On Saturday Sept. 20, at 1 p.m. the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse matched up against the Wayne State Warriors facing off in the Eagles home opener at Roger Harring Stadium. Coming off a win against No. 18 ranked Carnegie Mellon University on Sept. 13, the Eagles were on a quest to keep the momentum going. However, this wouldn’t be easy as the Eagles were facing off against Div. II team, Wayne State University. Thomas Laufenberg, a second-year defensive lineman, reiterated the division gap after the game.
“We just knew they were going to be big and physical, I mean you’re playing up a division so it’s going to be hard, it’s not gonna be a cakewalk you can’t just show up and win.”
From the start of the game both the Warriors and the Eagles came out playing big and physical. The first quarter started as a stalemate, both offenses were stifled and settled for punts on opening drives. Wayne State was the first team to put points up as they punched it in from the two-yard line, scoring 0-7.
Trailing behind, the Eagles were in desperate need of points with the half winding down. Quarterback Kyle Haas led the Eagles confidently down the field finishing off the drive with a 25-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Bowman. The score would sit at 7-7 with 6:55 in the half.
Both defenses would not budge as fans endured five straight punts by both teams after the touchdown. Thankfully for Eagles fans, Wayne State’s defense would be the first to bend. With two minutes remaining in the half the Eagles were able to drive 55 yards and extend the lead with a 19-yard field goal by Micheal Stack. The half would end with a score of 10-7 and the Eagles coming out on top.
Coming out swinging in the second half, Haas and the offense looked like a whole different team. Haas would lead a textbook opening drive going 73 yards in 5 minutes. The drive would end with Haas finding Jack Janke for a six-yard touchdown pass increasing the score to 17-7.
After stopping the Warriors, The Eagles muffed a punt to give the ball back to Wayne State. With Wayne State driving, Tyr Severson was able to snatch momentum right back with a crucial intercepting pass.
Laufenberg commented about the game’s momentum change “We played really well. We got punched in the mouth and recovered and were able to fight back really well.”
After the interception, Haas put on another masterful drive leading the Eagles 84 yards to the endzone. Haas connected with Bowman for an 11-yard touchdown, right over the defender’s head igniting the student section. With the score now 24-7 at the end of the third the Eagles were starting to pull away.
After an Eagles missed field goal and another Wayne State punt, Haas entered the field with more to prove. Haas would connect yet again with Janke on a gorgeous 67-yard touchdown pass.
Laufenberg shouted out his teammate’s performance saying, “Our wide receivers played really well, they had some insane plays and scored big touchdowns on offense.”
With the score now 31-7 with 7:33 left in the fourth quarter, the Eagles seemed to have put the game away. However, Wayne State showed some life, scoring on two straight touchdowns with their backup quarterback. With the game on the line at 31-22, UWL’s Severson had another great play securing Wayne State’s onside kick. With the kick secured, so was the game. The Eagles kneeled to end the game 31-22.
Haas put on an eye-catching performance going 29 for 39 finishing with 344 passing yards and four passing touchdowns. Fourth-year defensive lineman Henry Walsh dominated the line finishing with a tackle for loss, sack, and forced fumble.
The Eagles will continue their season on Oct. 4, at Perkins stadium facing the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
