UW-Platteville blanks Lakeland, 56–0

SHEBOYGAN — The University of Wiscosnin-Platteville football team had little trouble with host Lakeland University Saturday afternoon.

The 10th-ranked Pioneers dominated every phase of the game en route to a dominating 56–0 non-conference victory at Taylor Memorial Field.

Senior halfback Kyle Whitman (Round Lake, Ill.) rushed for 104 yard and three touchdowns on 23 carries. Whitman's 5-yard touchdown 30 seconds into the second half gave UW–Platteville a commanding 35–0 lead.

Senior quarterback Tom Kelly (Chicago, Ill.) completed 16 of 34 passes for 213 yards and a pair of touchdowns before giving way to junior backup Jack Eddy (Auroa, Ill.).

Kelly's 12-yard touchdown pass to senior Quinn Buschbacher (Sugar Grove, Ill.) early in the first quarter gave the Pioneers (3–0) and early 7–0 lead. 

After back-to-back TD runs by Whitman, Kelly tossed a 50-yard touchdown to junior wide receiver Tim Jansen (Pingree Grove, Ill.) with 3:36 left in the first half.

Jansen went on to catch a pair of third-quarter touchdown passes of 64 yards and 50 yards from Eddy, finishing his career day with three catches for 164 yards and three touchdowns.  Eddy completed both his passes for 114 yards and two scores.

Sophomore running back Sean Studer (Manhattan, Ill.) rushed for 72 yards and a score on eight carries.

The Pioneers piled up nearly 700 yards of total offense in the blowout win, including 316 yards rushing on 61 carries. UW-Platteville collected 36 first downs in the blowout, out gained the Muskies 656–160 and dominated the time of possession 38:10–21:50.

Senior defensive end Austin Young (Shannon, Ill.) led the defense with six total tackles and two of UW–Platteville's six quarterback sacks. 

The Pioneers limited the Muskies to 82 yards passing, allowing just 13 completions on 38 attempts. Sophomore Luke Jonhson, junior Evan Armour and sophomore Josh Mackie all had interceptions for UW–Platteville in the victory.

The undefeated Pioneers will begin conference play next Saturday with a clash with preseason WIAC favorite UW–Whitewater (3–0). The second-ranked Warhawks (3–0) are coming off a 35–21 victory over Morningside (IA).