The UW-Platteville football team’s opener at UW-Stout did not go as they had hoped.

The Pioneers lost to the Blue Devils 28-7 on Sept. 29 in a game marred by turnovers and equally unfortunate weather.

The game was twice delayed due to lightning in the third quarter and UW-P turned the ball over five times.

Senior quarterback Michael Schmidt had a rough outing as he completed 18 out of 40 passing attempts, throwing four interceptions and fumbling once.

One-third of Schmidt’s passes were caught by senior wide receiver Craig Patterson, who hauled in six receptions for 102 yards and a touchdown, while juniors Tyson Droessler and Nick Grosso were on the receiving end of four passes each.

Platteville was able to gain 345 yards of offense though, outgaining Stout by 111 yards as they were held to 234.

Although the Pioneers lost, UW-P’s coaches were still able to take some good things out of the game.

“The team stayed together,” D.J. Lawrence, assistant defensive backs coach, said. “We had adversity with the weather, but the attitude was still up.”

“We had good plays from Matt Eastlick and Morgan May; the defense in general was good,” Tom Watts, defensive coordinator, said. “The defensive line did a good job.”

Senior linebacker Eastlick forced a fumble on Stout quarterback Tanner Kattre, and sophomore defensive back May picked off a pass from quarterback Kyle Provos.

Nolan Krajco, a senior linebacker, led the team with 13 tackles, while Eric Jensen and Justin Athey each accounted for eight.

“The attitude of the team stood out to me,” Vinson Reynolds, defensive line coach, said. “We played four quarters; that had been our Achilles’ heel before, not playing four quarters.”

The game versus the Blue Devils brought the Pioneers record to 1-3 and marked Platteville’s third loss in a row, after starting the year with a win over St. Ambrose.

“You have to look at the mistakes you made and learn from them,” Watts said. “The past is past and you move forward. Learn from your mistakes and move on.”

The Pioneers will return to Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium for the Homecoming game versus the undefeated UW-Stevens Point Pointers at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 6.