UWL survives crazy finish; B-SC rallies

Oct 16, 2021

Jake Simuncak gave his team the lead right back in the third quarter with a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
UW-La Crosse athletics photo

No. 11 UW-La Crosse escaped Platteville in stunning fashion, while No. 8 Hardin-Simmons crushed East Texas Baptist and St. John's extended its shutout streak in Top 25 action on Saturday, Oct. 16. Plus, Linfield handled Pacific and extended The Streak.

The Eagles snatched victory from the jaws of defeat twice in the final four minutes of the game, as they held on to win 24-23 at UW-Platteville. After the Pioneers tied the game on an Andrew Schweigert field goal early in the third quarter, Jake Simunack gave his team the lead right back as he returned the kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown. The score remained 24-17 until late in the fourth, when Colin Schuetz marched Platteville down the field and found Austin Guy in the front right corner of the end zone for a 6-yard touchdown. But Platteville committed a false start on the PAT attempt, and Schweigert missed, leaving the score 24-23. La Crosse got one first down to get out to midfield but was forced to punt, and Schuetz drove his team back into the red zone, hitting Ben Wilson at the 14 with 25 seconds left.

From there, Schuetz let the clock run down, so Platteville could attempt what would be a game-winning field goal from 32 yards out on the final play of the game. But instead of spiking the ball to stop the clock, he took the snap and took a knee, and the clock ran out.

A look at how that one ended at UW-Platteville, with No. 11 UW-La Crosse holding on to win 24-23. #d3fb pic.twitter.com/lPV9AroGd8
— D3football.com (@d3football) October 16, 2021

"I'm incredibly proud of how our team played today against another nationally ranked opponent," Platteville coach Mike Emendorfer said after the game. "Obviously, the end was a moment we wish we could have another chance at, but we played as a team today and we will get back at it next week and prepare as a team. Colin has led this program to many great moments during his time here, and we look forward to him and all of his teammates returning next week with the same drive that we saw today."

UW-La Crosse improved to 5-1, with its only loss to Grand Valley State, currently the No. 6 team in Division II. Platteville dropped to 1-5, with losses to current No. 3 UW-Whitewater, No. 11 UW-La Crosse and No. 16 Bethel.

Chris Shufford ran for two touchdowns, including one which tied the game in the fourth quarter, before quarterback Trey Patterson busted loose with a 65-yard touchdown run to lift his No. 24 Panthers past Centre 28-21. The Colonels had taken a 13-0 lead in the first quarter after Oliver Hunter forced a Patterson fumble inside the 5, and Trentin Dupper ran for a touchdown on the first drive of the second half to help his Colonels retake the lead at 21-14 before Birmingham-Southern rallied in its first game as a member of the D3football.com Top 25. The Panthers overcame five turnovers in the win.

St. John's increased its winning streak to six consecutive games and its shutout streak to three as the No. 5 Johnnies rolled past St. Olaf 56-0. Henry Trost ran for three touchdowns for the Johnnies and Alex Larson caught two touchdown passes in the win. St. John's, which combined for four sacks, six pass breakups and four quarterback hurries, has not allowed a point since the 5:08 mark of the Bethel game on Sept. 25. It's the first time St. John's has shut out three consecutive opponents since 1977.

No. 3 UW-Whitewater (6-0, 3-0 WIAC) scored 22 consecutive points in the second quarter and made key defensive stops in the fourth as the Warhawks defeated No. 18 UW-Oshkosh 32-13. UW-W forced a pair of turnovers in the game and held the ball for nearly 11 minutes in the fourth quarter to secure the win. The Titans (3-2, 1-2) became the first team to score on the Warhawks in the first quarter of a game this season, but Whitewater owned the second quarter, including recording a safety when Oshkosh fumbled on a kickoff return, brought it out of the end zone, then brought it back in, then committed a penalty in the end zone to boot.

Wyatt Smith accounted for five touchdowns, four of them through the air, and No. 7 Linfield improved to 5-0. With the win, the Wildcats ensure that they will finish the season with a winning record, as they have done every year since 1956. The streak of 65 consecutive winning seasons is the longest at any level in the history of college football. "It's hard to put (65 winning seasons) in perspective because it's such a big number, but I'm just so proud of this team, the way they're playing," Linfield coach Joseph Smith said. "It's an honor to the guys who came before them. And I think that's the secret of this place, it's understanding this program is so much bigger than any one person. It's meant so much to so many people and I think these kids have made those guys proud. It's fun to be part of that."

Fourth-ranked Mount Union held Capital without a single first down on the afternoon, allowing just 29 yards of total offense as the Purple Raiders rolled to a 63-0 win. It's the first time that has happened since Wooster held Case Western Reserve without a first down on Sept. 21, 1985. The closest Capital got to a third-down conversion came in the first quarter when Lance Matthews was stuffed at the line of scrimmage on third-and-1. Ten Purple Raiders caught passes as Braxton Plunk and Noah Beaudrie combined to go 33-for-44 for 337 yards. It was Mount Union's third consecutive shutout as well.

Concordia-Moorhead cut Bethel's lead to five when Noah Jenson returned a Jaran Roste fumble 58 yards for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter. But Nate Farm picked his team up as he intercepted Tanner Dubois in the end zone with 56 seconds to play and the Royals were able to hold on for the victory. It was Farm's second pick of the afternoon, as the Royals improved to 5-1 and Concordia-Moorhead fell to 2-4.

No. 9 Delaware Valley held FDU-Florham quarterback Anthony Caserta and the Devils' passing attack to 45 yards total and ran past FDU 61-7. The Aggies had three sacks and two interceptions, including a 48-yard pick-six by D3football.com All-America cornerback Justin Harris. Dante Simmons ran for 119 yards and three scores.

In a game delayed 45 minutes by thunderstorms, No. 17 Ithaca got past St. Lawrence 17-0 on the wet grass of Leckonby Stadium in Canton, New York. Ithaca allowed just 140 yards of total offense and eight first downs to St. Lawrence, which included minus-28 yards rushing. A.J. Wingfield finished the game with 233 passing yards and a touchdown on 22-of-36. He also ran for 41 yards on six carries and placed two punts inside the 20-yard line. And it was raining at Hartwick as well, where Cortland returned two blocked punts for touchdowns and held Hartwick to 152 yards of total offense, including minus-13 rushing yards, and the No. 19 Red Dragons defeated the host Hawks 48-3. Cortland (6-0, 3-0 Empire 8) completed only six of 10 passes for 118 yards, with two of the completions going for touchdowns, while rushing 47 times for 252 yards and three scores. Hartwick (1-4, 0-3) was 14-of-37 through the air for 165 yards but lost 13 yards on 31 rushing attempts, including 45 lost yards on seven Cortland sacks.