PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – The No. 11 University of Wisconsin-Platteville football team (3-0) rode a 28-point second quarter to a 28-12 win over Springfield (1-2) in the home opener on Saturday afternoon at Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium. Prior to the game, the Pioneers recognized the contributions of the program's 16 seniors.

After a scoreless opening quarter, the Pioneers punched in four red zone touchdowns to carry a 28-0 lead into halftime. Junior running back Zackary Bothun ran in three of those scores, his third consecutive game with three touchdowns. Bothun surpassed the century mark for the second time this season, finishing with 129 rushing yards on a season-high 19 carries.

Sophomore quarterback Nathan Uselding finished 10-of-13 passing for 104 yards and a touchdown before exiting late in the first half. He was replaced by sophomore Jake Sullivan, who went 2-of-3 for 62 yards and an interception over the rest of the game. Most of Sullivan's yardage came on a 61-yard pass to junior Jaxson Garbisch late in the second quarter, which preceded Bothun's third rushing touchdown.

UW-Platteville's first scoring drive started late in the first quarter, as Uselding found senior wide receiver Garrett Stare three times, highlighted by a 39-yard reception on the opening play, to put the Pioneers inside the Springfield thirty. Bothun did the rest, rushing for gains of 21 and eight yards for the game's first touchdown.

A Springfield three-and-out gave UW-Platteville the ball back quickly, and Uselding orchestrated another scoring drive, this time featuring junior wideout Carter Olson, who hauled in three passes for 33 yards. A roughing the passer penalty against the Pride moved the ball inside the five and Uselding found senior Trevor Syse from four yards out to make it 14-0.

The Pride fumbled the ensuing kickoff return, setting the Pioneers up at the 15-yard line. Uselding rushed down to the two-yard line to begin the drive, and Bothun later punched it in from the one-yard line to increase the lead to 21-0. Another three-and-out by Springfield led to UW-Platteville's final touchdown, a 13-yard run by Bothun in which he pinballed off several defenders and into the endzone.

Springfield, one of the premier rushing teams in NCAA DIII, stuck to their gameplan even down by four scores at halftime. Coming out of the break, the Pride put together a pair of third-quarter scoring drives, a 39-yard field goal and a two-yard touchdown run, to cut the deficit to 28-9. UW-Platteville punted to start the fourth, and Springfield added three more points after a 16-play, 70-yard drive that took nearly eight minutes off the clock.

The Pioneers punted the ball back after a three-and-out, and the Pride used up the final three minutes of gametime but were unable to find much success as UW-Platteville secured the 16-point win.

Springfield ran the ball 67 times and finished with 309 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback TJ Welch was the leading rusher with 112 yards and the Pride's lone touchdown, but he went just 2-of-9 passing for 29 yards. A pair of his pass attempts were broken up by Pioneers sophomores Rob Francis and Rodney Gavins Jr.

The time of possession battle heavily favored Springfield (39:42 to 20:18), but UW-Platteville averaged 7.7 yards per play compared to 4.4 for the Pride.

The Pioneers struggled on third down, converting just 1-of-7 chances, but went 1-of-2 on fourth down tries. Springfield went 11-of-21 on third downs and 2-of-3 on fourth. Both teams were perfect in the red zone, finishing a combined 7-for-7.

Junior Harrison Meyer finished with a game-high nine tackles for the Pioneers, while junior Cormac Sammons and sophomore Carver Blietz-Bentien each added seven. UW-Platteville finished with six tackles for loss, led by two from junior Luke German.

Freshman kicker Brady Mobley converted on all four of his extra-point attempts, while junior Benjamin Younker totaled 134 yards on his three punts. Younker posted a long punt of 62 yards, which he placed on Springfield's 12-yard line late in the fourth quarter.

UW-Platteville will get a week off before welcoming in UW-Stevens Point in the annual Homecoming game on Saturday, October 4. The Pioneers and Pointers will begin WIAC play at 1 p.m.

*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.