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| Jimmy Spehn was one of five Pioneers to take snaps |
Posted October 25, 2008
Momentum changed uniforms in the second half, helping 17th-ranked UW-Eau Claire defeat UW-Platteville 20-10 Saturday at Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium.
Change number one occurred on the opening drive of the third quarter, when the Pioneers, who gained just 57 yards of offense in the first half and trailed 6-3, drove 56 yards to the Blugold 15, only to fumble. On the very next play, UWEC's Cory Sartorelli produced a highlight-quality 85 yard touchdown run, breaking tackles at the line of scrimmage and then weaving sideline-to-sideline for a 13-3 lead.
The second big swing came with four minutes left in the fourth quarter. UWP, who had cut the lead to 13-10 on Jon Martin's one-yard plunge, drove to the Blugold 45. One first and 10, Chris Below came around the left end and dumped Pioneer QB John Akim for a 13-yard loss. The Pioneers eventually were forced to punt, and the Blugolds went 68 yards on eight plays, capped by Kyle Paulson's 42-yard scoring run with 38 seconds remaining. Sartorelli also came up with a big heads-up play during the drive, recovering a Paulson fumble on the Blugold 47.
The Blugolds, ranked 17th in the D3football.com poll, improved to 5-2 overall and 3-2 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The Pioneers fell to 2-5, 0-4.
Sartorelli ran for 188 yards and two scores, including a nine-yard second-quarter run that erased a 3-0 Pioneer lead that came on Tony Smidl's career-best 43-yard field goal. Paulson ran for 68 yards and threw for 125 yards for a UWEC offense that gained 379 yards.
The Pioneers had five different players take snaps during the game, and all five had already rotated in before the game was six minutes old. Receivers Jimmy Spehn and Terry Belville ran for 37 and 25 yards, respectively. Akim threw for 153 yards, and Joe Burkeland totaled 144. Nick Grosso had a monster day receiving, catching nine passes for 157 yards, including a 48-yard reception that brought the ball to the one to set up the lone UWP touchdown. The Pioneers gained 287 of their 344 yards after intermission.
Joe Tinucci made 10 tackles, Thomas Kral eight and David Akey seven to lead the Pioneer defense. Dave Wicklund's eight tackles and one forced fumble led the Blugolds, who held the Pioneers to 30 rushing yards on 30 carries.
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