ARDEN HILLS, Minn. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville football team's 2025 playoff run ended on a frigid Saturday afternoon with a 35-24 loss to an undefeated Bethel University at Royal Stadium. 

The Pioneers finish 9-3 on the season while the 12-0 Royals will travel to the undefeated North Central Cardinals next Saturday. 

After the game, head coach Ryan Munz said, "This group of seniors is our first recruiting class. When the 25 guys committed, they were committing to an unknown process, an unknown coach, and a team that did not have a long history of success. They graduate as a top 10 team, back-to-back playoff appearances, WIAC Champions, Isthmus Bowl Champions, and one of the best records in program history. They were committed. They were part of a change, and they are forever indebted into this program."

The senior class graduates with the list of accolades mentioned above along with a 30-14 record. 

 As the occasional flurries fell on the frozen turf, the Pioneers looked well prepared early out. UW-Platteville deferred after winning the toss and it was an exciting start to the game as a fumble on Bethel's first snap was recovered by senior Logan Drone at the Bethel 29-yard line. Four plays and 1:35 later, sophomore Trevor Burnett rushed in to give the Pioneers a 7-0 lead. Bethel however used a fiery start of their own at the beginning of the second half as two quick scores followed by a handful of turnovers by the Pioneers became too much to overcome. 

Offensively, the Royals held a narrow 444-407 edge in total offensive yards. The Pioneers totaled 109 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 26 attempts. Junior Zackary Bothun churned out 123 rushing yards on 17 carries, while Burnett finished the day with two rushing touchdowns and five yards on three carries.

Sophomore Nathan Uselding completed 25-of-31 passes for 298 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. Wide receiver Trevor Syse was his favorite target of the afternoon, as the senior hauled in 10 passes for 100 yards. Junior Kristian Gavric finished with 126 yards on eight receptions. 

Juniors Elijah Krantz and Cormac Sammons each finished with a game-high 12 tackles. Drone finished with 10 tackles including one sack for a loss of 10 yards, one fumble recovery, and one pass breakup. 

Junior Benjamin Younker averaged 42.8 yards on four punts for 171 yards, placing two inside the 20. Freshman Brady Mobley finished 3-for-3 on PATs and hit his lone field goal attempt of 31 yards.

After UW-Platteville forced the Royals to punt on their second drive of the day, they had to settle for a 31-yard field goal by Mobley to take a 10-0 lead with 6:47 left in the first quarter. The hot start by the Pioneers marked the first time all season the Royals trailed by double-digits. 

The Royals cut the lead to three with a 15-yard passing touchdown right before the end of the quarter. Bethel intercepted Uselding at the one-yard line and the Royals cashed in on the turnover as they moved 98 yards for their second touchdown of the day. 

The Pioneers got the ball back right before the end of the half as the defense forced a turnover on downs after a huge stop on 4-and-5, but another fumble handed the back to the Royals for them to take a knee into halftime. 

Trailing 14-10 at the break, the momentum stayed with the Royals as the second half kicked off and a muffed punt was recovered by Bethel at the Pioneer 30-yard line. David Geebli ran it all the way in for a touchdown on the very next play and with 14:51 left, the Royals led 21-10. UW-Platteville was forced to punt again and Bethel continued their momentum and went 93 yards in 12 plays for their second touchdown of the half, still with 9:18 to go in the quarter. 

The Royals carried the three-possession lead into the fourth quarter, but the Pioneers weren't going down without a fight. After a huge sack by Drone on third down, the Pioneers got the ball back at their own 43-yard line with 13:29 left in the game. Uselding hit Syse 37 yards down field and then found him again on the next play for a 20-yard touchdown. 

Bethel responded with a touchdown of their own, but Uselding once again looked deep down field, this time finding Gavric for a 51-yard completion. An eight-yard run by Bothun followed up by a 4-yard carry and touchdown by Burnett made it a two-possession game with 5:57 on the clock. 

Just when it looked like the Royals may answer again, sophomore Donovan Nedelcoff came in clutch with an interception at the Pioneers' own eight-yard line. Though the hopes of another deep shot to the endzone were lost when Bethel picked off Uselding for the second time on the day to ultimately seal the fate of the game. 

This seasons at-large bid marked the first back-to-back playoff runs in program history and brings the Pioneers' overall record to 2-4 in the NCAA DIII Championships.