PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – Amid heavy snow and windy conditions, the University of Wisconsin-Platteville football team (9-2) advanced in the NCAA DIII Championships behind a 24-7 second-round win over Alma (8-3) on Saturday afternoon from Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium.

The playoff win is the Pioneers' first since 2013 and second all-time among NCAA Championship appearances.

Despite the weather, the Pioneers still managed to find a good balance offensively but leaned on the run with 205 yards and two touchdowns on 42 attempts. Junior Zackary Bothun churned out 148 rushing yards on his 20 carries, and sophomore Trevor Burnett picked up 42 yard and a touchdown on his eight totes. Sophomore quarterback Nathan Uselding added 16 yards on the ground while plunging in a late fourth-quarter score to put the game away.

Uselding turned in an efficient passing day as well, completing 21-of-32 passes for 216 yards and a touchdown. Wide receiver Kristian Gavric was his favorite target of the afternoon, as the junior hauled in eight passes for 100 yards. Senior Trevor Syse finished with 38 yards, while sophomore Shane Crandall was on the receiving end of a 17-yard touchdown on his lone reception.

UW-Platteville's defense put together a stout effort in the win, holding the Scots to 242 total yards of offense and just seven points. Alma entered the contest as one of the top rushing teams in NCAA DIII behind running back Eddie Williams, but the Pioneers held the visitors to 91 rushing yards on 2.8 yards per carry. The pass defense was similarly elite, as Scots quarterback Carter St. John completed just 8-of-20 attempts for 151 yards.

Junior Elijah Krantz paced UW-Platteville with nine tackles, while sophomore Carter Contreras added eight tackles, broke up a pair of passes, and recovered a fourth-quarter fumble. Senior Logan Drone forced that fumble and was one of five other Pioneers to record five tackles. Senior Riley Christensen tallied two quarterback hurries to help force inaccurate passes, and junior Harrison Meyer made a big tackle for loss on a short yardage try to force an Alma punt.

The Pioneers took the opening possession down to the nine-yard line and put three on the board thanks to a field goal make by freshman Brady Mobley. UW-Platteville went run heavy on the drive, as 10 of the 14 plays were runs, including gains of 25- and 14-yards by Bothun.

Alma marched down to UW-Platteville's 10 on the ensuing drive after a 40-yard screen pass put the ball inside the red zone. But the Scots turned the ball over on downs after a fourth-down pass attempt came up short.

After forcing a quick three-and-out, Alma drove down the field again and this time found the end zone on a two-yard run by Williams. The Scots ran the ball nine times on the 10-play, 46-yard drive and ran three and half minutes off the clock.

Both teams punted on their next possessions until the Pioneers put together a 13-play, 99-yard touchdown drive just before halftime. Inside his own one, Uselding opened the drive with a 29-yard strike to Syse to give UW-Platteville some room to work with. Burnett picked up a pair of solid gains and later in the drive Uselding hit Gavric over the middle for 15 yards to set up a first down from the Alma one. Burnett powered it in behind his lead blocker to put the Pioneers back in front 10-7.

UW-Platteville forced a quick punt and got the ball back with 41 seconds left in the half. Despite a 32-yard completion to Gavric, the Pioneers were unable to add to the lead and the game entered halftime with the home team up three.

Out of the break, Alma punted after Meyer disrupted a third-and-short rushing play to force the punt. The Pioneers pushed the ball into Scots territory but failed to come away with points after a rush by Uselding on fourth down failed to reach the first-down marker. The Scots had a chance to tie on the next drive, but a 37-yard field goal attempt was wide left.

The Pioneers then went on another long scoring drive and held the ball for over seven minutes before finding the endzone. The methodical drive featured an 11-yard run by Uselding on a third-down and a 21-yard pass to Gavric to get UW-Platteville inside the Alma 30 heading into the fourth quarter. Following a nine-yard throw to Gavric, Uselding turned to Crandall, who won over the middle and hauled in the 17-yard score after his defender fell.

Down by two scores, the Scots needed to answer, but the drive lasted just three plays as UW-Platteville forced a turnover. Alma found some space on a screen pass to Williams, but Drone plowed into the runner and forced a fumble, while Contreras fell on to give the ball back to the Pioneers.

UW-Platteville was failed to do much following the turnover but also forced an Alma punt late in the fourth. The Pioneers put the game away after that, mounting an eight-play, 66-yard scoring drive to make it 24-7. Gavric drew a pass interference penalty, and Bothun rumbled for gains of 11- and 31-yards to get the ball inside the five. On third and goal, Uselding plunged up the middle for the touchdown to make it a three-score game with 4:41 left.

The Scots turned the ball over on downs and the Pioneers got a first down by Burnett before running the clock out to win 24-17.

The Pioneers dominated in time of possession, nearly doubling up Alma 39:55 to 20:05. Part of that attributed to UW-Platteville's success on key downs, as the Pioneers went 7-of-15 on third down and 2-of-3 on fourth. That compared to just 5-of-13 and 0-of-2 for the Scots. UW-Platteville also scored on all four trips to the red zone, while Alma was able to convert on just 1-of-3.

Mobley went a perfect 3-of-3 on his extra-point tries while adding a 25-yard field goal in the first quarter. Junior punter Benjamin Younker finished with three attempts and averaged 46.7 yards per punt with a long of 58 yards.

The Pioneers advance to the third round of the NCAA DIII Championships and will face Bethel (11-0) next Saturday at noon in Arden Hills, Minnesota. The Royals advanced after taking down Coe 51-26.

*As with every UW-Platteville win this year, the Platteville A&W will be offering a free ice cream cone (with purchase) the day after the win and the Platteville Taco John's will be offering a free churro (with purchase) the day after each Pioneer win.