Titans pass by Pioneers

UW-Oshkosh's Nate Wara threw for five touchdown passes,leading the host Titans past UW-Platteville 41-14.

The Pioneers fell behind 14-0, then tied the score on a 14-yard scoring pass from Nick Anderson to Jeff Bracken and a two-yard Lee Vlasak run.

Nate Wara connected with Juston Wara on a 9-yard TD pass 4:40 before halftime to give the Titans the lead for good then threw three more in the first 19 minutes of the second half.

For the game, Nate Wara hit on 27 of 36 passes for 293 yards and the five scores. Garrie Fox caught 7 passes for 105 yards and two touchdowns.

Vlasak ran for 105 yards to pace the Pioneer offense, while Nick Snyder (15 tackles), Brian Snyder (12), Dave Daino (11) and David Rizzio (10) all had double-digit tackle efforts for the defense.

The Titans took over second place in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference with a 3-1 mark, and the Pioneers fell to 2-2. Both teams are now 3-2 overall.

The Pioneers play host to UW-River Falls Saturday at 2 p.m. in the Pioneer Pink Out game.

By Justin Bohn, Sports Information Student Assistant

The Game: UW-Platteville plays host to UW-River Falls in the Pioneer Pink Out 2010, to acknowledge Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and Parents’ Weekend Saturday at 2 p.m. The Pioneers are 4-3 overall and 2-2 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, while the Falcons come in at 0-7, 0-4.

Pioneer Pink Out 2010: Members of the UW-Platteville football team will be wearing pink wrist bands as a show of support to Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

The Pioneers: UW-Platteville is going for its third conference win. After beating 17th-ranked UW-Eau Claire 35-14 in the annual Homecoming game and UW-La Crosse 21-6, the Pioneers dropped a game to UW-Oshkosh 41-14. The Pioneers’ victory over UW-La Crosse was the first win on the Eagles’ home field since 1980.

In the last three games, the Pioneers have had a balanced offense, averaging 167 rushing yards and 148 passing yards. The UW-Platteville new-found balance is led by sophomore Lee Vlasak. Vlasak moved from receiver to running back against UW-Eau Claire and set a Pioneer record with five rushing touchdowns. He became just the sixth player in Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference history to score that many touchdowns on the ground. Vlasak has continued his powerful running by recording 158 yards and two touchdowns at UW-La Crosse and 105 yards and a touchdown at UW-Oshkosh. Vlasak is the first Pioneer since 1994 to rush for over 100 yards in three consecutive games. Vlasak’s nine touchdowns put him second in the WIAC.

The Pioneers are second in red zone defense and lead the WIAC with 25 sacks. The UW-Platteville defense is led by sophomore linebacker Nick Snyder, who is first in the WIAC in tackles with 63, and Brian Snyder is 11th with 46, Courtney Alexander 18th with 41, and Jesse Lindemulder 33rd with 33. Sophomore Corey Marks is second in the WIAC with 5.5 sacks and Nick Snyder is 4th with 4 and Jesse Lindemulder 8th with 3.

Zak Brinkman ranks third in punting average at 37, and Zach Litchfield has converted 6-8 field goal and is perfect with 19 point after attempts.

The Falcons: Coach John O’Grady’s club is led by junior running back Taylor Edwards. Edwards has gained 731 yards on 149 touches. He leads the Falcons with five rushing touchdowns. Greg Klingelhutz leads the WIAC in all purpose yards averaging 152.4 yards a game. Klingelhutz has 181 rushing yards, 126 receiving, and 728 kick-return yards

O’Grady announced last month after 22-years, he will retire after this season. He led the Falcons to a conference championship in 1998 and second-place finishes in 1994, 1995, and 1996. O’Grady was named the 1995 WIAC Coach of the Year. He is second in all-time football wins among WIAC active coaches with a 104-110-3 overall record. He has led the Falcons to a 72-68-3 record in WIAC play. O’Grady was inducted into the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association (WFCA) Hall of Fame on April 5, 2008.