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12/13/04

2004 Season Review

The year 2004, prognosticators said, would be a long one for UW-Platteville.

After all, the Pioneers lost record-breakers and history-makers from 2003, all-region and all-American players who re-wrote the record books. The Pioneers were predicted dead-last in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. This would be a learning season, at best, for the young team.

Little did anyone know how quickly the Pioneers would learn those lessons. During the course of the season, the Pioneers showed how they mastered their "3 Rs": Resolve, Resiliency and Rewards.

RESOLVE

UW-Platteville's resolve was tested during the very first week of the season, when the Pioneers took a 12-hour bus trip to Pennsylvania to play Thiel College. Twenty-nine of the 55 players had never donned the orange and blue before that game. UW shook off any rust from the long journey and opening-game jitters to beat Thiel 40-14. The Pioneers scored twice in the final 15 seconds of the first half and went on to the opening victory over a quality opponent.

The Pioneers triumphed in their next game following a long road trip, beating NCAA Division I-AA Drake 33-23 in the 18,000-seat Drake Stadium. National player of the week Brandon Ehret returned an interception 61 yards to lead his team to the victory.

The resolve was put to the test in the next two games against undefeated teams. First, the Pioneers drove from their own 18 with 1:46 to play, and freshman John Heck's 25-yard field goal gave them a 25-23 win over 17th-ranked Augustana. The next week, the defense held 13th-ranked UW-Whitewater out of the end zone all game, despite the Warhawks starting four fourth-quarter drives on the Pioneer side of the field. UWP rose to the occasion, posting a 7-6 win. The 4-0 start gave the Pioneers their highest national ranking in years, 20th.

RESILIENCY

Three tough losses followed the 4-0 start, and the Pioneers faced a crossroads game when sixth-ranked UW-Eau Claire came to town. They faced an even bigger crossroads when they were at the Blugold one-yard line, trailing 17-14 with four seconds to play. Coach Mike Emendorfer showed his confidence in the Pioneers when he by-passed the chip-shot tying field goal and went for the win. Daimian Droessler plunged over from a yard out, giving the Pioneers a 20-14 win and setting off a wild celebration at Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium. UWP drove 78 yards in 18 plays, covering the final 4:07 of the game. Quarterback Brent Nelson completed four passes during the drive, including a 10-yard pass to Max Seroogy on a fourth-and-10 from the Pioneer 37. A Nelson-to-Seroogy pass play brought the Pioneers to the Blugold five in the last minute to set up the win for the resilient Pioneers.

REWARDS

November 13 will go down as a historical date for Pioneer football in many ways. It was the last game played on grass before the 10,000-seat stadium renovation begins in 2005. More importantly, it was a chance to clinch a winning record for the first time since 1992. The Pioneers rallied with 14 fourth-quarter points to defeat UW-Stout 23-13, earning the reward of a winning season. Nelson threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Brian Gallick and ran in from seven yards out to complete the comeback and clinch the 6-4 record.

The Pioneers reaped the rewards of that winning season with many post-season honors. Mike Emendorfer earned the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Year for leading the Pioneer turnaround. Jimmy Harris, the conference's leading tackler, Gallick, and offensive lineman earned second-team all-WIAC honors, while Nelson, Ehret and linebacker Tom Venner earned honorable mention status. Center Chris Lee earned academic all-region and all-American first team honors, while Venner and guard Tim Mantsch were all-region third-team picks.

Although the Pioneers will lose 16 seniors, a solid core group of players return, anxious to apply the lessons learned in 2004 to the 2005 season.