Dubuque, Iowa - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse football team opened it 2014 season with a 24-8 victory at the University of Dubuque (Iowa) Saturday night at Chalmers Field. It was also the Spartans' season-opener. The all-time series is now tied, 4-4. UW-L forced six turnovers (three fumbles, three interceptions) and finished with 364 yards of offense in the victory.
UW-L's Jacob Flegner intercepted Dubuque's Zach Fry on the first series of the game, but the Eagles were forced to punt three plays later. Dubuque's Charles Scott III fumbled on the next play from scrimmage with UW-L's Drew Graf recovering at the Spartans' 22-yard line. Facing third-and-20 from the Dubuque 32-yard line, Trent Cummings connected with Tony Bilderback on a 32-yard touchdown pass. Joshua Fischer connected on the extra point for a 7-0 lead. The Eagles went 22 yards on three plays in 1:29.
On the ensuing kickoff, UW-L's Tyler Hyde forced a Oscar White fumble with the Eagles' Tyler Leonard recovering at Dubuque's 35-yard line. The Eagles drove to the 34-yard line, but were forced to punt.
Dubuque drove to UW-L's 31-yard line on the next drive of the game, but Zackary Kleven forced and recovered a fumble by Fry. The Eagles moved to the Spartans' nine-yard line, but were held short on a fourth-and-one. Dubuque had a five-yard punt on its next drive, setting UW-L up at the Dubuque 22-yard line. Cummings scored on a one-yard run and Fischer's extra-point gave UW-L a 14-0 lead with 14:26 remaining in the second quarter. UW-L went 22 yards on five plays in 2:03.
The teams traded punts on the next two possessions before Dubuque took over at its own 25-yard line with 10:25 left in the first half. The Spartans drove to the Eagles' seven-yard line, but Fry was intercepted in the end zone by Jared Stan. UW-L then went 75 yards on nine plays to take a 17-0 lead as Fischer connected on a 22-yard field goal attempt with 1:17 left in the first half.
UW-L led 17-0 at halftime.
The Eagles took the second half kickoff and went 64 yards on seven plays in 2:45 with Cummings and Bilderback connecting on a 36-yard touchdown catch. Fischer's extra-point made it 24-0 with 12:12 left in the third quarter.
Fry was intercepted by Jon Becker at the UW-L 16-yard line on Dubuque's next possession. After UW-L was forced to punt, Dubuque got on the board with a two-yard touchdown run from Scott III with 4:34 remaining in the third quarter. The Spartans went 56 yards on seven plays in 2:28. Fry hit Tyler Rutenbeck on the two-point conversion to cut UW-L's lead to 24-8.
UW-L drove to the Dubuque seven-yard line early in the fourth quarter, but Colton Peterson was intercepted by Blaine Snitker at the Spartans' four-yard line. Snitker appeared to return the interception for a touchdown, but Dubuque was called for an illegal block, setting the Spartans up at their own 15-yard line. Dubuque drove to UW-L's 25-yard line, but Fry's pass on fourth-and-six was incomplete to Rutenbeck with 8:19 left in the game. Fischer missed a 40-yard field goal for UW-L with 1:58 remaining, but Dubuque turned the ball over on downs after an incomplete pass. UW-L's Jacob DeSantis recorded a sack on the drive.
UW-L finished with 364 yards of offense Saturday night, including 209 rushing and 155 passing. Hertrampf totaled 125 yards rushing on 21 attempts (6.0 average) while Jude Williams had 66 yards on 17 carries. It marked Hertrampf's sixth career 100-yard rushing game.
Cummings went eight-of-18 for 139 yards and two touchdowns with one interception while Peterson finished one-of-three for 16 yards with one interception. Bilderback caught three passes for 103 yards and two touchdowns while Chris Stackhouse had two receptions for 12 yards.
UW-L went 10-of-18 (55.6%) on third-down Saturday while winning the time of possession, 33:59 to 26:01. The Eagles were penalized seven times for 55 yards.
Shane Rockweiler led UW-L's defense with 11 tackles, including seven unassisted. He also had 1.0 tackle for loss. Mitch Hawkins finished with eight tackles and Jake Perner seven.
Dubuque totaled 283 yards of offense, including 87 rushing and 196 passing. Scott III had 62 yards on 14 carries while Alec Arvanitakis finished with 50 yards on 11 attempts.
Fry was 24-of-40 for 196 yards and three interceptions. Rutenbeck caught seven passes for 51 yards while Lee Jones (52 yards) and Chris Bagley (40 yards) each had five catches.
Dubuque went four-of-10 (40.0%) on third-down and finished with four penalties for 45 yards.
Snitker had 11 tackles and an interception for the Spartans. Vincent Whipple and Trevor Stauner each finished with nine tackles.
UW-L returns to action Saturday, September 13 at 11th-ranked the University of St. Thomas (Minn.). Kickoff is scheduled for 1:10 p.m.
UW-La Crosse Opens Season with Win at Dubuque
/seasons/2014/boxscores/20140906_a1z8.xml
2014
UW-La Crosse
24
Dubuque
8
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UW-La Crosse (1-0) | 7 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 24 |
| Dubuque (0-1) | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 8 |
Sep 06, 2014