Pioneers shake off slow start and roll to 42-21 win over Wabash

PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville football team overcame a 14-0 first quarter deficit Saturday afternoon to defeat Wabash College 42-21 at Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium. The Pioneers, ranked 23rd by the American Football Coaches Association, improve to 3-0 on the season while handing Wabash (2-1) its first lost of the season.

In the two teams' first ever meeting, the Little Giants looked organized out of the gates as they jumped to a 14-0 lead after one quarter.  The Pioneers dug deep to find their rhythm and midway through the second quarter, a 29-yard haul by sophomore Zackary Bothun got UW-Platteville on the board. The Pioneers would score once more in the quarter and hold Wabash to just one first down and 49 total yards of offence to keep the game tied 14-14 at the half.  

A Wabash mishandling of the second half opening kickoff set UW-Platteville up for a three play, 13 yard possession, which gave the Pioneers their first lead of the game just 44 seconds into the second half.  

That opening miscue by the Little Giants, a flurry of big stops on third down and a four touchdown, 158-yard day by Bothun set the Pioneers into motion and on their way to a third consecutive weekend victory at home. 

Backup quarterback Brand Campbell found Carson Chadd for a 52-yard completion in the Little Giants' first possession, giving them a an early 7-0 lead at the 9:47 mark. 

The Pioneers went three and out on their next two possessions and this time Campbell ran five yards in for a touchdown, doubling Wabash's lead with just under two minutes remaining in the first quarter. The Little Giants racked up 156 of their 360 total yards by the end of one quarter. 

Starting to pick up momentum in the second quarter, UW-Platteville set up for a 35-yard field goal attempt in their first possession of the period, but the kick was blocked by Brock Robinson. The Little Giants went three and out just before Bothun ran it 29 yards to get on the board. 

UW-Platteville forced a turnover on downs at the Wabash 32 and senior Michael Priami hit junior Garrett Stare for a 33-yard touchdown to tie the game 14-14 with 3:57 remaining in the half. 

Having won the coin toss, Wabash set up to receive the kickoff after halftime, but sophomore Blaine Perkins recovered the muffed kick at the Wabash 13. Bothun took over and ran eight yards for his second touchdown of the game and the Pioneers' first lead.

The advantage was short-lived and an incredible catch by Connor Thompson in the corner of the endzone tied the game 21-21 with 11:21 remaining in the third.  

The teams exchanged punts and the Pioneers got to work moving 40 yards in four plays with Priami hitting Stare once again for a 29-yard touchdown.

UW-Platteville then had a pair of huge third down stops on back-to-back Wabash drives thanks to sophomore Harrison Meyer's pass breakup and sophomore Cormac Sammons sack for a loss of seven. 

The Pioneers took over at their own 46-yard line, holding on to a 28-21 lead with seconds left in the third quarter. Priami handed it off to Bothun and he broke through for a 54-yard haul down the right sideline, extending the lead to 35-21.

UW-Platteville kept the Little Giants on their half of the field for the majority of the fourth quarter. The Pioneers moved 19 yards in four plays on their final drive of the day and finished with an 11 yard carry by Bothun for his fourth and final touchdown of the day. Bothun's four touchdowns double his career single-game high and is one shy of the school record. 

Overall, the Pioneers totaled 393 yards total offense with 222 in the air and 171 on the ground attack. Wabash finished with 360 yards, passing for 194 and netting another 166 on the ground. UW-Platteville continued to be a force in their opponents' backfields as they tallied five sacks and forced seven tackles for a loss of 38 yards.

Sophomore Trevor Schulz was a perfect 6-of-6 on PATs and averaged 59.7 yards on seven kickoffs, including three touchbacks. Sophomore Benjamin Younker averaged 40 yards per punt, placing three of six punts inside the 20, including a 65-yard long. 

Priami completed 18-of-29 attempts for 222 yards with two touchdowns and was intercepted twice. Bothun also led UW-Platteville with five receptions as Stare paced the Pioneers receivers with 68 yards and two touchdowns. 

Campbell finished 16-of-29 for 185 yards and two touchdowns. Xavier Tyler rushed for 124 yards to lead the Little Giants and Thompson finished with four catches for 35 yards and a touchdown. 

Sophomore Harrison Meyer had five solo and six assists for a total of 11 tackles. Senior Elijah Krantz also finished with 11, including one for a loss of a yard. Five Pioneers including junior Riley Christensen (-5), sophomore Martin McDonald (-4), junior Will Straka (-11), sophomore Cormac Sammons (-7) and freshman Ashton Honore (-8) accounted for five sacks for a loss of 35 yards. 

Mike Holsclaw tallied both interceptions in the game and Gavin Ruppert paced Wabash with nine tackles. 

The Pioneers will take a bye next weekend as they prepare to return to action on Saturday, October 5 when they kick off the conference portion of the schedule at UW-La Crosse. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. 

*As 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.