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Reese Dziedzic had seven tackles against the Blugolds, including 2.5 for a loss.
Reese Dziedzic had seven tackles against the Blugolds, including 2.5 for a loss.

Titans Rout Blugolds In Regular-Season Finale

Box Score Preview

Dylan Hecker ran for a season-high 133 yards and three touchdowns, and Brett Kasper passed for 237 yards and two scores, as the nationally ranked UW-Oshkosh football team concluded the regular season with a 48-13 victory at UW-Eau Claire on Saturday (Nov. 12).

UW-Oshkosh (9-1, 6-1 WIAC), ranked fifth in the NCAA Division III by D3football.com, finishes second in the league standings, one game behind second-ranked UW-Whitewater (10-0, 7-0).

UW-Whitewater secured the WIAC's automatic bid into the NCAA tournament that begins next week while UW-Oshkosh will hear whether it earns one of seven at-large berths into the 32-team field during an online selection show at 5 p.m. Sunday (Nov. 13).

In the regular season finale against UW-Eau Claire, the Titans turned five Blugold turnovers into 34 points as UW-Oshkosh tallied three scores on the ground, two through the air and two more on fumble returns.

The Titans held leads of 20-0 after the first quarter and 48-6 early in the final period. UW-Oshkosh has outscored its opponents, 251-32, during the first half this season.

UW-Oshkosh, which extended its winning streak to six games over UW-Eau Claire, had a 411-244 advantage in total yards, including 237-110 passing. The Titans have outscored the Blugolds, 253-69, during the last six meetings.

Hecker, who averages a WIAC-leading seven yards per carry, matched his career high with three rushing touchdowns. He concluded the contest with 12 carries, including a career-best 83-yard run for his 12th rushing score of the year and 40th of his career.

Kasper completed 20 of 28 passes as eight Titans registered receptions.

Evan Thammahong paced UW-Oshkosh with a career-high five receptions for 49 yards. Andy Jones added a career-best four catches for 34 yards and his first receiving score of the year while Dom Todarello and CJ Blackburn chipped in three grabs apiece for 36 and 35 yards, respectively. Cody Moon's lone catch went for a 47-yard touchdown.

Jamier Szymanski led the Titans with eight tackles apiece. Reese Dziedzic, Jon Kallas and Taylor Ripplinger each added seven tackles while Steve Forner and Branden Lloyd had six stops apiece. The tackle total were career bests for Kallas, Ripplinger and Szymanski.

AJ Plewa and Matt Rucynski both scored their first career touchdowns on fumble recoveries for the Titans, who also received interceptions from Lloyd, Johnny Eagan and Cole Yoder.

After forcing a punt by UW-Eau Claire on the game's opening possession, UW-Oshkosh marched its first drive 60 yards on 11 plays, culminating in a 9-yard touchdown run by Hecker.

Yoder intercepted a pass in the end zone by Blugolds quarterback JT DenHartog on fourth-and-3 from the Titans 5-yard line. Yoder returned the ball 53 yards, and Kasper connected with Moon on a 47-yard strike on the following play. The score was Moon's first on the year and the third of his career.

UW-Eau Claire's Matthew Knapp fumbled on the ensuing kickoff, and Rucynski scooped up the ball and raced 21 yards to the end zone. Eli Wettstein converted the extra point to give UW-Oshkosh a 20-0 lead and 14 points in the span of nine seconds.

Knapp atoned for his fumble six plays later by corralling a tipped pass from DenHartog and running for a 55-yard touchdown to trim the Blugold deficit to 20-6 with 13:30 left in the second quarter.

Following a missed field goal by UW-Oshkosh and a punt by both teams, Eagan made a diving interception near the sideline at the UW-Oshkosh 41-yard line with 95 seconds to play in the first half.

Kasper completed four passes for 44 yards to reach the Blugold 3-yard line with just over 30 seconds remaining in the second period. Moon recovered a Hecker fumble on first-and-goal, but Hecker picked his way into the end zone from 3 yards out on the next play to extend the Titan cushion to 27-6 at intermission.

UW-Oshkosh punter Turner Geisthardt pinned the Blugolds at their own 1-yard line following the opening possession of the second half. On UW-Eau Claire's first play of the third quarter, DenHartog fumbled in the end zone, and Plewa pounced on the loose ball for a 34-6 Titan lead less than three minutes into the second half.

Hecker's 83-yard scoring run came on the first play following a UW-Eau Claire punt, and Kasper hit a wide-open Jones from 19 yards to cap an 11-play, 60-yard drive with 12:05 remaining.

UW-Eau Claire concluded the scoring with a 1-yard touchdown run by DenHartog with eight minutes to play.

DenHartog completed 9 of 20 passes for 110 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. He added a team-leading 14 carries for 34 yards and one score.

Knapp led the Blugolds with 52 rushing yards on eight carries and 78 receiving yards and one touchdown on four catches.

UW-Eau Claire's Ryan Ames led all players with seven tackles while Bo Casper added six tackles for the Blugolds and Samuel Buchberger recovered a fumble. The Blugold defense registered just one tackle for loss.

NCAA Division III Football Selection Show

Photo courtesy of Chico La Barbera