Pictures of Scrimmage vs. Razorbacks
Educational/Sight-seeing pictures
Chicago Tribune report of the takeoff
The University of Wisconsin-Platteville football team used six Tom Stetzer touchdown passes and three key turnovers in the first half in building a 35-14 halftime lead on its way to a 62-14 victory over the Schwaebisch Hall Unicorns Sunday in Germany.
The Pioneers, in their maiden voyage into international games, broke open a 7-7 game in the second quarter. Kent Brown and Max Seroogy each intercepted former Drake quarterback Ira Vandever in Unicorn territory, and Tom Venner recovered a Vandever fumble on the Schwaebisch Hall side. Stetzer proceeded to hit Matt Kent (40 yards), converted defensive lineman Matt Lee (8 yards) and Kent for his third score (7 yards) for a 28-7 advantage. After the Unicorns scored, Stetzer unhurled a 69-yard bomb from the left hash mark across the right-side of the field to Max Seroogy before the end of the half for the 35-14 advantage.
Linebacker Mitch Repka, one of several Pioneers playing both ways on this 10-day trip, provided the lone score in the third quarter fon a one-yard run for a 42-14 advantage, and Stetzer connected with Dan Holz from 24-yards out in the fourth quarter for his sixth and final touchdown pass. Pioneer Coach Mike Emendorfer, who did not have a healthy backup quarterback on the trip, used running backs Damian Droessler and Tom Venner in the shot gun in the fourth quarter to run draw plays. Droessler scored from two yards out, and Venner hit Lee with a spectacular one-handed catch in the only pass play in the last part of the game to complete the scoring. Joe Rubenzer set up Droessler's score with a 36-yard interception return to the two, and then picked off a pass on the very next Unicorn play and returned that 28 yards.
Stetzer, voted offensive player of the game, connected on 15 of 24 passes for 265 yards and six touchdowns.
"We played well as a team," the two-time all-conference quarterback said. "Things went well on both sides of the ball, even with the guys we had playing both ways."
With more than 2000 yards in the last two seasons, Kent knew he would be a target of a secondary that included safeties who played at Arizona State and Tulsa.
"I was nervous, I'm not going to lie," he said, "just because they were Division I guys, and I am Division III."
Kent finished the day with seven catches for 101 yards and three scores, part of the Pioneers' 396-234 advantage in total yards. UWP finished with six turnovers on defense and did not turn the ball over once.
Defensive tackle Jeff Christensen also said he was apprehensive because of the sheer size of one of Germany's top club teams. Christensen, however, was voted the Pioneers' defensive MVP after recording eight tackles, including three sacks.
"We came out kind of slow because we didn't know what to expect," he said."Then we got rolling, and it was a lot of fun."
The excursion, whose 10-day run ends Wednesday, surpassed anyone's expectations, according to the players.
"The trip has been a blast, a once-in-a-lifetime experience," Stetzer said. "We definitely have a lifetime of memories to take back to the States."
The trip was helped tremendously by Pioneer assistant coach Ulz Daeuber, who was once a Unicorn coach. He coached the Schwaebisch Hall MVPs Kai Rabus, who caught both first-half TD passes from Vandever, and defensive MVP Olaf Lang, who had six tackles. Daeuber was honored after the game in a dinner that included both teams intermingling.
"I'd never, ever trade this,"Christensen said. "It's been a great time."
(Special thanks to Mary Erickson and Dan Frommelt for their help in posting stories on the web when phone lines from Schwaebisch Hall were difficult, and to Brian Huiting for taking pictures during Sunday's game when the Sports Information Director was running the computer.)
The UW-Platteville football team and Germany touring party were honored Saturday by the Schwaebisch Hall Lord Mayor Hermann-Josef Pelgrim in his office and then in a festival-type setting.
The Lord Mayor welcomed the group and mentioned the Pioneers' orange and blue colors, noting he once studied at the University of Illinois, who has the same color scheme. He added that it shows how connected the world is.
"We are living in a big family," he said. "Even in a family, we may have differences, but we are still family."
UW-Platteville Chancellor David Markee thanked the Lord Mayor, saying "We're extremely pleased with being here. This has been very special. The people have been very hospitable, and we are glad to be a part of your community for a few days."
