/seasons/2016/contrib/201611193bxabj

Johnnies edge Pioneers on final play, 32-31

After a wild back-and-forth NCAA Division III first-round playoff contest, it only seemed fitting that on the last play, both the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and St. John's thought they had won.

 On fourth-down from the one-yard line with three seconds remaining, St. John's Dusty Krueger tried ramming into the end zone from the right side, bounced back and dove again. After six seconds and the Pioneers thinking they had a victory, the referees signaled for the touchdown. The score gave the Johnnies a 32-31 victory and set off a celebration on the home side.

 "I'm very proud of our football team and congratulations to St. John's," said Pioneer Coach Mike Emendorfer. "We didn't agree with all the calls at the end, but it was a hard-fought game."

UW-Platteville, ranked 12th in the D3football.com poll, finished its season 8-3, while ninth-ranked St John's will take a 10-1 record into a second-round game against UW-Oshkosh.

"It was a game much like I thought it would be," said Johnnies' Coach Gary Fasching. "It was a tight game. They are a very good football team."

The Pioneers, just like they had with second-ranked UW-Whitewater and fifth-ranked UW-Oshkosh, stood toe-to-toe with a top 10 team. Saturday's contest featured five lead changes, four in the final 19 minutes, on a field surrounded by more than four inches of snow that fell Friday.

"Since the first game of the season, this team has been aiming for the playoffs," Emendorfer said. "We have set the bar high. We proved without a doubt that we deserved to be here."

UW-Platteville got on the board first, as Josh Mackie's 59-yard interception return set the Pioneers up inside the Johnnies' 10. Foregoing a field-goal attempt on fourth down, the Pioneers went for the end zone, which Tom Kelly found when he scrambled around right end for a three-yard score.

On the ensuing drive, St. John's answered with its own fourth-down touchdown, as Jackson Erdmann completed a 25-yard score to Will Gillach. Alexi Johnson added a 21-yard field goal midway through the second quarter, and the Johnnies took a 10-7 lead at the half.

UW-Platteville quickly tied the score to start the second half, with Sam Herkert's 25-yard field goal knotting the contest at 10. And then the fireworks began.

In a matter of 5:03, the teams scored four times in a wild sequence. Johnson's 35-yard field gave the Johnnies a 13-10 lead. Quinn Buschbacher returned the ensuing kickoff 91 yards for an apparent touchdown, but a penalty late in the run negated the score. Still, the Pioneers took over on the SJU 31, setting up a 12-yard scoring pass from Kelly to Dan Arnold. Kelly broke the school single-season record with his 37th TD pass, and Arnold tied the Pioneer mark by scoring his 16th touchdown of the year. Any celebrating would be short-lived for the Pioneers, as Evan Clark returned the kickoff 82 yards for a Johnnies' touchdown and a 20-17 lead.

UW-Platteville reclaimed the lead at 24-20 after a 74-yard drive was capped by Wyatt Thompson's 7-yard scoring run with 1:07 left in the third quarter.

On the Johnnies' next possession, the Pioneers forced a punt, and the snap sailed way back to the SJU 13, a loss of 32 yards. UW-Platteville capitalized on the short field, and Sean Studer scored from a yard out, making it 31-20 early in the fourth quarter.

The Johnnies narrowed the deficit to 31-26 on a Zach Sundly 19-yard scoring reception from Jackson Erdmann. The two-point conversion attempt failed with 8:10 to play.

Mackie made his second interception with 2:48 remaining, and the Pioneers forced the Johnnies to use their three timeouts. Connor Foley's punt from the 36 just missed being pinned at the one, and the Johnnies took over on their 20 for the last drive with 2:20 to play.

Kelly led the Pioneer offense with 27 completions in 42 attempts for 217 yards. Buschbacher had 11 receptions, and Arnold made 7. Thompson added 66 yards on the ground. Ben Moglievesky totaled 14 tackles, while Marty McGrail had 12. The Pioneers recorded five sacks for losses of 40 yards.

Krueger led St. John's with 73 rushing yards, while Erdmann threw for 235 and two scores.

The Pioneers graduate 23 seniors who were part of 33 victories and the university's first two NCAA III playoff appearances, in 2013 and 2016.

"Though we were disappointed in the end result, I'm very proud to be a Pioneer," Emendorfer said, "and especially proud of the seniors. They provided great memories and great experiences for all or us who love UW-Platteville football."

