Titans Outrun Eagles To Improve Record To 8-1
CJ Blackburn had a career-high 162 total yards and three touchdowns to help UW-Oshkosh to a 51-29 victory over UW-La Crosse on Saturday (Nov. 5) at J. J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium.
Blackburn had nine rushes for a career-best 92 yards and two touchdowns while adding a career-high seven catches for 70 yards and one score.
UW-Oshkosh (8-1, 5-1 WIAC), ranked fifth in the NCAA Division III by D3football.com, had a season-high 32 first downs and out-gained UW-La Crosse, 528-372, including 364-96 rushing. The Eagles entered the contest leading the WIAC with just 125 first downs allowed.
The Titans, who did not attempt a punt, tallied five touchdowns on the ground and added two more scores through the air.
UW-Oshkosh, which has won 32 of its last 36 WIAC contests, never trailed after scoring on their first four possessions for a 23-14 lead with just under 10 minutes remaining in the second quarter. The Titans then added 21 unanswered points to take a 51-22 advantage with 7:54 to play.
The teams combined to score touchdowns on each of the game's nine red zone chances, including five by UW-Oshkosh. The Titans, who logged 56 carries and attempted 26 passes, controlled the ball for 36:09 while the Eagles had 23:51 of possession time.
UW-Oshkosh extended its winning streak to six games over UW-La Crosse. However, the Eagles own a 49-15-6 record in a series that began in 1919. The Titans, who went winless (0-35-2 record) against the Eagles from 1973-2009, have outscored UW-La Crosse by a combined 160-80 in the past six meetings.
Mitch Gerhartz paced the UW-Oshkosh backfield with a career-high 100 yards and one touchdown on 10 carries while Dylan Hecker had a team-leading 16 rushes for 93 yards and his ninth touchdown of the year. Chad Walton contributed eight carries for 33 yards and one score.
UW-Oshkosh's Brett Kasper completed 19 of 26 passes for 164 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
Dom Todarello chipped in three receptions for 19 yards for the Titans, who also received two catches for 15 yards and one touchdown from Jacob Grant, and two grabs for 11 yards from Cody Moon. Grant's touchdown was the first of his career.
The UW-Oshkosh defense was led by the six tackles and two pass breakups from Cameron Brown. Reese Dziedzic and Steve Forner added five tackles apiece while Rajon Hall and Johnny Eagan recorded interceptions.
Following a punt by UW-La Crosse on the game's first possession, UW-Oshkosh marched 70 yards in seven plays to take a 6-0 lead on a 23-yard rushing touchdown by Gerhartz.
Eagan intercepted a pass by UW-La Crosse's Tarek Yaeggi on the ensuing drive, and the Titans cashed in the turnover eight plays later when Eli Wettstein, who missed an extra point on the first possession, bounced a 48-yard field goal over the crossbar for a 9-0 advantage with 4:47 left in the first quarter.
UW-La Crosse answered with a five-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that was aided by Yaeggi completions of 25 yards to Joel Oxton and 28 yards to Nick Holcomb. On first-and-goal from the Titan 2-yard line, Yaeggi fumbled, but Oxton scooped up the loose ball and reached the end zone to trim the Eagles' deficit to 9-7 with just under three minutes left in the opening quarter.
UW-Oshkosh capped a nine-play, 69-yard drive with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Kasper to Blackburn for a 16-7 advantage. Hall then intercepted a pass by UW-La Crosse's Ben Schramski at the Eagles' 29-yard line just two plays later, and Hecker plowed into the end zone from 2 yards to culminate a seven-play possession.
The Eagles trimmed their deficit to 23-14 at intermission when Yaeggi hit Holcomb in the corner of the end zone at the 5:41 mark of the second quarter. UW-Oshkosh entered the game outscoring opponents, 201-12, during the first half this season.
The Titans extended their lead to 30-14 on a 9-yard scoring pass from Kasper to Grant, but the Eagles responded with a 15-yard touchdown pass from Yaeggi to make the score 30-22 with 2:18 left in the third quarter. The UW-La Crosse drive spanned 13 plays and 85 yards while taking 5:51 off the clock.
UW-Oshkosh answered quickly as Blackburn took an option pitch from Kasper and raced 45 yards untouched down the sideline to cap a 95-second possession and give the Titans a 37-22 lead.
Walton concluded a seven-play drive with a 1-yard rushing score to increase the UW-Oshkosh lead to 44-22, and a 2-yard touchdown run by Blackburn midway through the fourth period upped the Titans' advantage to 51-22.
UW-La Crosse concluded the scoring with a 10-yard touchdown pass from Yaeggi to Ryan Kruser with 4:42 to play.
Yaeggi went 27-for-44 passing for 280 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. Schramski did not complete any of his three passes and tossed one interception.
Kruser led all players with 12 receptions for 95 yards and a score. Oxton and Samuel Zwieg added five receptions apiece for the Eagles. Oxton amassed 65 yards and one touchdown while Zwieg had 59 yards.
Ryan Weber headlined the UW-La Crosse defense with 17 tackles, including nine solo. Peter Krien had 11 tackles, including one sack, for the Eagles, who also received nine tackles each from Eric Bitney, Noah Risch and Matt Williquette. Risch recovered a fumble while Holcomb registered an interception on a long pass attempt by Kasper to end the first half.
UW-Oshkosh concludes its regular season schedule at UW-Eau Claire (2-7, 1-5 WIAC) next Saturday (Nov. 12). The Titans will enter the contest alone in second place in the league standings, one game behind second-ranked UW-Whitewater (9-0, 6-0), which remained unbeaten with a 27-20 overtime win over UW-River Falls (3-6, 2-4).