshkosh, with Andy Kremel (Jr. • Waukesha) tacking on 10 stops. Aaron Johnson recorded seven takedowns in leading the Eagles' defense.