MENOMONIE (September 19, 2015) - With the exception of two minutes late in the first half, UW-Stout played toe-to-toe with sixth-ranked Wartburg College, but in the end, it was those two minutes that made the difference in the game and the Knights came out of Don & Nona Williams Stadium with a 41-33 win Saturday night.
Wartburg (3-0) scored two touchdowns in the final two minutes of the first half, on an 11-yard pass form Logan Schrader to Jake Haberman with 1:58 left in the half and on a two-yard Schrader run 16 seconds before the intermission for a 28-12 lead. Those scores would prove to be the difference.
Coming out of the locker room, following an Isaac Tuttle 26 yard kickoff return, the Blue Devils (1-2) answered back with a 12-play, 5-minute, 10-second, 67-yard drive, capped off by a 3-yard TD pass from Hank Kujak to Brian Alvarez with 9"47 on the clock to pull to within 28-19.
Warburg pulled ahead 35-19 on a 71-yard drive, capped off by a Brandon Domeyer run at 6:29 of the third.
Stout wasted no time answering the Knights. Kujak, who would finish the night with 97 yards rushing, picked up 27 yards in the drive on the ground, and threw twice to brother Reggie Kujak, including an 11-yard TD with 3:10 left and the Blue Devils trailed 35-26.
Wartburg came back on their next drive to score when Domeyer scored his second TD, Following a block extra point attempt by Iyen Igbomoh, his second of the game, Wartburg led 41-26, at 13:57 of the fourth quarter.
Neither team would score again until Stout drove 72 yards on 15 plays in just over three minutes and Kujak hit Alvarez for a three yard pass play for what would be the final score, 41-33. Wartburg recovered the onside kick attempt.
Warburg scored on their opening drive of the game, going 75 yards in 15 plays, finishing it off on a Schrader run.
Stout stormed down the field, but a missed field goal kept the Blue Devils off the scoreboard. Javauhn Staley intercepted Schrader on the next drive, but the teams would trade punts into the second period.
The Blue Devils would score on their next drive. Kujak led off the drive with a 47-yard scamper, and Adolfo Pacheco would seal the deal with a two-yard run three minutes later. Taylor Pahl's extra point attempt was just wide, breaking his consecutive PAT streak at 24.
Wartburg would score on their next drive, a 21-yard pass play from Schrader to Robbie Anstoett and a 14-6 lead. The Blue Devils picked up a couple of first downs on their next drive, but were forced to punt the ball. Wartburg could not move the ball and the Blue Devils proved opportunistic.
Ogbomoh crashed the end on the punt, blocked the ball and Tuttle picked up the change and ambled into the end zone. The two-point conversion attempt failed, and Stout trailed 14-12 with 2:07 left in the half. The Knights would score on their next two drives.
The teams combined for more than 900 yards of total offense. Wartburg picked up 543 yards, 300 by passing, 243 on the ground. Stout would finish with 441 yards, 212 passing, 229 rushing, the third consecutive game Stout recorded more than 400 yards of offense.
The Knights' Domayer carried the ball 24 times for 148 yards and two scores. Schrader completed 19-of-31 passes for 300 yards and two scores. Anstoetter pulled in nine receptions for 197 yards.
Kujak completed 19-of-38 passes for 212 yards and three TDs. He led Stout in rushing with 97 yards. Chris Pica-Anderson had four recptions for 76 yards.
The Blue Devils are off next week and return to action Saturday, Oct. 3 when they host UW-Oshkosh at 2 p.m. in the annual homecoming contest.
Blue Devils drop barnburner to No. 6 Wartburg, 41-33
/seasons/2015/boxscores/20150919_ymtm.xml
2015
Wartburg
41
UW-Stout
33
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 19 Wartburg (3-0) | 7 | 21 | 7 | 6 | 41 |
| UW-Stout (1-2) | 0 | 12 | 14 | 7 | 33 |
Sep 19, 2015