Menomonie, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse football team earned its first Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) win of the season with a 29-23 overtime victory at UW-Stout Saturday afternoon at Williams Stadium. The Eagles improve to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the WIAC while the Blue Devils fall to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the conference.
UWL's Rusty Murphy returned a Sean Borgerding fumble for 67-yards for a touchdown on Ryan Flathers' sack on the only possession of overtime to give UWL the win. UW-Stout was facing a third-and-14 on UWL's 29-yard line when Flathers recorded his third quarterback sack of the game to force the fumble.
UW-Stout scored 14 unanswered points to force a 23-23 tie with 2:09 remaining in the fourth quarter. Borgerding scored on a one-yard run with 4:45 left in the game to cut the lead to 23-16 and after UWL fumbled on its next possession, UW-Stout took over at its own 21-yard line with 3:09 remaining. Borgerding's 63-yard pass to Tyler Seymour moved the ball to the Eagles' 17-yard line and the duo connected again on the next play from scrimmage to force a 23-23 tie with 2:09 left.
UWL, receiving votes on this week's D3football.com Top-25 Poll, drove to the UW-Stout 38-yard line, but were forced to punt. The Blue Devils ran out the final :50 to set-up overtime.
The Eagles took the opening kickoff for a 7-0 lead Saturday, going 82 yards in nine plays and 4:34 as Ben Schramski scored on a one-yard run. UWL's Ryan Beirne had his 55-yard field goal attempt with 14:49 left in the second quarter blocked to keep the lead at 7-0. Max Brower intercepted Borgerding on the Blue Devils' next possession. The Eagles were forced to punt, but Alexander Villarreal forced a Heaven Hunt fumble with Joey Bolda recovering at the UW-Stout 35-yard line. Beirne's 48-yard field goal was wide left with 11:45 left.
UW-Stout cut the deficit to 7-6 with 9:40 remaining in the second quarter on Rayshawn Graham's 16-yard touchdown run. Drew Pearson's extra-point was blocked. Pearson gave UW-Stout a 9-7 lead on a 26-yard field goal with 7:24 left in the first half after Aaron Wisecup recovered a UWL fumble.
The Eagles regained the lead at 14-9 with 3:01 left in the first half as Schramski connected with Dominic Labellarte on a 27-yard touchdown pass. UWL led 14-9 at halftime.
Pearson's 46-yard field goal was wide left on UW-Stout's first possession of the third quarter and UWL led, 14-9, at the end of the third quarter. Beirne hit a 26-yard field goal with 13:39 remaining in the fourth quarter for a 17-9 lead for the Eagles. Elijah McGeehan intercepted Borgerding on UW-Stout's next drive, returning it 17 yards to the UWL 45-yard line. Four playes later, Schramski threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to Cole Spieker with 10:41 left and a 23-9 lead.
UWL finished with 418 yards of offense Saturday, including 136 rushing and 282 passing. Schramski was 17-of-39 for 282 yards with two touchdowns while also rushing for 27 yards on four carries and one touchdown. Austin Mancosky had 111 yards rushing on 22 attempts. Spieker (135 yards) and Labellarte (54) each had four catches and one touchdown.
The Eagles had 18 first downs while finishing five-of-18 on third-down. UWL won the time of possession, 30:26 to 29:34, and were two-of-two in the red-zone.
UWL is now 9-8 all-time in overtime contests, earning its first overtime win since a 24-21 double overtime victory over UW-River Falls in 2013.
UW-Stout totaled 408 yards, including 97 rushing and 311 passing. Borgerding was 23-of-37 for 315 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Graham had 91 yards on 19 carries with one touchdown while Levy Hamer finished with 89 yards on nine catches. Seymour finished with 102 yards on three catches and one touchdown.
The Blue Devils finished with 24 first down while going four-of-13 on third-down. UW-Stout was four-of-four in red-zone opportunities.
Villarreal and Brower led UWL with 11 tackles each. The Eagles totaled 7.0 quarterback sacks, including 3.0 from Flathers. Luke Wilz and Levi Wolf each had 10 tackles for UW-Stout.
UWL returns to action Saturday, October 13 hosting UW-Stevens Point at 6 p.m. on Family Weekend.
Murphy's Fumble Return Secures Overtime Win at UW-Stout
/seasons/2018/boxscores/20181006_p719.xml
2018
UW-La Crosse
29
UW-Stout
23
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UW-La Crosse (2-3) | 7 | 7 | 0 | 9 | 6 | 29 |
| UW-Stout (3-2) | 0 | 9 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 23 |
Oct 06, 2018