Albion, Mich. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse football team, ranked 11th on D3football.com, earned a 58-23 win at Albion College (Mich.) Saturday afternoon at Sprankle-Stadium in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III First Round. The Eagles improve to 9-2 on the season and will travel North Central College (Ill.) for the second round Saturday, November 27. Albion (Mich.), receiving votes on D3football.com, finishes its season at 9-2.
The 58 points are the most for UWL in a playoff game. UWL scored 55 points in a first round win (55-26) over Wartburg College (Iowa) in the 1993 NCAA Division III First Round.
UWL forced a three-and-out on Albion's (Mich.) first possession and quickly took a 7-0 lead on its opening drive. The Eagles went 48 yards in six plays and 2:13 with Jakob Parks throwing a one-yard touchdown pass to Cameron Sorenson with 11:53 remaining in the first quarter. Ryan Beirne converted the extra-point. The Britons turned the ball over on downs at the Eagles' 42-yard line on their next possession after Jack Bush's pass was broken up by Matthew Reinfeldt. UWL took a 13-0 lead with 6:50 left in the opening quarter on Joey Stutzman's eight-yard touchdown run. Beirne's extra-point was blocked. The drive went 58 yards in six plays and 2:28. The Eagles led, 13-0, after the first 15:00.
Parks' scored on a one-yard run on the first play of the second quarter to make it 20-0. The teams traded turnovers on its next possessions. UWL'sJosh Dorschner forced an Albion (Mich.) fumble with Ryan Daines recovering at the Britons' 39-yard line with 8:04 remaining in the first half. Five plays later, Parks connected withDustin Schultz for a 14-yard touchdown pass with 5:32 left in the second quarter for a 27-0 lead.
Albion (Mich.) got on the board on Jackson Cooney's 39-yard field goal with 1:49 left. UWL took a 34-3 halftime lead on Parks' 24-yard touchdown pass to Jake Simuncak with :14 remaining in the first half.
Beirne connected on a 33-yard field goal with 11:58 remaining on UWL's first drive of the third quarter to make it 37-3. The Britons scored their first touchdown with 6:51 left in the quarter as Bush hit Colby Canfield with a 17-yard touchdown pass. The Eagles responded on their next drive as Parks hit Sorenson with a 24-yard touchdown pass with 3:36 remaining in the third quarter for a 44-10 advantage. Bush threw a 42-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Thomas with 1:26 left in the period to cut the lead to 44-16 after the extra-point was missed.
Max Brower intercepted Bush with 8:01 left in the game and Parks threw his third touchdown pass of the game to Sorenson with 4:28 remaining, this one from 24-yards out for a 51-16 lead. Bryce Wesling converted the extra-point.Elijah Alt intercepted Bush on the Britons' next offensive play and Ben Michalowski scored three plays later with a four-yard touchdown run with 2:32 left in the game for a 58-16 lead. Albion (Mich.) finished the scoring with Bush throwing a 58-yard touchdown pass with :37 remaining.
UWL finished with 546 yards of offense Saturday, including 261 rushing and 285 passing. The Eagles had 30 first downs in the game while going six-of-10 on third-down. UWL was five-of-six in the red-zone. The Eagles won the time of possession, 38:51 to 21:09. UWL did not punt for the second straight game.
Parks went 24-of-30 for 285 yards with five touchdowns. He also had a rushing touchdown. Sorenson totaled 81 yards on six catches with three touchdowns. Simuncak had 76 yards and one touchdown on six receptions. Stutzman led UWL with 136 yards rushing on 19 carries with a touchdown.
Albion (Mich.) totaled 340 yards as the Britons were held to negative one-yard rushing. Albion (Mich.) had 341 yards passing and finished with 17 first downs in the game. The team was seven-of-14 on third-down.
Bush was 28-of-46 for 341 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions. Jacob Clark had 11 yards rushing on seven carries. Canfield finished with 73 yards on seven catches with a touchdown while Thomas totaled 70 yards on five receptions and a touchdown.
Daines led UWL's defense with six tackles while Cade Osborn recorded five. Jeremiah Major led Albion (Mich.) with 16 tackles with Stephen Douglas finishing with 11.
UWL Earns Win at Albion; Advances to NCAA III Second Round
/seasons/2021/boxscores/20211120_mh9o.xml
2021
UW-La Crosse
58
Albion
23
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 11 UW-La Crosse (9-2) | 13 | 21 | 10 | 14 | 58 |
| Albion (9-2) | 0 | 3 | 13 | 7 | 23 |
Nov 20, 2021