Titans To Battle Eagles In La Crosse
The UW-Oshkosh football team looks to improve to 2-0 in the WIAC for the fifth straight year when it travels to UW-La Crosse on Saturday (Oct. 11) for the Eagles' homecoming game. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Roger Harring Stadium at Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex in La Crosse.
Five UW-Oshkosh (1-3, 1-0 WIAC) freshmen had career days as the Titans opened conference play with a 32-7 home win over UW-Stout last Saturday (Oct. 4). Brett Kasper, Dylan Hecker and Sam Mentkowski led the team in passing, rushing and receiving, respectively. Beau Ash blocked a punt that led to a score and later added his first career-rushing touchdown, while Tyler Parker had 67 yards on his first six collegiate carries. Freshmen directly contributed to all four UW-Oshkosh touchdowns and accounted for 161 of the team's 168 rushing yards.
UW-Oshkosh led UW-Stout, 22-0, late in the third quarter and outgained the Blue Devils, 410-248.
Kasper, who replaced injured starting quarterback Dylann Rauch late in the first quarter, led UW-Oshkosh on all six of its scoring drives and completed 18-of-24 passes for 192 yards and one touchdown.
The win snapped UW-Oshkosh's three-game losing streak, all against scholarship-granting teams. The Titans lost 27-19 to NAIA Robert Morris University (Ill.), 24-20 to NAIA Marian University (Ind.) and 41-3 to NCAA Division I (Football Championship Series) South Dakota State University.
The Titans have scored, and allowed, 21.2 points per game. UW-Oshkosh ranks fifth in the WIAC with 299.8 offensive yards per game and third with 352.2 yards allowed.
Rauch has completed 44-of-73 passes for 430 yards and two touchdowns, while Kasper has completed 24-of-30 passes for 271 yards and one score.
Hecker leads the Titan rushing attack with 120 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries. Joe Sommers leads the team with 13 catches and 257 yards receiving. Zach Kasuboski has 12 receptions for 148 yards and two of the team's three touchdown catches. Mentkowski has added 12 catches for 95 yards, including nine for 74 in the WIAC opener last week.
Branden Lloyd leads the UW-Oshkosh defense with 26 tackles. Reese Deziedzic and Beau Steffens have added 24 tackles apiece. Cody Huemmer has a team-leading two sacks. John Eagan owns two of the Titans' four interceptions.
UW-Oshkosh's Nate Ray leads the WIAC with nine field goals and an average of 41.4 yards per punt.
Like the Titans, UW-La Crosse (1-3, 0-1 WIAC) has played a difficult schedule. The Eagles won their season opener, 24-8, at the University of Dubuque (Iowa) before losing their last three games to highly ranked NCAA Division III opponents - 46-0 at 11th-ranked University of St. Thomas (Minn.), 44-21 to second-ranked University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (Texas) and 38-7 at top-ranked UW-Whitewater.
The Eagles trailed UW-Whitewater, 38-0, before getting a 6-yard touchdown pass from Trent Cummings to Tony Bilderback midway through the fourth quarter.
UW-La Crosse has averaged 13.3 points per game while allowing 33.3. The Eagles rank seventh in the WIAC with 248.5 yards per game and eighth with 483.8 yards allowed.
UW-La Crosse has started three different quarterbacks in four games, and four Eagles have played under center this season. Cummings started the opener and last week's game and has completed 25-of-48 passes for 283 yards and three touchdowns. Andrew Anderson started the third game, completing 1-of-4 passes for six yards. Colton Peterson started the second game and has completed 7-of-16 passes for 82 yards. John Tackett has not started, but has completed 16-of-28 passes for 234 yards and two touchdowns.
Ben Hertrampf paces the UW-La Crosse ground game with 234 yards on 52 attempts. Bilderback has 15 catches for 300 yards and four of the Eagles' five touchdown receptions.
Shane Rockweiler leads the UW-La Crosse defense with 36 tackles. Mitch Hawkins has 24 tackles, one interception and one fumble recovery, while Jacob DeSantis has a team-leading two sacks.
In a series that dates back to 1919, UW-La Crosse has compiled a 49-12-6 record against UW-Oshkosh. The Titans snapped a 24-game losing streak to UW-La Crosse in 2010 and have defeated the Eagles in four of the last five meetings. UW-Oshkosh won last year's meeting, 30-6, and has outscored UW-La Crosse, 87-20, over the past three contests.
UW-Oshkosh hosts UW-River Falls next Saturday (Oct. 18) at J. J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium in its homecoming game.