UWL Wins Road Opener; Four Different Players Score Touchdown

Dubuque, Iowa - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse football team, ranked 12th on D3football.com, improved to 2-0 on the season with a 30-3 win at the University of Dubuque (Iowa) Saturday night at Chalmers Field. The Spartans drop to 0-2 on the season. 

Cade Garcia was intercepted on UWL's opening possession of the game and Dubuque (Iowa) went 30 yards in six plays to take a 3-0 lead on Liam Smith's 34-yard field goal. 

The Eagles took a 7-3 lead with 13:42 left in the second quarter with Joey Stutzman scoring on a 24-yard touchdown run. Ryan Beirne's extra-point made it 7-3. UWL went 76 yards in nine plays and 4:23. Garcia gave UWL a 14-3 lead with 5:07 remaining in the first half, connecting with Tyler Stubbendick on an 11-yard touchdown pass. The drive went 11 plays for 60 yards in 5:31. 

After forcing a Spartans' punt, the Eagles went 65 yards in seven plays and 2:41 as Keyser Helterbrand scored on a nine-yard touchdown run to give UWL a 20-3 lead after the extra-point failed with :52 left in the second quarter. UWL led, 20-3, at halftime. 

UWL stopped Dubuque (Iowa) on fourth-and-one at the Eagles' 33-yard line on the first drive of the second half. UWL then went 55 yards in 11 plays and 5:33 to take a 23-3 lead as Beirne hit a 28-yard field goal with 4:14 left in the third quarter. 

Garcia finished the scoring with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Jack Studer with 10:35 left in the game. UWL went 47 yards in four plays and 1:59 after Dubuque (Iowa) turned the ball over on downs on a fourth-and-six incompletion at its own 47-yard line. 

The Spartans drove to the Eagles' five-yard line on their final possession of the game, but UWL's Jaeden Stovall intercepted K.C. Moore at the Eagles' one-yard line with :47 remaining. 

UWL finished with 380 yards of offense, including 276 rushing and 104 passing. The Eagles totaled 21 first downs while going seven-of-12 on third-down. UWL was four-of-four in the red-zone. Stutzman led the Eagles with 180 yards on 24 carries and a touchdown. He also caught two passes for 34 yards. Garcia went seven-of-13 for 59 yards with two touchdowns and one interception while Helterbrand finished four-of-seven for 45 yards. Helterbrand also had 65 yards rushing on eight carries. Stubbendick (32 yards) and Matthijs Enters (17) each had two catches. 

Dubuque (Iowa) totaled 306 yards with 81 rushing and 225 passing. The Spartans had 16 first downs, finishing four-of-15 on third-down and two-of-six on fourth-down. Lontrez Duckworth led Dubuque (Iowa) with 65 yards rushing on 12 attempts while Moore finished 22-of-42 for 225 yards and one touchdown. Za' Cameron Brice had seven catches for 71 yards. 

Cade Osborn and Ryan Daines led UWL with six tackles each while Jack KellyJake ScharaAaron Schmitz and Tate Pitcher each had five. Dalton Wood led Dubuque (Iowa) with 10 tackles. 

UWL returns to action Saturday, September 17 at Wayne State University (Mich.) at 5 p.m. (Central).