Pioneer assistant coach Ulz Daeuber has been part of Schwaebisch Hall's community since his birth in 1970, and his family arranged for a marching band to greet the group. The UWP contingent sat on some of the 53 rows of steps to historic St.Michael's church (built in 1156) and listened to the performance. Afterwards, the group was given a walking tour of the old-world European city.
During the walk, posters could be seen in many store windows to promote Sunday's game vs. the Unicorns.Ý Coach Daeuber, who was featured in a half-page long article in the morning's paper, said the Unicorns expect 1,000 to 1,500 people at the contest.
The Pioneers got their first-look at the Unicorns Friday night, and the first reaction was one of awe at the size of the players. Schwaebisch Hall employs four former NCAA Division I players in its starting lineup and has some of the best German players in the country. UW-Platteville had a crisp workout Saturday morning in Hagenbach Stadium to prepare for the contest.
The UW-Platteville football traveling party spent Thursday touring the stunning Neuschwanstein castle set in the foothills of the Alps. The breath-taking view of of the enormousÝ home of King Ludwig II is the model Disney used in creating Cinderella's castle.
The previous night, several Pioneers were able to make some of their own fairy tales come true.
ÝWith 28 healthy players in uniform, many Pioneers are playing both offense and defense. While scrimmaging the Fuerstenfeldbruck Razorbacks, those players had a chance to play both ways in preparation of Sunday's full game against the Schwaebisch Hall Unicorns.
Not only were the rest of the 90-person UWP party treated to the familiar Tom Stetzer to Matt Kent scoring combination, in which Kent's quick steps left two Razorbacks grasping for air, but also defensive back Joe Rubenzer scoring on a screen pass, linebacker Kent Brown grabbing a touchdown bomb from Stetzer and wide receiver Max Seroogy intercepting a pass.
"For our players playing both ways, it made an interesting scrimmage," Pioneer Coach Mike Emendorfer said. "It was such a pleasure seeing our players coming off the field with big smiles on their faces. There were no scoreboards or anything like that. Just players out there for the pure enjoyment of playing football."
Thursday night, the Pioneers traveled north to Schwaebisch Hall, the hometown of assistant coach Ulz Daeuber. Friday and Saturday's schedule include tours of the Mercedes-Benz plant and Loewenbraeu brewery as well as a meeting with the Schwaebisch Hall mayor. The Pioneers will get their first look at the football stadium during Friday night's practice and Saturday's walkthrough.ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ
The UW-Platteville football team is getting an education in Germany, but even though the Pioneers were well-schooled in a specially designed class before making their trip, they found nothing compares to being in the country.
On Tuesday afternoon and night, the Pioneers experienced the sights and sounds of Munich, taking in the Town Square and visiting some of the halls that made this European city famous.
Wednesday morning brought a more sobering experience, as the traveling party toured the concentration camp at Dachau, where more than 32,000 prisoners of the Nazi regime died.Ý The enormity of the camp, which housed 200,000 prisoners from 1933 until 1945, was mind-boggling to most of the UWP group.
"Seeing it in class doesn't do it justice," said linebacker Joe Porior. "I don't know really how to describe the size of it. It puts our history class into reality."
Linebacker Mitch Repka agreed, saying "this is a lot more than I expected. It puts a perspective on it a lot more than sitting in class."
On the football side of things, the Pioneers had a walk-through Tuesday night at the home field of the Fuestentenfeldbruck Razorbacks. The Razorbacks are a small club teamÝ whose players and coaches watched the Pioneers practice to get more up-close knowledge of American football.
The Razorbacks will get a very personal look Wednesday night, as the teams will practice together doing 7x7 drills and individual linemen workouts.
Despite a little bit of a scary start to the trip, the UW-Platteville football team and its traveling party made it safely to Germany Tuesday morning.
Right before takeoff from O'Hare Airport Monday, the plane suddenly skidded to a stop, as another plane was deemed too close to the runway. The Pioneers then had to wait two hours as the brakes were re-checked following the abrupt halt. The Pioneers arrived in Munich at 10:20 a.m. (3:20 Platteville time) and will practice Tuesday night.