Football | 11/1/2014 4:53:00 PM
Box Score In another defensive battle the UW-River Falls Falcons won 16-13 over UW-La Crosse.
"Today took every guy and every unit," said Falcon Coach Matthew Walker. "It was a battle of two really good defenses."
After a scoreless first quarter the Falcons capped off a seven play 19 yard drive when
Ryan Kusilek connected ona 23 yard field goal which was his first of three in the game. With just over four minutes left in the half UWL hit a field goal on their own to tie the game.
UWRF marched down 75 yards at the end of the half on an eight play drive capped off by a three yard touchdown run by
Rance Ashley. Kusilek, Ashley and
Nick Zimmerman all helped in a balance running attack on a day the Falcons had 46 total rushing attempts for 164 yards. Zimmerman had 91 yards rushing while Ashley carried the ball 16 times for 47 yards. Kusilek also went 10-17 on the day for 81 yards.
It took all the way until there was 1:37 left in the third quarter before UWL tied the game off an eight yard touchdown run. La Crosse had 53 rushing attempts for 229 yards. Walker said he compliments the secondary for forcing UWL to be one dimensional on offense in the game and thought the pressure that the defensive front put on the quarterback was a key factor in the game.
Zach Loos led UWRF in tackles with nine and added a sack in the game.
With 12:24 left in the fourth quarter UWL took their first lead of the game off of a 39 yard field goal.
The Falcons were able to bounce back and tie the game when Kusilek connected on a 31 yard field goal. To end the game UWL attempted a 50 yard field goal which was blocked by
Nick Jacobsen. In overtime Kusilek drilled a 38 yard field goal to move the Falcons up 16-13 and
Zach Loos blocked a 33 yard attempt by UWL to end the game.
UWRF had a balanced defensive game with
Tyler Ledbeter making seven tackles,
Kyle Kittel with six, while
Chris Krech and Jacobsen each added five.
"I couldn't be prouder of the team for staying together," Walker said.
UWRF moves to 3-5 overall on the season and 2-3 in the WIAC. The Falcons have not won three games in a season since the 2009 season. They will head to UW-Stout next Saturday with kickoff set for 1 p.m.
Box Score
