Decorah, Iowa - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse football team opened its 2018 season with a 52-21 win at Luther College (Iowa) Saturday afternoon at Carlson Stadium. It marks the fifth straight year the Eagles have captured their season opener. Luther (Iowa) drops to 0-1 on the season.
UWL's 52 points are the most in a season-opener since finishing with 54 versus Winona State University (Minn.) in 1996.
The Eagles took the opening kickoff Saturday and drove 65 yards in 12 plays to take a 7-0 lead on a Brody Gatz two-yard run. Ryan Beirne converted the extra-point attempt. After Luther (Iowa) was forced to punt on its first possession, Ben Schramski hit Cole Spieker for a 62-yard touchdown pass with 7:21 left in the first quarter. Beirne's extra-point made it 14-0. The Norse were forced to punt on their ensuing possession and Ian Kuykendall's 41-yard punt put the ball at the Eagles' six-yard line. On the first play of the series, Jalen Clark ran for 87 yards, the sixth-longest rush in single-game school history. Ted Pretasky had a school record 98-yard run versus UW-River Falls in 1987. UWL took a 20-0 lead three plays later on Schramski's six-yard touchdown pass to Dominic Labellarte. The extra-point was blocked.
UWL took a 27-0 lead with 12:35 remaining in the second quarter as Cole Spieker caught an nine-yard touchdown pass from Schramski. Luther (Iowa) missed a 28-yard field goal on the next drive of the game and UWL went 80 yards in 10 plays as Schramski scored on a four-yard run. Beirne rushed in the two-point attempt to make it 35-0. Elijah McGeehan blocked Luther's (Iowa) punt on the next possession with Spieker picking the ball up and running 43-yards for a touchdown to make it 42-0 at halftime.
Luther (Iowa) got on the board with 9:43 remaining in the third quarter after Kuykendall hit Trevor Joiner on a 68-yard touchdown pass. Jonah Zaimes converted the extra-point. Beirne gave UWL a 45-7 lead with :03 left in the third quarter after connecting on a 49-yard field goal. It was the fourth-longest field goal in UWL history. Dewey Stendahl had a school record 51-yard field goal against St. Norbert College (Wis.) in 1969.
Travis Vargas scored on a two-yard run with 9:53 left in the game for Luther (Iowa) to make it 45-14, but UWL responded on its next drive with Gatz scoring on a two-yard run with 7:40 remaining. Beirne's extra-point made it 52-14. Kuykendall completed the scoring with a 55-yard touchdown pass to Ricardo Chavez with 5:42 left to cut the lead to 52-21.
UWL finished with 427 yards of offense, including 209 rushing and 218 passing. The Eagles were nine-of-14 on third-down and five-of-five in red-zone opportunities. Schramski finished seven-of-11 passing for 119 yards and three touchdowns while also rushing for 61 yards on six attempts and one touchdown. Evan Lewandowskiwent six-of-10 passing for 99 yards. Clark led the Eagles with 97 yards rushing on five attempts while Austin Mancosky had 42 yards on 10 carries. Gatz scored a pair of touchdowns. Spieker (71 yards, two touchdowns), Mancosky (24 yards) and Casey Machajewski (18 yards) each had two catches for UWL.
Sean Parker averaged 53.7 yards on three punts with a long of 69.
Luther (Iowa) totaled 483 yards, including 224 rushing and 259 passing. The Norse were three-of-14 on third-down and three-of-five on fourth-down while finishing one-of-two in the red-zone. Luther (Iowa) won the time of possession, 32:26 to 27:34. Kuykendall went 13-of-24 for 259 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 105 yards on 12 carries. Joiner had six catches for 100 yards with Chavez finishing with five receptions for 116 yards. Both caught one touchdown pass.
Jacob Gerzsik and Josiah Goerlitz led UWL with eight tackles each while Eythan Blair and Isaac Highum led Luther (Iowa) with 11 tackles each.
UWL returns to action Saturday, September 8 at 21st-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University at 1 p.m.