La Crosse, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse football team, ranked 12th on the D3football.com Preseason Top-25 Poll, opened its 2022 season with a 42-7 win over Dakota State University (S.D.) Saturday afternoon at Roger Harring Stadium at Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex. The Trojans drop to 1-1 on the season.
It is UWL's eighth straight season-opening win and ninth in the last 10 games. The Eagles also secured their 13th straight win at home, their longest streak since 13 consecutive victories from 2002-04.
The game was scoreless after the first quarter with five punts. UWL drove to Dakota State's (S.D.) 11-yard line on its second possession of the game, but Ryan Beirne's 28-yard field goal attempt was blocked by the Trojans' Brooks Jansen.
The Eagles erupted for 35 points in the second quarter. Cade Garcia connected with Cameron Sorenson on a seven-yard touchdown pass with 12:07 left. Beirne's extra-point made it 7-0. After a bad snap on Dakota State's (S.D.) next punt, UWL took over at the Trojans' 13-yard line. On the next play, Garcia hit Tyler Stubbendick for a touchdown pass with 10:27 remaining. Dakota State's (S.D.) Zach Brooks was intercepted by UWL's Charlie Kramer on the Trojans' next drive and returned it 24-yards for a touchdown with 9:32 left and give UWL a 21-0 lead.
Keyser Helterbrand later threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Jack Studer with 2:19 remaining in the second quarter to make it 28-0. Beirne's extra-point set a school record for career extra-points. Garcia connected with Studer on a 56-yard touchdown pass with :50 left in the first half to give UWL a 35-0 halftime advantage.
Garcia and Sorenson connected on a nine-yard touchdown pass with :21 remaining in the third quarter to make it 42-0. The Eagles went eight plays and 50 yards in 3:40. Dakota State (S.D.) got on the scoreboard with 7:32 left in the game with Cameron McKeon throwing a 25-yard touchdown pass to Dajshon Keel.
UWL finished with 498 yards of offense, averaging 7.9 yards per game. The Eagles totaled 188 yards rushing and 310 passing. Garcia went 11-of-14 for 189 yards with four touchdowns while Helterbrand finished seven-of-12 for 121 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Sorenson (90 yards) and Matthijs Enters (39) each had four catches while Studer totaled three catches for a game-high 129 yards. Sorenson and Studer each had a pair of touchdown catches. Stutzman finished with 100 yards rushing on 16 carries.
Beirne was six-of-six in extra-point attempts, setting a UWL career record for extra-points made (126) and attempted (134). He breaks the school records of Jedediah Jensen (2000-04), who finished 123-of-131.
Sorenson now has 24 career touchdown catches, tied for fourth in school history. Scott Burnoski (2001-04) is the all-time leader with 30. Stutzman now ranks ninth in career rushing yards at UWL with 2,188. He recorded his 11th career 100-yard rushing game on Saturday, tied for third-most in school history. Ted Pretasky (1985-88) is the school's record holder with 3,877 yards and 17 games with over 100 yards.
Dakota State (S.D.) was held to 136 yards on Saturday, 2.3 yards per game. The Trojans finished with 49 yards rushing and 87 passing. Brooks finished seven-of-22 for 28 yards with an interception while McKeon went seven-of-eight for 59 yards and a touchdown. Cooper McDermott had five catches for 32 yards with Tyce Ortman finishing wiht 56 yards rushing on 11 carries.
UWL had 23 first downs in the game while going three-of-nine on third-down. The Eagles won the time of possession, 31:50 to 28:10. Dakota State (S.D.) had nine first downs, finishing two-of-15 on third-down.
Josh Dorschner led UWL with seven tackles while Ryan Daines finished with six and Riley Christensen five. UWL totaled 5.0 quarterback sacks. J.J. Beck led Dakota State (S.D.) with 15 tackles.
UWL returns to action Saturday, September 10 at the University of Dubuque (Iowa) at 6 p.m.
Big Second Quarter Leads to Season Opening Win
/seasons/2022/boxscores/20220903_l140.xml
2022
Dakota St.
7
UW-La Crosse
42
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dakota St. (1-1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| No. 7 UW-La Crosse (1-0) | 0 | 35 | 7 | 0 | 42 |
Sep 03, 2022