Pioneers take down No. 11 Bethel in home opener

PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville football team upset No. 11 ranked Bethel University 10-7 in the Pioneers' home opener Saturday afternoon at Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium. The victory marks Ryan Munz's first win as head coach of the Pioneers.

UW-Platteville has won 18 of the last 19 home openers.

Bethel has not been held to seven or fewer points since their 17-7 loss in 2019 to then No. 17 ranked St. Thomas. Both teams move to 1-1 on the season.

The Pioneers finished with a 262-162 edge in total yards. UW-Platteville's defense held the Royals to 86 yards rushing. Bethel averaged 182.1 yards per game last season.

The Pioneers piled on 157 of their total yards in the first quarter while the UW-Platteville defense held an opponent to under 20 yards total offense for the second consecutive game. The Royals tallied 19 yards off eight plays in the first quarter.

Sophomore Tag Habedank's seven-yard carry and first career touchdown got UW-Platteville on the board first with 1:43 left in the first quarter.

Senior Samuel Tausz picked off Bethel's George Bolt four plays later to send the Pioneers into the second quarter leading 7-0.

Bolt was intercepted again by senior Sean McMillan with 6:05 left in the half. UW-Platteville did not let the turnover go to waste and senior Andrew Schweigert kicked a 49-yarder to send the Pioneers into halftime leading 10-0.

The Royals cut their deficit to 10-7 midway through the third quarter when Bolt hit Micah Niewald for a 19-yard catch.

A Bethel fumble was recovered by senior Tyler Bacon just before the quarter break, but the Pioneers ended the drive with a fumble of their own to return possession back to the Royals at their own 21 yard-line with 13 minutes left in the game.

The two teams traded punts and Bethel went 40 yards on 11 plays to the UW-Platteville 25. Hugo Cifuentes lined up for a 41-yard attempt on fourth and 13 in hopes of tying the game with just over four minutes left, but a misstep sent the kick wide and low.

The Pioneers took over at their own 25-yard line with 4:02 on the clock. Habedank moved the sticks on a fourth down and one to go and followed it with a three-yard carry to lock down the game.

Habedank rushed 32 times, a number that no Pioneer had reached since Lee Vlasak tallied 32 against UW-Stevens Point in 2011. Habedank's 122 yards on the day was also the first 100+ yard game for a Pioneer since 2019.

Junior Nathan Shackelford completed 10 of 20 attempts for 106 yards and netted 27 yards rushing on 11 carries. UW-Platteville had not registered 20 passing attempts or fewer in a single game since the 2016 Pioneers' 19 attempts against UW-Oshkosh.

Schackelford targeted junior Brandt Stare nine times while Stare led the Pioneers with 54 yards off five catches.

Junior Justin Blazek registered six tackles to pace the Pioneers including a sack for a loss of four. Junior Jack Dietzen also sacked Bolt for a loss of five. Seniors Sam Smith, Colton Ingram and Bacon each tallied five tackles.

Bolt completed eight of 27 attempts for 76 yards and one touchdown. Niewald led the Royals with 30 yards off three receptions and Bryce Kunkle rushed for 51 yards off 17 carries. Nate Farm and Thomas Wurdemann led Bethel's defense with eight tackles apiece.

UW-Platteville celebrated the 50^th anniversary of Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium on Saturday. The home of the Pioneers opened on September 9, 1972.

Next up, the Pioneers will return to the "Ralph" next Saturday, Sept. 17 when No. 5 ranked Hardin-Simmons rolls into town at 1 p.m. The Cowboys are coming off their bye week after defeating Wayland Baptist 79-14 last weekend.

*With every UW-Platteville win this year, the Platteville A&W will be offering a $3 Pioneer burger the day after the win and the Platteville Taco John's will be offering 10 tacos for $10 the day after each Pioneer win.