OSHKOSH, Wis. – Four second quarter touchdowns led the No. 2 University of Wisconsin-Platteville football team (7-0, 4-0 WIAC) to a 38-6 road win over UW-Oshkosh (2-5, 0-4 WIAC) on Saturday afternoon from J.J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium.
The Pioneers were able to move the ball well both on the ground and through the air, finishing with over 200 yards in both. The 201 rushing yards were a season-high, and UW-Platteville added 220 passing yards on 28 pass attempts.
Senior
Zackary Bothun led the team with 77 rushing yards on 21 carries, while finding the end zone two times. Sophomore
Blake Bangtson added 44 yards on 10 carries, while junior
Caden Casimino had a 42-yard rush to total 44 yards on his two carries.
Junior quarterback
Nathan Uselding continued his efficient season, completing 17-of-25 passes for 206 yards and two touchdowns. His favorite target on the afternoon was senior
Kristian Gavric, who turned four receptions into 81 yards and a touchdown. Senior
Jaxson Garbisch hauled in his 13th touchdown of the season and finished with 34 yards on four catches.
Defensively, junior
Dominic Ohlinger had a team-high six tackles and added another sack, bringing him to eight in the season. Junior
Drew Gallagher had UW-Platteville's other sack, while junior
Rob Francis forced the game's lone turnover with a first-quarter interception.
After an opening drive punt by UW-Oshkosh, the Pioneers drove deep into Titans territory but failed to come away with points after a 25-yard field goal went wide. A long gain by UW-Oshkosh on the following possession put the home team in scoring position, but a third-down pass attempt was jumped by Francis on the sideline who returned it 43 yards to the Titans 42-yard line.
UW-Platteville made the most of the turnover, driving quickly into the red zone on a 17-yard completion to senior
Brady Tosterud. Bothun took over, carrying the ball on four straight plays and capping the drive with an eight-yard touchdown run up the middle to put the Pioneers ahead 7-0 early in the second quarter.
The Titans punted again on their next possession and the Pioneers needed just five plays to go 68 yards and find the end zone again. Gavric hauled in a 34-yard reception and Uselding went back to him two plays later for a 30-yard touchdown pass down the sideline.
Another punt led to an 8-play, 80-yard touchdown for the Pioneers, with Uselding finding Garbisch for a 14-yard score on a difficult end zone catch. Casmino's 42-yard rush was the highlight of the drive, helping UW-Platteville move deep into the Titans' end of the field.
The Pioneers tacked on one more touchdown in the second quarter, this time coming on a two-yard plunge by Bothun with just 12 seconds remaining. Bangtson helped set up good field position with a 22-yard punt return, and a couple of completions and a 10-yard run by Bothun moved the ball down to the two-yard line prior to the touchdown.
UW-Oshkosh put points on the board on its first drive of the second half, going 55-yard on eight plays. A couple of quick completions placed the ball inside the red zone before the Titans converted a 19-yard touchdown pass. The extra point try was no good, as the Pioneers still led 28-6.
Late in the third quarter, the Pioneers moved down the field and added a 30-yard field goal on the first play of the fourth quarter. A 10-yard completion to Gavric and a 15-yard reception by sophomore
Brayden Knoll helped set up the field goal by sophomore
Brady Mobley.
The Titans moved the ball into UW-Platteville territory on the ensuing drive but turned the ball away after pressure on a fourth and long forced a throwaway. The Pioneers moved down the field and scored one more time on a two-yard touchdown run by junior
Jack Egan. The 10-play, 69-yard methodical drive put the finishing touches on the 38-6 Pioneers win.
The Pioneers outgained UW-Oshkosh 421-230 and held an advantage in time of possession at 33:09 to 26:51. The Titans failed to find much consistency against UW-Platteville's defense, finishing with just 46 rushing yards on 24 carries and completing 50 percent of passes on 30 attempts. UW-Oshkosh quarterback Demir Ashiru, who entered leading the conference in all-purpose yards, was held to season-lows in passing yards and rushing yards.
Sophomore kicker
Nicholas Drake totaled 426 yards on seven kickoff attempts, good for 60.9 yards per kick. Senior punter
Benjamin Younker was called on just twice in the game, totaling 74 yards.
UW-Platteville's win at Oshkosh is the first for the program since 2013.
Next week, the Pioneers travel to UW-Stevens Point to continue conference play. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
