MENOMONIE — The UW-Stout Blue Devils (1-1) fell to the No. 10 ranked Wartburg College Knights (2-0) 16-0 Saturday at Don & Nona Williams Stadium.
Wartburg struck first on their second drive of the opening quarter, marching 67 yards in just over three minutes before Leo Dodd connected with Jagger Schmitt for a 27-yard touchdown strike at the 6:52 mark. To put the Knights up 7-0, a lead they would never relinquish.
The Knights extended their lead in the second quarter with a pair of field goals making the score 13-0 at halftime.
The second half was a defensive battle. The Blue Devils' defense held strong, preventing any scoring in the third quarter. The Knights added one more field goal in the fourth quarter, a 25-yarder from Jackson Othmer, to finalize the score at 16-0.
The Blue Devils' offense struggled to move the ball, finishing 135 total yards and seven first downs going 0-for-11 on third downs. Wartburg controlled the ball for nearly 45 minutes, amassing 344 total yards to Stout's 135. The Knights converted 10 of 21 third downs and outgained Stout 344-135 in total offense.
Adam Moen finished 15 of 34 for 115 yards and three interceptions. Kade Tappen made six catches for 55 yards.
Defensively, Stout racked up 99 total tackles led by Brooks Brewer and Blaine Seidl with 11 apiece. The unit sacked Dodd once and recorded eight tackles for loss with Brooks Brewer snagging an interception.
The Blue Devils will be back in action on Saturday, Sept. 20 when they travel to St. Paul, Minn. for a 6 p.m. kick-off with the University of Northwestern.
