September 3, 2022
La CROSSE, Wis. – After being scoreless in the first fifteen minutes of the non-conference football contest at Roger Harring Stadium at Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex Saturday afternoon, NCAA Division III Wisconsin-La Crosse exploded for 35 points in the second quarter and paved to a 42-7 victory over Dakota State (S.D.). It was the second all-time series meeting between DSU and UWL.
Dakota State fell to 1-1 overall record and played its first road contest. Wisconsin-La Crosse, who is ranked No. 12 in the d3football.com national ranking, was playing its season opener Saturday.
FIRST QUARTER
- Both teams did not score in the first quarter. The Trojans were forced to punt on the first drive of the game.
- The Eagles marched down the field with nine plays for 62 yards in four minutes, thirty-seven seconds. UWL's Ryan Beirne's 28-yard field goal was blocked by Brooks Jansen and was recovered by Cody Brown. DSU retained possession of the ball on DSU's 24-yard line with less than six minutes on the clock.
- The first quarter ended as Keyser Helterbrand threw a 13-yard pass to Cameron Sorenseon to UWL's 49-yard line.
SECOND QUARTER
- Wisconsin-La Crosse continued to move the ball into DSU's territory and scored the first points of the game. Cade Garcia threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Sorensen, followed by a successful PAT extra point kick by Beirne for a 7-0 lead with 12:07 on the clock.
- After a failed punt attempt on the ensuing possession, the Eagles started their drive on DSU's 13-yard line. UWL answered with a 13-yard touchdown pass from Garcia to Max Stubbendick to extend their lead to 14-0 with 10:22 left (Beirne's PAT extra-point kick was good).
- Wisconsin-La Crosse extended their lead to 21-0 on the next possession as Charlie Kramer returned an interception of 24 yards for a touchdown with 9:32 on the clock in the second quarter (Beirne's PAT extra-point kick was good).
- The Eagles used a pair of touchdown passing plays in the final three minutes of the game (both followed by successful PAT extra-point kicks by Beirne). Helterbrand threw a 31-yard pass to Jack Studer with 2:19 left, while Garcia hit a 56-yard pass to Studer with 50 seconds left before halftime.
THIRD QUARTER
- Dakota State started the second half with 10 plays for 35 yards in nearly five minutes. The Trojans were unable to convert a fourth-down situation on UWL's 30-yard line as they turned the ball on downs with 10:08 on the clock.
- Wisconsin-La Crosse scored a touchdown near the end of the third quarter. Garcia connected to Sorenson for a 9-yard touchdown pass, extending Eagles' lead to 42-0 with 21 seconds left in the third quarter after Beirne's PAT extra-point kick.
FOURTH QUARTER
- Dakota State snapped its scoring drought with a touchdown in the fourth quarter. The Trojans recorded 13 plays for 88 yards in 7:49 as Cameron McKeon threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Dajshon Keel with 7:32 left. Noah Karwacki's PAT extra-point kick was good as DSU trailed 42-7.
- DSU outgained UWL 89-38 in the final 15 minutes of the game.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- McKeon was 7-of-8 for 59 yards and a touchdown for Dakota State. Zach Brooks added 28 passing yards.
- Tyce Ortman rushed 13 times for 56 yards for DSU. Cooper McDermott caught five passes for 32 yards. Keel added two receptions for 29 yards and a touchdown. Austin Lake had three catches for 16 yards.
- Karwacki registered eight punts for 292 yards, averaging 36.5 yards per punt for Dakota State.
- Blake Duran caught an interception for DSU. Jeremiah 'JJ' Beck led the Trojans' defense with 15 tackles. Jay Skogerboe added seven tackles and a fumble recovery. Tamareon Foster tallied seven tackles. Mason Lloyd and Collin Brueggeman each had five tackles.
- Brown and Darius Richards each registered a quarterback sack for Dakota State.
- Garcia was 11-of-14 for 189 yards with four touchdowns for UWL. Helterbrand added 7-of-12 for 121 passing yards and a touchdown. He rushed seven times for 32 yards.
- Joey Stutzman ran 16 times for 100 yards for the Eagles.
- Studer had three catches for 129 yards and two touchdowns for Wisconsin-La Crosse. Sorensen added four receptions for 90 yards and two touchdowns.
- Josh Dorschner led the Eagles with seven tackles. Ryan Daines added six tackles.
TEAM COMPARISONS
- Wisconsin-La Crosse piled up 498 offensive yards compared to Dakota State 136 offensive yards. The Eagles threw 310 yards compared to the Trojans 87 yards. UWL outrushed DSU 188-49.
- The Eagles tallied 23 first downs, while the Trojans had nine first downs.
- UWL held the ball for 31 minutes, 50 seconds. DSU retained possession for 28 minutes, 10 seconds.
UP NEXT
The Trojans take a week off before returning to action. DSU stays on the road as they visit their North Star Athletic Association's foe Waldorf (Iowa). The non-conference game is set for 4 p.m. at Bolstorff Field in Forest City, Iowa.
Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director