PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – Behind a dominant defensive effort, the fourth-ranked University of Wisconsin-Platteville football team (2-0) posted a 59-0 shutout win over Dubuque on Saturday afternoon inside Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium.
The Pioneers defense had a historical afternoon, shutting down the run and the pass to allow just 25 total yards of offense, the second-lowest single game mark in program history. Dubuque managed just two first downs as well, a new UW-Platteville team record, breaking the previous record of three set against Superior back in 1969. The Pioneers allowed just five rushing yards across 32 carries, while holding the Spartans to the same number of completions as interceptions (three).
UW-Platteville lived in Dubuque's backfield, recording 12 tackles for loss, highlighted by three (including two sacks) by junior
Dominic Ohlinger. Junior
Rob Francis came up from the secondary to make a pair of plays behind the line of scrimmage, while juniors
Ashton Honore and
Sean Lynch each had 1.5 tackles for loss.
Senior
Harrison Meyer had one of the Pioneers' three interceptions on Dubuque's first pass attempt of the day, while senior
Elijah Krantz recorded a pick-six on the first drive of the second half. Freshman
Gavin Alspaugh had UW-Platteville's third takeaway of the day late in the third quarter.
Offensively, the Pioneers moved the ball efficiently, totaling 175 yards on the ground and 251 yards through the air. Junior quarterback
Nathan Uselding finished 10-of-11 for 184 yards and three touchdowns, while junior
Caden Casimino added 49 yards and a score across his six completions.
Sophomore running back
Blake Bangtson led the rushing attack with a team-high 90 yards on 13 carries while finding the end zone once. Senior
Zackary Bothun reached paydirt twice and totaled 65 yards.
UW-Platteville spread the ball around in the passing game, with sophomore
Charlie Snoreck recording a team-leading 62 yards and two touchdowns on five catches. Senior Jaxon Gabisch tallied 64 yards and his fourth touchdown of the year, while senior
Shane Crandall had 45 yards.
Sophomore
Brady Mobley was a perfect 8-of-8 on extra point tries and added a late 23-yard field goal to cap the scoring for the Pioneers. In the return game, sophomore
Brayden Knoll had four punt returns totaling 101 yards as he consistently put UW-Platteville in great field position.
Dubuque's best scoring chance came on its opening drive after recovering a Pioneers fumble on the opening kickoff. But UW-Platteville came away with a turnover of its own after Meyer made a diving interception on a third-down pass.
Following a pair of punts, Knoll set the Pioneers up with great field position after returning a punt 40-yards down to Spartans 26. Uselding found Garbisch for 17-yards on first down before hitting Snoreck in the corner on the end zone for a juggling touchdown to put UW-Platteville on the board.
Senior
Martin McDonald made a big play on Dubuque's next drive with a punt block that put the Pioneers in the redzone. UW-Platteville got down to the goal line and Bothun capped the drive by plunging into the end zone from a yard out. Bothun added his second touchdown of the game on the next drive, a seven-yard score that made it 21-0.
After another Dubuque punt, Uselding found Snoreck wide open over the middle of the field for 32 yards to put the Pioneers back in scoring position. On third and goal, Uselding found junior
Jack Egan in the flat for a four-yard touchdown to add to the advantage.
Just before halftime, Uselding found Garbisch wide open down the far sideline for a 31-yard touchdown after a blown coverage by Dubuque.
The Spartans had the opening drive of the second half, and Krantz came away with a 15-yard pick-six after snagging a deflected pass and racing into the end zone. Knoll had another long punt return following Dubuque's next drive, and Casmino rolled out and found Snoreck in the back corner for another touchdown.
UW-Platteville scored its last touchdown of the day midway through the third quarter on a 9-play, 51-yard drive. Bangtson capped the possession with a five-yard touchdown run.
In the fourth quarter, the Pioneers turned the ball over on downs from the Dubuque five-yard line but got the ball back quickly and got a 23-yard field goal by Mobley. The Spartans punted the ball away one more time, and UW-Platteville kneeled out the clock for the win.
The Pioneers went 7-of-13 on third downs compared to 0-of-13 for Dubuque. Time of possession heavily favored the home team as well at 37:56 versus 22:04.
UW-Platteville travels to Massachusetts next Saturday to face Springfield. Kickoff is set for noon EST.
