No. 17 Football downs Falcons on Homecoming

The 17th-ranked UW-Platteville football team defeated UW-River Falls, 24-14, on the Pioneers annual Homecoming game on Saturday at Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium .

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No. 17 Football downs Falcons on Homecoming
October 11, 2014

PLATTEVILLE, Wis. -- The 17th-ranked University of Wisconsin-Platteville football team defeated UW-River Falls, 24-14, on the Pioneers annual Homecoming game on Saturday at Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium.  

Senior Andy Puccini led the Pioneers all afternoon long with 119 rush yards and scored all three of the teams touchdowns. His first touchdown came at the end of the first quarter when he plunged into the endzone from three yards out, capping off a nine play 59-yard drive.   

The Pioneer defense held the Falcons scoreless until River Falls' last possession of the half. The Falcons drove 86 yards on 11 plays to tie the game up, 7-7, with 1:01 left in the first half. The Pioneer offense moved the ball quickly and got in field goal range in less than a minute. Pat Frio ended the half by hitting a 43-yard field goal as time expired to give the Pioneers a 10-7 lead going into intermission.  

Early in the third quarter, Alex Johnson forced a fumble and Andrew Belken recovered it, putting the offense on River Fall's 28-yard line. Puccini punched in a one-yard touchdown coming off the turnover, 17-7.  

Midway through the quarter, UWRF's long snapper sailed a snap over the punters head and Bryan Whitehead fell on the loose ball on the Falcon's nine-yard line. Puccini once again punched it in from a yard out to give the Pioneers a 24-7 lead.  

UWRF answered just 10 seconds into the fourth quarter, when Ryan Kusilek found Jordan Christianson for the second time in the game for a four-yard touchdown.  

The defense the forced two straight three and outs and used a pair of sacks on UWRF's final possession to close out the game, 24-14.  

Andrew Robinson wreaked havoc on the Falcon offense all game, and led the Pioneers with three forced fumbles, 12 tackles with three and a half of them going for a loss. Jacob Zilbar tallied 10 tackles, while Johnson recorded seven tackles and a forced fumble. The Pioneer defense ended the day with 10 tackles for a loss, four sacks and five forced fumbles with three of them being recovered. 

UW-Platteville hosts No. 16 UW-Stevens Point on Saturday, Oct. 18 at 2 p.m.