UW-L football falls on Senior Day

Alex VandenHouten, Staff Reporter

UW-La Crosse fell 31-13 to the third ranked Titans on the last home game of the season. It was Senior Day for UW-L, which meant the seniors took the field for the last time in their career and looked to end their career on a memorable note. But an 11-yard pass from Brett Kasper to Joe Sommers capped off Oshkosh jumped out to a quick lead on the opening drive that took less than 3 minutes. UW-L answered with a 28-yd field goal by Matt Van Druten.

Once again, the Eagles had no answer to Oshkosh’s aerial attack as Oshkosh ensuing drive went 65-yards and ended with a 1-yard touchdown pass from Dylan Hecker to Zach Kasuboski and Greg Rand’s extra point made it a 14-3 Oshkosh lead. UW-L was able to answer with a touchdown this time around as Austin Mancosky rushed for 47 of his 68 yards on the 80-yard drive that saw it end with a Drew David pass 12-yard touchdown pass to Joel Oxton. Oshkosh tacked on to their lead with a 29-yard field goal to end the half and make it a 17-10 game.

To start the second half, UW-L went 53 yards in 8 minutes, but once again had to settle for a short Van Druten field goal that made it 17-13 Titans. The Titans once again had the answer as they went 70 yards in just 2 minutes and 19 seconds to tack on to their lead thanks to a Devon Linzenmeyer one-yard touchdown run to make it a 24-13 game. The UW-L Eagles appeared to be able to answer that touchdown with a touchdown of their own when David Wesolowski threw a one-yard touchdown pass to Jack Zwettler however it was called back due to a penalty for an ineligible man downfield.

UW-L had to settle for another short Van Druten field goal; however, his attempt was blocked. After the blocked field goal attempt, UW-O was able to put the final nail in the coffin on the ensuing drive as Dylan Hecker ran from 11 yards out to put the game out of reach for the Eagles. The Eagles totaled 402 yards of offense and were led by running back Tyler Jenkins who set a career high with 147 yards rushing on 21 carries as the Eagles set a season high with 225 rushing yards. Drew David led the passing attack as he was 16 of 28 for 177 yards and one touchdown which was thrown to Joel Oxton who led the Eagles in receiving with 7 receptions and 83 yards. Noah Risch led the defense with 11 tackles, 3.5 were for a loss and also registered a sack.

With the loss UW-L fell 3-6 on the year with a 2-4 record in the WIAC, while Oshkosh improved to 8-1 overall and 6-0 in the WIAC. With the win Oshkosh earned at least a share of its 9th conference title. UW-L wraps up its season at 14th ranked UW-Platteville on Saturday, November 14.