Pioneers conclude season to undefeated No. 5 Warhawks

PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville football team fell 21-49 to No. 5 and undefeated UW-Whitewater Saturday in the 26^th edition of the George Chryst Memorial Bowl.

Overall, the Pioneers scored three touchdowns against the undefeated team that had yet to have any opponent score more than one touchdown against them since the last match up between the Pioneers last season.  

Coin Schuetz went 21 of 41 attempts for 246 yards, two touchdowns, and was sacked six times. UW-Whitewater's Cole Wilber completed 12 of 16 for 197 yards, three touchdowns, and was sacked once.  

Sean Studer rushed for 38 yards off 13 caries with one touchdown all while the Warhawks held the advantage with 134 yards rushing compared to the Pioneers' 25 yards.

Freshman David Urke made his debut Saturday leading the Pioneers with 122 yards receiving off of six passes for two touchdowns. Seniors Connor Fedderly (43 yards) and Tim Jansen (33 yards) each pulled down five receptions.

Tyler Reinhardt led the defense with eight solos and two assists with two tackle for losses for six yards. Clayton Becker finished the day with four tackles, two tackle for losses for 14 yards, and a forced fumble.

The Pioneers had to act fast as the Warhawks sped to a quick start scoring off their first two drives to give them the 14-0 lead with 7:34 remaining in the first quarter. UW-Platteville capitalized on its first opportunity when Connor Foley's punt from the Warhawk 39 on 4^thand 8 was fumbled by UW-Whitewater's Josh Ringleberg at their own six yard line and recovered by Bo Babich.  Sean Studer cut the deficit in half the next play when he rushed into the end zone with a Michael Pratl extra kick for a 7-14 game with five minutes left in the first.

UW-Whitewater extended their lead once again the next drive with five plays for 62 yards good for a 26 yard pass from Cole Wilber to Ryan Wisniewski.  The second quarter saw two more unanswered Warhawk touchdowns until Clayton Becker forced fumbled Cole Wilber with Jackson McMahan recovering possession at the UW-Whitewater 14 yard line.  Looking to shave off the Warhawks' 35-7 lead, the Pioneers were unable to score off the turnover in Warhawk territory.

The Pioneers were unsuccessful at finding the end zone against the No. 8 ranked defense until the fourth quarter when Colin Schuetz sent one 24 yards to David Urke for a Pioneer touchdown to lessen the deficit to 42-14 with thirteen minutes left in the game. UW-Whitewater replied once again with an 11 play, 45 yard drive resulting in another touchdown, extending their lead to 49-14.  

The Pioneers had the last word with a six play, 87 yard drive in the final minutes.  Schuetz had a big completion on 3^rdand 8 when he found David Urke down field for a 44 yard pass.  Schuetz found Connor Federly in the end zone, but a pass interference call brought the ball back to the 17 yard line for Schuetz to find Urke once again for the Pioneers' third touchdown of the day with just 3:28 remaining before it would become final. 

Following the conclusion of the game, George Chryst Memorial Bowl offensive and defensive players of the game are awarded as voted on by assembled media.  The 2018 recipients are:

UW-Platteville Defensive Player: Clayton Becker

UW-Platteville Offensive Player: Tim Jansen

UW-Whitewater Defensive Player: Harry Henschler

UW-Whitewater Offensive Player: Cole Wilber

The Pioneers finished the season 4-6 overall and 2-5 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference while the Warhawks finished their regular season undefeated with the conference title and automatic bid into the NCAA DIII Championship.

The 2018 seniors depart with a four year record of 27-14 and a NCAA Div III playoff appearance in the 2016 season.

2018 Seniors