Detroit, Mich. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse football team, ranked 11th on D3football.com, improved to 3-0 on the season with a 28-21 victory at National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II Wayne State University (Mich.) Saturday night at Adams Field. The Warriors, members of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC), drop to 1-2.
It is UWL's first win over an NCAA Division II team since a 48-0 victory over Missouri Science & Technology on September 26, 2009. The Eagles are 3-0 for the first time since winning their first five games in 2017.
In the first-ever meeting between the two teams, UWL took the opening kickoff and drove to the Wayne State (Mich.) seven-yard line, but Cade Garcia was intercepted by Matt Buschman in the end zone. The Warriors used 11 plays to go 80 yards in 5:08 on their first possession of the game with Myren Harris scoring on a five-yard touchdown run with 5:32 remaining in the first quarter for a 7-0 lead after Hadi Jawad's extra-point.
Wayne State (Mich.) took a 14-0 lead on the first play of the second quarter as Elijah Fowlkes returned Garcia's interception 51-yards for a touchdown.
UWL quickly responded on its next drive to cut the lead to 14-7. The Eagles went 75 yards in 12 plays and 7:02 with Keyser Helterbrand connecting with Jack Studer on an eight-yard touchdown pass with 7:47 left in the second quarter. Ryan Beirne converted the extra-point. UWL forced a Wayne State (Mich.) punt on its next drive and the Eagles forced a 14-14 tie with 3:37 remaining in the first half on Garcia's 41-yard touchdown pass to Dustin Schultz. UWL went 70 yards in five plays and 2:28.
After forcing a three-and-out, UWL took its first lead of the game on Helterbrand's two-yard touchdown run with :06 left in the first half. UWL went 60 yards in six plays and 2:31. The Eagles led, 21-14, at halftime.
The Warriors took the second half kickoff, driving 70 yards in nine plays and 3:30 to tie the game at 21-21. Harris scored on a 15-yard run with 11:28 remaining in the third quarter. After forcing a UWL punt, Wayne State (Mich.) drove into UWL's territory, but Grif Milovanski's 45-yard field goal was blocked by UWL's AJ Spychala. The Eagles were forced to punt on their next drive, but after driving to UWL's 29-yard line, Milovanski had his second field goal blocked, this time from 39-yards out by Nate Hietpas. The game remained tied, 21-21, after three quarters.
UWL took the lead with 11:20 remaining in the game, driving 71 yards in 12 plays and 6:09, as Garcia hit Ryan Bartol for an 11-yard touchdown pass. Beirne's fourth extra-point gave UWL a 28-21 lead. Wayne State's (Mich.) Josh Kulka was intercepted by UWL's Charlie Kramer with 10:59 left at the Warriors' 29-yard line, but Helterbrand was intercepted by Fowlkes in the Wayne State (Mich.) end zone with 8:51 left. The Warriors had to punt after Kulka was sacked by Jack Kelly.
The Eagles ran out the final 6:00 of the clock, with 12 running plays for 52 yards. UWL converted a pair of third-downs on the drive.
UWL finished with 443 yards of offense Saturday, including 176 rushing and 267 passing. The Eagles had 27 first downs in the game while going nine-of-12 on third-down. UWL won the time of possession, 37:29 to 22:31. Garcia went 16-of-24 for 218 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions while Helterbrand finished nine-of-13 for 49 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Helterbrand had a game-high 106 yards rushing on 15 carries with one touchdown. Joey Stutzman finished with 85 yards on 19 rushes. Schultz (67 yards), Studer (33) and Matthijs Enters (31) each had four catches for the Eagles with Schultz and Studer recording touchdown catches along with Bartol.
Wayne State (Mich.) totaled 275 yards, including 96 rushing and 179 passing. The Warriors were held to 13 first downs, finishing three-of-11 on third-down. Kulka finished 10-of-23 for Wayne State (Mich.) for 179 yards with one interception. Harris had 68 yards on 16 carries and two touchdowns while Nick Poterack (51 yards), Kendal Williams (31) and Harris (16) each had two catches.
Elijah Alt led UWL with seven tackles with Kelly and Jake Schara each finishing with six. Kelly had 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 quarterback sacks. Adam Quam finished with 1.5 tackles for loss. Juliu Wilkerson had a team-high 12 tackles for Wayne State (Mich.) while Fowlkes and Buschman each finished with seven. Fowlkes had a pair of interceptions while Buschman had one.
UWL returns to action Saturday, October 1 hosting fourth-ranked UW-Whitewater at 1 p.m. in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) opener for both teams.