La Crosse, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse football team, ranked 13th on this week's D3football.com Top-25 Poll, opened Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) play with a 45-40 victory over UW-Stout Saturday afternoon at Roger Harring Stadium at Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex. The Eagles improve to 3-1 overall and 1-0 in the WIAC while the Blue Devils fall to 2-2 overall and 0-1 in the conference.
It is UWL's 11th straight win over UW-Stout.
The Eagles took the opening kickoff and a 7-0 lead on Keyser Helterbrand scored on a one-yard run with 11:11 left in the opening quarter. UW-Stout drove to UWL's 43-yard line on its opening drive, but Mitch Waechter's fourth-and-five pass was incomplete. Three plays later Helterbrand connected with Jack Studer with a six-yard touchdown pass with 6:30 remaining in the first quarter to give UWL a 14-0 lead. Helterbrand and Studer connected on all three plays in the drive for 57 yards.
UW-Stout got on the scoreboard on its next drive with Adam Moen throwing a 16-yard touchdown pass to Raith Bauer with 2:58 left in the first quarter to cut the lead to 14-7. The Blue Devils tied the game at 14-14 with 4:59 remaining in the second quarter with Waechter throwing a 23-yard touchdown pass to Arthur Cox. UWL quickly regained the lead with Helterbrand throwing a 77-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Bartol to make it 21-14 with 4:20 left in the half. The Blue Devils were forced to punt and Helterbrand scored on a four-yard run with 1:44 remaining to give the Eagles a 28-14 lead.
The Blue Devils got a 28-yard field field goal from Luke Cool with :05 left to cut the halftime lead to 28-17.
Both teams punted after its first possessions of the third quarter. Cool's 22-yard field goal with 9:33 left cut the deficit to 28-20, but two plays later, Helterbrand and Studer combined on a 77-yard touchdown pass to make it 35-20 with 8:40 remaining. On the second play of the fourth quarter, Helterbrand and Studer connected for their third touchdown of the game, this one from 36-yards out. UWL led, 42-20, with 14:18 left.
Austin Knade intercepted Waechter on UW-Stout's next drive and Michael Stack's 22-yard field goal with 10:36 left gave UWL a 45-20 lead. Waechter hit Will Knutson on a 19-yard touchdown pass with 8:51 left to cut the margin to 45-27 with 8:51 remaining. UWL punted on its next drive and UW-Stout went 80 yards in 11 plays to cut the lead to 45-34 with 2:28 left on a Waechter 22-yard touchdown pass to Patrick Corcoran. The Blue Devils recovered the ensuing onside kick and two plays later, Knutson caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from Waechter with 2:08 remaining. UW-Stout's two-point conversion failed. UWL recovered UW-Stout's onside kick and took over with 2:07 left. Helterbrand rushed for a first down on second-and-nine and UWL was able to run out the clock.
UWL finished with 550 yards, including 251 passing and 299 passing. The Eagles totaled 19 first downs in the game while going 2-of-11 on third-down and two-of-two on fourth-down. UWL was four-of-four in red-zone chances. Helterbrand accounted for six touchdowns in the game, finishing 11-of-21 passing for 297 yards and four touchdowns while rushing for 128 yards and two touchdowns on 15 attempts. Studer totaled five catches for 170 yards and three touchdowns. Gabe Lynch had 80 yards rushing on 10 carries.
UW-Stout totaled 523 yards with 224 rushing and 299 passing. The Blue Devils finished with 29 first downs and were five-of-16 on third-down and one-of-three on fourth-down. UW-Stout finished six-of-seven in the red-zone. Waechter went 24-of-43 for 283 yards with four touchdowns and one interception. He also rushed for 100 yards on nine carries. Matt Pomietlo had 100 yards rushing on 20 attempts. Knutson (84 yards), Corcoran (76) and Cox (70) each had five catches with Knutson finishing with two touchdowns and Corcoran and Cox each had one.
Landon Oine led UWL with 10 tackles while Caden Boettcher and Adam Quam each had eight tackles. Mason Priebe led UW-Stout with six tackles.
UWL returns to action Saturday, October 7 at fourth-ranked UW-Whitewater at 1 p.m.
UWL Defeats UW-Stout in WIAC Opener; Helterbrand Accounts for Six Touchdowns
/seasons/2023/boxscores/20230930_nqqv.xml
2023
UW-Stout
40
UW-La Crosse
45
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UW-Stout (2-2) | 7 | 10 | 3 | 20 | 40 |
| No. 4 UW-La Crosse (3-1) | 14 | 14 | 7 | 10 | 45 |
Sep 30, 2023