Posted 10/27/07
A season of cruel fates dealt UW-Platteville another blow Saturday, as host UW-River Falls scored the tying touchdown with 15 seconds left then won 42-36 in overtime.
Nathan Anderson's four-yard run in the extra period won the game for the Falcons, who had blocked Tony Smidl's field goal try on the Pioneers' possession.
Michael Zweifel caught a one-yard scoring pass from Storm Harmon with 15 seconds left, and Harmon hit Andy Marx with the two-point conversion pass to tie the score at 36-36.
Harmon scored from one-yard out with 2:11 to play, bringing the Falcons to within 29-28, but the extra-point kick missed. After the Pioneers recovered an on-sides kick, they reached the end zone in two plays. Tyson Droessler scored from 15 yards out, and Smidl's PAT extended the Pioneer lead to 36-28 with 1:35 to play. UWRF, however, went 54 yards in 12 plays for the tie.
The Falcons improved to 3-5 overall and 2-3 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, while the Pioneers fell to 2-6, 1-4. Their last three losses have come by a touchdown or less. The Pioneers took a 29-14 halftime lead. Quincy Hudson returned an interception 63 yards for a score, Mike Genslinger ran for touchdowns of 16 and 30 yards, and Joe Burkeland rushed for a 29-yard score. Hudson had two interceptions and a fumble recovery, the first Pioneer to intercept two passes in a game since Jesse Nelson in 2001.
Genslinger rushed for 171 yards, giving him 456 yards the last two times he has faced UWRF. Droessler added 54 yards and Burkeland 40 for the Pioneers, who ran for 276 yards but passed for just 19 in the strong winds. The Pioneers scored 30 or more points for the fourth straight game, the first time they have done that since 1969.
Anderson rushed for 215 yards on 42 carries and scored three times for the Falcons, while Harmon passed for 210 yards and two scores. Zweifel caught 17 passes for 140 yards, tying the WIAC record for receptions that is shared by among others former Pioneers Jason Leonard and Greg Siebers.
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