The UW-La Crosse Eagles defeated the University of Northwestern-St. Paul (UNW) Eagles at Roger Harring Stadium at Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex on Saturday, Nov. 23 with a score of 59-14. The game was one of eight National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Division III (DIII) Championship first-round matches played on Nov. 23. The Eagles are ranked #18 in the nation, according to the final d3football.com poll from the regular season.
The Eagles began the game on offense, where Gabe Lynch had two carries on the opening drive for 15-yards. Jack Janke followed Lynch’s rushing plays with a 36-yard touchdown catch. Janke made another touchdown reception on the following drive for 37 yards, to bring UWL’s lead to 14-0.
The Eagles regained possession after forcing another four-and-out from UNW, taking over at the 40-yard line. The drive began with rushing attempts from Najeh Mitchell, Charley Thompson and Lynch. The Eagles drove down the field and found themselves on the UNW 13-yard line, settling for a field goal on 4th-and-10 to make the score 17-0.
The second quarter started with UNW in possession of the football, but failed to convert on 4th-and-1. UWL’s offense took advantage and Wyatt LeMoine caught a 74-yard touchdown pass on the second play of the Eagles’ drive, to make the score 24-0.
On the next drive, UNW scored their only points of the first half when, after nine plays, the Eagles scored a touchdown off of a rushing attempt from Sivert Klefsaas to make the score 24-7.
With 6 minutes and 28 seconds left in the second quarter, UWL retaliated and took over on the UNW 47-yard line. A penalty moved the Eagles up to the 35-yard line. After Kyle Haas threw a 13-yard pass to Tyler Bowman and moved the chains, Head Coach Matt Janus decided to dial up a trick play.
Offensive Lineman Levi Liedke threw a pass for 24 yards to LeMoine to set up a rushing touchdown from Lynch. After a Maddox Pratt converted the point after touchdown (PAT) attempt, the score was 31-7 UWL.
UNW was forced to punt on their next drive, and the Eagles regained possession. On the drive, Mitchell rushed three times for 50 yards, including a 23-yard rushing attempt resulting in a UWL touchdown. Michael Stack kicked the PAT to make the score 38-7.
With 1:21 to go in the first half, UWL’s defense forced a UNW punt, and the Eagles took over on the UNW 22-yard line after Janke returned Will Schleicher’s punt for 18 yards. The only play of the drive resulted in a 22-yard passing touchdown from Haas to Keaton Arendt. Stack made the PAT attempt to make the score 45-7.
The Eagles put up 28 points in the second quarter and the first half would conclude with the Eagles on top 45-7.
The second half began with another unsuccessful UNW drive down the field and a 37-yard punt. The Eagles retaliated with their run game, when Lynch rushed for 51 yards on 3 carries. A few plays later, Haas connected with Bowman for a 28-yard gain. The pass set up UWL on the 7-yard line for Braeden Ott, who punched in another touchdown for the Eagles to make the score 52-7. The rest of the third quarter would remain scoreless.
The fourth quarter began with another punt from UNW, and the Eagles took over with 14:48 to go in the contest. After eight plays, including a 12-yard reception by Colin O’Neil and a 20-yard rush from Thompson, the Eagles were on 2nd-and-8 on the 13-yard line when Zach Weir threw a pass to Jack Butcher for UWL’s eighth and final touchdown of the game.
The Eagles of UNW responded with the final score of the game, via a 14-yard reception from Trey Ulmer with 5 minutes and 47 seconds left to go, making the score 59-14.
In the air for UWL, Haas threw for 257 passing yards and 4 touchdowns. Weir also threw for 39 yards and a touchdown. On the ground, Thompson rushed for 95 yards, Lynch rushed for 93 yards and a touchdown and Mitchell also rushed for a touchdown along with 58 yards.
LeMoine caught 3 receptions for 104 yards and 1 touchdown, while Janke caught 2 touchdowns and 83 yards. Bowman also had two receptions for a total of 41 yards.
The UWL defense combined for eight sacks. Ross Gengler had two sacks and eight tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss (TFLs). Grant Achterkich also had 2.0 TFLs, one sack and seven tackles. Sam Baumgaurd also had seven tackles on the day.
“Everybody did their part and played well,” said Defensive Tackle Reis Jesko. UWL combined for 602 yards on offense, surpassing UWL’s previous record for total offensive yards in one game which was 588 yards, against Albion College (Michigan).
Chancellor James Beeby even chimed in, “How we played today shows the world how great of a team and coaching staff we have, and it was a great atmosphere.” The Eagles combined for 723 all-purpose yards on the day.
UWL is now 12-4 at home all-time in the NCAA DIII Championship matches. The game marks UWL’s fourth-straight appearance in the playoffs and is UWL’s best streak since 1988-1993 under Head Coach Roger Harring, UWL’s all-time winningest Head Coach. Harring was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2005.
The full box score and other statistics from the game can be found on the UWL Athletics website. The Eagles return to action on Saturday, Nov. 30 for a matchup against Saint John’s University (Minn.). The game begins at 1 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.