By Paul Erickson, Director, Communications, 608.342.1194, pr@uwplatt.edu

Sep. 4: All times Eastern
TBA
Pacific at Howard Payne
TBA
Trinity (Texas) at Texas Lutheran
6:00 PM
Averett at N.C. Wesleyan
7:00 PM
Brockport at Buffalo State
7:00 PM
Franklin and Marshall at Lebanon Valley
7:00 PM
King's at Wilkes
7:00 PM
Marietta at Westminster (Pa.)
7:00 PM
Carroll at UW-Eau Claire
8:00 PM
Coe at Cornell
8:00 PM
Millsaps at Belhaven
Sep. 5: All times Eastern
6:00 PM
Concordia (Wis.) at Thiel
6:00 PM
Bridgewater State at Curry
7:00 PM
Hobart at Alfred
7:00 PM
Moravian at Muhlenberg
7:00 PM
Juniata at Gettysburg
7:00 PM
Dean at Fitchburg State
Sep. 6: All times Eastern
TBA
John Carroll at Waynesburg
TBA
Case Western Reserve at Rowan
TBA
Kenyon at Bluffton
TBA
TCNJ at Lycoming
TBA
Plymouth State at New England College
TBA
McDaniel at Catholic
TBA
Coast Guard at University of New England
TBA
RPI at WPI
TBA
Geneva at Widener
TBA
Misericordia at Endicott
TBA
William Paterson at Western Connecticut
TBA
Hope at Loras
TBA
Crown at Hamline
TBA
Macalester at Grinnell
12:00 PM
Grove City at Cortland
12:00 PM
Union at Susquehanna
12:00 PM
Johns Hopkins at Ithaca
12:00 PM
Utica at Washington and Jefferson
12:00 PM
Calvin at Oberlin
12:00 PM
Hampden-Sydney at Delaware Valley
12:00 PM
Morrisville State at Kean
12:00 PM
Ohio Wesleyan at Otterbein
12:00 PM
Minnesota-Morris at Concordia-Chicago
1:00 PM
Wooster at Wilmington
1:00 PM
Alfred State at Anderson
1:00 PM
Salisbury at Washington and Lee
1:00 PM
Ky. Christian at Brevard
1:00 PM
Trine at Christopher Newport
1:00 PM
Apprentice at Southern Virginia
1:00 PM
Methodist at Shenandoah
1:00 PM
Hilbert at St. Vincent
1:00 PM
Carnegie Mellon at Chicago
1:00 PM
Alma at UW-River Falls
1:00 PM
Maryville (Tenn.) at Hendrix
1:30 PM
Ohio Northern at Franklin
1:30 PM
Wheaton (Ill.) at Mount Union
2:00 PM
Baldwin Wallace at Wittenberg
2:00 PM
Denison at Allegheny
2:00 PM
Central at Illinois Wesleyan
2:00 PM
Wabash at St. Norbert
2:00 PM
Albion at UW-Stevens Point
2:00 PM
Augsburg at Valley City State
2:00 PM
Carleton at UW-Whitewater
2:00 PM
Millikin at Luther
2:00 PM
UW-Platteville at Aurora
2:00 PM
Beloit at Rockford
2:00 PM
Dubuque at UW-Stout
2:00 PM
Westminster (Mo.) at Manchester
4:00 PM
UW-Oshkosh at Linfield
4:00 PM
Gustavus Adolphus at Whitworth
6:00 PM
Huntingdon at Berry
7:00 PM
DePauw at Rose-Hulman
7:00 PM
Hanover at Centre
7:00 PM
Augustana at Simpson
Video
7:00 PM
Carthage at Lakeland
7:00 PM
North Park at Ripon
7:00 PM
Adrian at Valparaiso
7:00 PM
Kalamazoo at Austin
7:00 PM
Southwestern at McMurry
8:00 PM
Mayville St. at Concordia-Moorhead
8:00 PM
Monmouth at Wartburg
8:00 PM
Rhodes at Washington U.
8:00 PM
Nebraska Wesleyan at Dakota St.
9:00 PM
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at Lake Forest
@ Chandler, Ariz.
10:00 PM
Hardin-Simmons at Chapman
10:00 PM
George Fox at Redlands
Maintenance in progress.