Pioneers stun #16 La Crosse

UW-Platteville bolted to a 24-7 halftime lead and used a strong defensive effort to stun 16th-ranked and previously undefeated UW-La Crosse 26-13 Saturday in the Pioneers' Homecoming game.

UWP, playing its first home game since beating Buena Vista 15-10 Sept. 5, improved to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The Eagles, 16th in both the D3football.com and National Football Coaches Association polls, fell to 4-1, 1-1.

"It feels great," said defensive back Brian Snyder, who made a 55-yard fumble return during the second quarter. "They're ranked 16th in the nation so that's big for us, especially coming after Whitewater. This really helps us a lot."

Freshman quarterback Nick Anderson threw for a first quarter touchdown pass before leaving the game with an injury, and senior Mitch Shadley threw for two second quarter scores, helping the Pioneers to the large halftime lead.

Anderson hit Joe Burkeland with a 13-yard screen pass for a score 7:56 into the game. Two plays later, Tim Stephenson disrupted an Eagle option play, causing a fumble which Tom Bruins recovered on the 28. The Pioneers reached the 6 before settling for a 23-yard Tony Smidl field goal.

UW-La Crosse thwarted two drives with interceptions in their end zone, one by Billy Niggeman the other by Derek Dreher.

After Dreher's pick, the Eagles got on the board in a somewhat strange fashion. The Pioneers were whistled for illegal jumping (one player using another as a springboard) on a missed field goal attempt. Given new life, UW-L finished off the drive with a 3-yard Lee Lauters score.

An attempted squib kick hit off Tom Krahl's foot, and Eric Leander recovered on the 50, giving the Pioneers' excellent field position. Shadley threw a 4-yard TD pass to Jake Wiederholt, capping off the drive.

"Bruins made a tackle, and I was running over there and it just popped right into my stomach, so I just took off," Snyder said. "I should have been a little faster--I think a lineman caught me actually--but it set up a touchdown so it was all good."

Shadley found Darin Blaser in the left-corner of the end zone for a 9-yard score with just 33 seconds left in the half.

UWP extended its lead to 26-7 only 51 seconds in the second half. Dustin Bollant blocked a punt, and the ball bounced into the end zone, where the Eagles recovered for a Pioneer safety.

The Pioneer defense did the rest, holding the Eagles to 283 total yards, including 135 in the second half. UW-L came into the game averaging 444 yards and 39.2 points per contest. The Pioneers gained 174 of their 215 total yards in the opening 30 minutes.

The Eagles finally scored with 2:06 remaining, on Lauters' 1-yard dive. Filling in for injured Reid Oldenburg, the WIAC's leading rusher, Lauters gained 142 yards on 31 carries.

Bruins, ranked third in the WIAC in tackles, had a game-high 12, including 2.5 for losses. He also forced two fumbles and recovered another one. Quincy Hudson and Dave Daino, making his first career start, each had 11, while Stephenson finished with 3.5 tackles for losses, including 1.5 sacks for minus-8 yards. Leander had a first-half interception, and both Hudson and Jesse Lindemulder broke up three passes.

"The keys were turnovers, getting good pressure on the QB, securing tackles and not letting any tackles get away," Stephenson said. "It was just a good solid effort from the defense today."

Stephenson leads the WIAC in quarterback sacks, and having a big lead enabled the Pioneer end to be turned loose.

"I like it a lot because it opens up my game and what I have to do," he said.

The Pioneers won their Homecoming game for the first time since 2003 but have defeated UW-La Crosse the last three times they have met in UWP Homecomings. Platteville won 27-24 in 1999 and again 36-29 in 2001.