Big First Half Leads To Titans' Rout Of Blue Devils
Devon Linzenmeyer had a career-high 204 total yards and four touchdowns in one half of action to lead defending WIAC football champion UW-Oshkosh to a 45-17 victory over UW-Stout in the league opener on Saturday (Oct. 1) at J. J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium.
Linzenmeyer recorded five carries for 150 yards and three touchdowns, and two receptions for 54 yards and one score as the Titans built a 45-3 lead at halftime. UW-Oshkosh has outscored its opponents, 165-3, during the first half this season.
UW-Oshkosh (4-0, 1-0 WIAC), ranked fifth in the NCAA Division III by D3football.com, scored on seven of its first eight possessions en route to its seventh consecutive win over UW-Stout (2-2, 0-1 WIAC). None of the Titans' seven scoring drives lasted longer than three minutes, 11 seconds.
UW-Oshkosh, which last season secured its second unbeaten league championship in four years, has won 28 of its last 31 WIAC contests.
The Titans racked up 574 yards of offense against UW-Stout, including 329 rushing on 40 attempts for an 8.2-yard average. UW-Oshkosh limited the Blue Devils to 306 yards on the day and intercepted three passes.
UW-Oshkosh quarterback Brett Kasper completed 10 of 17 passes for 224 yards with one touchdown and one interception in two quarters of playing time.
Nine Titans received carries, including 11 rushes for 90 yards and one touchdown by Dylan Hecker, four totes for 32 yards by Dom Todarello and one attempt for a 21-yard score by Sam Mentkowski.
Todarello added four catches for 83 yards while Mentkowski hauled in three passes for 78 yards.
After forcing a punt on the game's opening possession, Mentkowski capped a five-play, 103-second drive with his first rushing touchdown and 12th overall career score.
Linzenmeyer's career day started with an 11-yard rushing score that punctuated a six-play, 97-second drive that gave UW-Oshkosh a 14-0 lead with 7:32 left in the first quarter.
A 26-yard field goal by Eli Wettstein on the Titans' third possession extended the UW-Oshkosh advantage to 17-0 after one quarter. Wettstein also converted all six of his extra point attempts to conclude the game with nine points.
UW-Stout's Drew Pearson drilled a 51-yard field goal early in the second period, but the Titans pulled away with four more touchdowns before intermission.
Linzenmeyer reached the end zone on runs of 79 and 28 yards before his 23-yard touchdown catch from Kasper with 28 seconds to go in the first half provided the Titans a 45-3 advantage. Linzenmeyer, who notched his first career touchdown catch, has six rushing scores this season and 15 in his career.
Hecker added a 4-yard rushing score, his fourth of the year and 33rd total touchdown of his career, for a 38-3 lead with just under three minutes to play in the second quarter.
UW-Stout punted six times and gained just 118 yards during the first half.
The Blue Devils scored a pair of touchdowns in the second half to provide the final score. A 3-yard scoring run by Travis Urlaub cut the UW-Stout deficit to 45-10 with just over two minutes to go in the third quarter, and a 22-yard scoring pass from Danny Farley to Chris Pica-Anderson capped the scoring with 11:26 remaining.
Steve Forner, Branden Lloyd and Jamier Szymanski led the UW-Oshkosh defense with six tackles apiece while Reese Dziedzic, Derrick Jennings Jr. and Dallis Ramos-Deleon each chipped in five stops.
AJ Plewa, Brad Walovitch and Cole Yoder all registered interceptions for the Titans.
UW-Stout starting quarterback Jay Alston completed 5 of 12 passes for just 55 yards with three interceptions. Farley went 6-for-14 passing for 79 yards with one touchdown in a reserve role.
Farley also paced the Blue Devils' ground attack with 14 carries for 57 yards. Urlaub ended the contest with 15 rushes for 51 yards and one score.
UW-Stout's Jordan Dabney led all players with six catches for 68 yards while Pica-Anderson had three receptions for 67 yards and one touchdown.
Blake Strehlow spearheaded the UW-Stout defense with 12 tackles, including five solo and 1.5 for loss, while Tony Blair and Josh Robinson added seven tackles apiece and Joe Hakeem recorded an interception.
The Titans have outscored the Blue Devils, 292-95, during their current seven-game winning streak in the series. UW-Oshkosh owns a 37-23-1 all-time record against UW-Stout.
UW-Oshkosh travels to second-ranked UW-Whitewater next Saturday (Oct. 8).