Titans Cap Undefeated WIAC Season With Shutout

UW-Oshkosh secured its second outright WIAC football championship in four seasons with a 38-0 victory over UW-Eau Claire on Saturday (Nov. 14) at J. J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium.

The Titans (9-1, 7-0 WIAC) posted convincing advantages in total yards (452-181), first downs (27-11) and third-down conversions (7-1) to cap their ninth WIAC title overall. UW-Oshkosh previously won outright league championships in 2012 (7-0), 1972 (8-0), 1935 (4-0) and 1923 (5-0).

UW-Oshkosh, ranked third in the nation by D3football.com, will make its second NCAA postseason appearance on Nov. 21. The Titans' Division III Championship opponent, location and start time will be revealed during an online selection show at 5 p.m. on Sunday (Nov. 15) at ncaa.com.

The Titans earned their third shutout of the season by limiting the Blugolds to three completions and 22 yards on 17 pass attempts. UW-Oshkosh's offense averaged 6.2 yards per play, including 299 rushing yards on 49 carries.

UW-Oshkosh quarterback Brett Kasper completed 13 of 21 passes for 148 yards with three touchdowns in less than three quarters of action.

Devon Linzenmeyer had 13 rushes for 119 yards and two touchdowns for the Titans, while Beau Ash and Chad Walton both added 10 carries for 58 and 52 yards, respectively. It was Linzenmeyer's third straight game with 100 or more rushing yards and fourth of the season.

Zach Kasuboski caught two touchdown passes from Kasper to extend his streak to five straight games with at least one score. Kasuboski finished the game with six catches for 82 yards, while Craig Schommer added three grabs for 32 yards, and Sam Mentkowski two receptions for 17 yards and one touchdown.

Neither team scored during the first quarter as UW-Oshkosh missed a 24-yard field goal on the game's opening possession. UW-Eau Claire's 13-play first drive resulted in a fumble that was recovered by the Titans' Cameron Brown at the UW-Oshkosh 8-yard line.

The Titans proceeded to score touchdowns on five straight possessions, beginning with a 1-yard plunge by Linzenmeyer with 6:15 left in the second period.

Kasper then hit Mentkowski in the corner of the end zone from 12 yards, and Greg Rand's second extra point gave UW-Oshkosh a 14-0 halftime lead.

The Titans continued their scoring in the third quarter when Linzenmeyer plowed in from 2 yards. UW-Oshkosh's scoring binge ended with touchdown passes of 10 and 26 yards from Kasper to Kasuboski.

Rand converted a 22-yard field goal with 7:03 remaining to close UW-Oshkosh's scoring.

After UW-Eau Claire's first drive of 72 yards that chewed more than seven minutes off the clock, the Blugolds gained just six more first downs during the rest of the game and never advanced past the UW-Oshkosh 46-yard line.

UW-Eau Claire (0-10, 0-7 WIAC), which suffered its first winless season since 1944, punted eight times and committed both of the game's two turnovers.

Dallis Ramos-Deleon paced UW-Oshkosh with five tackles. Kevin MacCudden had four tackles and a game-high two pass breakups for the Titans, who also received three tackles each from Brown, Johnny Eagan, AJ Plewa, and Matt Rucynski.

Titan Brandon Lloyd had two tackles for loss and registered the game's only interception during the third quarter.

UW-Eau Claire backup quarterback Joel Newman completed 2 of 9 passes for 17 yards, while starter JT Denhartog connected on 1 of 8 passes for five yards with one interception. Denhartog added 44 rushing yards on 14 carries.

Gerald Childs paced the Blugolds' ground game with 17 rushes for 77 yards.

Three different receivers caught passes for UW-Eau Claire, including Lucas Emmerich who tallied a team-high 12 yards.

UW-Eau Claire's Dillon Kempen led all players with 13 tackles, followed by Blugolds Jayden Dobbs with 12 and Myron Riley with nine.

UW-Oshkosh won its fifth consecutive game over UW-Eau Claire. The Blugolds own a 41-26 record in a series that dates back to 1937.