UW-La Crosse 21, UW-Stout 7
LA CROSSE (November 4, 2017) - UW-Stout had opportunities, but couldn't take advantage and the Blue Devils lost 21-7 to UW-La Crosse Saturday at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
Twice in the first quarter, Stout (5-3, 3-3 WIAC) got inside the 30-yard line only to come up empty. Midway through the first period, Stout got to the La Crosse 27 but ran out of downs. On their next drive, Stout drove to the La Crosse 10, but were intercepted in the end zone.
The Eagles (7-2, 4-2 WIAC) drew first blood, as La Crosse took advantage of a relatively short field, driving 49 yards in seven plays as quarterback Drew David hit tight end Cole Spieker for a 10-yard score.
Stout did take advantage of a take-away in the second period when, with La Crosse threatening,
Levi Wolf picked off his fourth interception of the season, returning it 40 yards to the Stout 42. The Blue Devils drove and, with nine seconds remaining,
J.Dan Sturgeon hit
Kevion McDonald for a 20-yard score and the score wast tied 7-7 at halftime.
The Blue Devils saw another opportunity go awry in the third quarter.
Michael Pierson picked off a pass and appeared heading to paydirt. A shoestring tackle by Tripp Soma gave Stout the ball on the La Crosse 40, but the Blue Devils only went backwards and had to punt the ball from the 50-yard line.
The teams traded punts, until Wolf came up big again, getting his second interception of the day just before the end of the third period, giving the ball to Stout on their own 38. But the Blue Devils gave the ball back four plays later via an interception of their own.
Two minutes into the fourth period, the Eagles grabbed the momentum when Luke Winnen intercepted a Stout pass and took it 13 yards into the end zone for a 14-7 La Crosse lead. Stout fumbled on their next drive, but La Crosse could not convert a field goal on the ensuing drive.
The Eagles took a 21-7 lead at 6:19 of the fourth when David found Nate Holcomb for a 51-yard TD pass.
Both teams played a little give-away. The Blue Devils threw four interceptions and the Eagles three.
Stout finished the game with 323 yards of total offense, 283 in the air, 40 on the ground. The Eagles tallied 313 total yards of offense, 132 rushing, 181 passing.
Stout's
Jay Alston completed 7-of-20 passes for 176 yards, including a 72-yard pass to McDonald, but was intercepted three times and was sacked six times. Sturgeon completed 4-of-13 passes for 44 yards and was intercepted once.
Brian Sandifer had three receptions for 101 yards. McDonald also had three catches, totaling 93 yards.
Lucian Coutier carried the ball 12 times to net 64 yards.
Defensively,
Luke Wilz had 13 tackles, eight solo. The Blue Devils had four pass break-ups, but the Eagles broke up eight passes.
Isaiah Hardy and
Iyen Ogbomoh shared a sack and
Dylan Peterson had a sack. Ogbomoh blocked a field goal attempt.
For the Eagles, David was 13-of-32 for 181 yards and two scores, but he was intercepted three times. Holcomb had five catches for 98 yards. Jalen Clark carried the ball 10 times for 46 yards.
Michael Garvey had nine tackles for the Eagles and a forced fumble. Ryan Flathers had two sacks.
The Blue Devils will wrap up the 2017 season when they host UW-Oshkosh, Saturday, Nov. 11, for Senior Day and Military Appreciation Day. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:05 p.m.
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