The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse football, ranked 20th on this week's D3football.com Top-25 Poll, earned a 24-21 win over UW-Whitewater Saturday afternoon at Roger Harring Stadium at Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex. The Eagles improve to 6-3 overall and 4-2 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) and secure their seventh consecutive winning season.
UW-Whitewater, receiving votes on D3football.com, drops to 5-4 overall and 3-3 in the WIAC.
It is UWL's second straight win over UW-Whitewater after snapping a 19-game losing streak to the Warhawks last season. The Eagles earned their first win over the Warhawks since 2003 by the score of 36-23, snapping a nine-game home losing streak in the series.
The Warhawks punted on the first drive of the game. The Eagles drove to the Warhawks' 25-yard line, but quarterback Kyle Haas was sacked by Kamrin Hutt to force a fumble with Ethan Gallagher recovering at UW-Whitewater's 29-yard line. UW-Whitewater converted a pair of third-down attempts on its next drive, but were forced to attempt a field goal. Jackson Fox's 26-yard attempt was blocked the Eagles' Austin Knade.
The game remained scoreless after the opening quarter.
On the first play of the second quarter, Kyle Haas scored on a one-yard run to give UWL a 7-0 lead with 14:54 remaining. Maddox Pratt converted the extra-point. The Eagles went 72 yards in eight plays and 3:14. UW-Whitewater was stopped on fourth-and-one at UWL's 45-yard line on the ensuing drive with Landon Oine stopping Drake Martin for no gain.
The Eagles extended their lead to 10-0 as they used 13 plays and 5:56 to go 46 yards with Pratt converting a 26-yard field goal. After a UW-Whitewater punt, Haas was intercepted by the Warhawks' Karsten Libby at UW-Whitewater's 42-yard line. Ryan Daines sacked Jackson Chryst on the first play of the next drive and then Daines intercepted Chryst on the next play returning the ball to UWL's 42-yard line.
UWL led, 10-0, at halftime.
The Eagles punted on the first possession of the second half and the Warhawks got on the scoreboard on their first drive of the third quarter. Chryst threw a four-yard touchdown pass to Martin with 8:13 left. Fox converted the extra-point to make it 10-7. The drive went 73 yards in 12 plays and 5:26.
Both teams punted on the next two drives as UWL maintained its 10-7 lead after three quarters.
UWL took a 17-7 lead with 10:04 remaining after an 11-play, 69-yard drive as 7:04 came off the clock with Haas connecting with Jack Studer for a 13-yard touchdown pass. The teams then combined for three touchdowns in the less than 3:00. Chryst hit Brian Wilterdink for 43-yards on the first play of the ensuing drive, followed by a 22-yard connection with Nick Wind. Noah Battle then scored on a four-yard run to cut the deficit to 17-14 with 9:00 remaining.
On the second play from scrimmage on the next possession, Haas and Studer combined for a 79-yard touchdown pass with 8:06 left to give UWL a 24-14 advantage. Four plays later, UW-Whitewater cut the lead to 24-21 with Chryst and Wilterdink combining for a 21-yard touchdown pass with 7:13 remaining.
UWL punted on its next drive with UW-Whitewater taking over at its own 30-yard line. After a pair of incompletions, Trent Mullen intercepted Chryst, returning it to the Warhawks' eight-yard line. UWL was called for a unsportsmanslike conduct, the Eagles took over at the Warhawks' 23-yard line. UWL turned the ball over on downs after an incomplete pass on fourth-and-two at the 15-yard line.
UW-Whitewater drove to UWL's 39-yard line when Chryst was sacked by Ross Gengler forcing a fumble and the Eagles' Bodie Schanhofer recovering at UWL's 42-yard line. The Eagles ran out the final 1:20 of the game.
UWL finished with 336 yards of offense, including 119 rushing and 217 passing. The Eagles totaled 15 first downs while going three-of-13 on third-down and two-of-three on fourth-down. UWL won the time of possession, 31:59 to 28:01.
Haas went 18-of-26 for 217 yards with two touchdowns and one interception while also rushing for one touchdown. Gabe Lynch finished with 15 carries for 70 yards. Studer caught five passes for 107 yards and two touchdowns. Studer became UWL's career leader in receiving yards on Saturday with 3,008 yards. He broke Scott Burnoski's (2001-04) record of 3,004 yards.
UW-Whitewater totaled 361 yards with 75 rushing and 286 passing. The Warhawks finished with 19 first downs and went five-of-12 on third-down.
Chryst finished 20-of-34 for 286 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Ty Schultz led UW-Whitewater with 42 yards rushing on 12 attempts. Wilterdink had seven receptions for 111 yards and one touchdown. Wind totaled five catches for 77 yards.
Daines led UWL with 11 tackles, including six solo, with one quarterback sack and one interception. Mullen and Aaron Schmitz each had five tackles with Mullen recording an interception.
Libby and Kyle Koelblinger led UW-Whitewater with nine tackles each.
UWL finishes its regular season hosting UW-Stevens Point on Saturday, November 16. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. or 1 p.m.