MENOMONIE, Wis. (uwrfsports.com)- The University of Wisconsin-River Falls Falcons made the short trip to Menomonie to square off against WIAC rival UW-Stout Blue Devils.
 
The Falcons (4-3, 3-1 WIAC) defeated the Blue Devils 54-48 in a game that saw both teams rack up a combined 947 yards of total offense.
 
It was a balanced effort on offense for the Falcons, as they gained 277 yards through the air and 271 yards on the ground. Junior running back Rance Ashley and sophomore half back Michael Diggins led the way on the ground for the Falcons. Ashley gained 133 yards on 29 carries with two touchdowns and Diggins followed suit with 71 yards on 10 carries with one touchdown.
 
Senior quarterback Ryan Kusilek was a master directing the offense. He completed 18 passes on 23 attempts with 277 yards and two touchdowns. Kusilek connected with senior wide receiver Matt Woller the most, as Woller caught eight passes, one of them for a touchdown, while gaining 144 yards.
 
UWRF opened the scoring with a key play on special teams. Freshman wide receiver Brett Snider broke through the Blue Devils punt team and blocked the Stout punt. The opportunistic junior linebacker Kyle Semann recovered the blocked punt in the end zone for his third touchdown of the year.
 
The ensuing Stout offensive drive resulted in a touchdown that put the Falcons down 6-7.
 
UWRF began the second quarter deep in enemy territory. On fourth-and-goal from the Stout four-yard line, the Falcons lined up for the go ahead field only to fake it with Tony Denntaking the snap and running around the left side to find the corner of the end zone which put the Falcons up 13-7.
 
After two touchdowns by the Blue Devils, the Falcons began a stretch where they scored 21 straight points to put themselves up 34-21.
 
The first of the three straight touchdowns came on a 60-yard touchdown run by Ashley, which was the first of his two touchdown runs on the afternoon.
 
Stout opened up the second half with a touchdown to bring the score to 34-28, but the Falcons countered the Stout touchdown with a touchdown of their own. Diggins found the end zone on a 32-yard touchdown run to make it a two-possession game once again.
 
On the ensuing drive, the Falcon defense forced a three-and-out to give the ball back to the Falcon offense. UWRF did not wait long to capitalize, as Kusilek found freshman wide reciver Nicholas Studer on a 42-yard touchdown pass.
 
After the Kusilek-Studer touchdown connection and a failed extra point, the Falcons found themselves up 47-28.
 
The Blue Devils found the end zone before the end of the third quarter to make the score 47-35.
 
Just like the second quarter, the Falcons began the fourth quarter deep in Stout territory. Three plays into the fourth quarter, Ashley found the end zone for his second touchdown of the game on a one-yard touchdown plunge.
 
That would be the Falcons final score of the game, and it would be just enough as Stout scored two late touchdowns to make the final score 54-48.
 
Defensively, the Falcons were led by senior defensive back Charles Register who had eight tackles and two pass breakups and sophomore linebacker Geno DeMike who had four tackles and one sack.
 
The victory puts the Falcons in a tie for second place in the WIAC with defending D3 National Champion UW-Whitewater.
 
The Falcons travel to UW-Oshkosh to take on the Titans on Saturday, October 31. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m