Five long weeks since their first win of the season, the UW-Platteville football team once again tasted victory as the Pioneers beat the Eagles of UW-La Crosse 37-34 on Oct. 13 at Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium.

Going into the game against the 18th-ranked Eagles, the Pioneers knew what was at stake for both teams, their first WIAC win of the season.

“Coach knew it would be a battle right down to the end,” senior strong safety David Pietrowiak said. “If we played to the whistle and did the little things, we’d give ourselves a great shot to win.”

“We knew we had a good chance to beat them,” junior outside linebacker Brandon Willger said. “We had a great game plan, and we were not going to let them come into our house and get a win.”

Pioneer freshman Joe Burkeland dominated the first quarter of play, accounting for three touchdowns for UW-P. Burkeland was the first to score on a 6-yard run to the end zone at the 9:17 mark.

However, UW-LC’s Dan Hall answered back with a touchdown, making the score 7-6 in favor of the Pioneers as the Eagles’ extra point was blocked.

The Pioneers took a 21-6 lead in the subsequent minutes of play as Burkeland ran the ball in for a 7-yard touchdown and a 3-yard touchdown.

Forcing a re-kick, an early whistle on a fumbled kickoff cost the Pioneers’ a chance of starting a drive at the Eagles’ 26.

“Obviously the call on the fumbled kickoff gave La Crosse an opportunity; instead of us getting the ball and possibly putting ourselves up 28-6, it changed the complexion of the game,” Pietrowiak said.

The Eagles made good on three of their next four possessions and took a 27-24 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Tony Smidl’s 31-yard game-tying field goal was the only scoring that took place in the third quarter as both offenses died down.

However, an interception by Willger, which landed the Pioneers at the Eagles’ 34, eventually led to Mike Genslinger scoring a 10-yard touchdown run with 11:16 left in the fourth quarter.

The Eagles tied the score again at 34 as UW-LC’s Hall ran into the end zone for his third touchdown of the game.

With less than three minutes left, the Pioneers began their final drive of the game.

After starting quarterback John Akim left the game because of injuries, Burkeland stepped up and led the Pioneers on a 78-yard drive that got UW-P inside the one-yard line.

With all hopes of victory resting on the 17-yard-line, Smidl kicked his first game-winning field goal with just three seconds left on the clock.

“[The win] feels good especially the way we’ve let some games slip the last couple of weeks,” Pietrowiak said. “It shows we can finish games and be mentally tough enough to play for a full 60
minutes.”

“A huge strength was our confidence and belief in one another,” Burkeland said. “It was a full team effort, and it seemed, at all times, everyone believed in the next guy. We were truly 100 strong.”

With all of the injuries the team has endured lately, a lot of players have stepped up and filled some major roles on the team especially at the quarterback position.

“Joe stepped in at quarterback and had an awesome game for us,” Willger said. “Knowing a freshman can come in and do that gives the team great confidence in him.”

I think it has been awesome to see guys step up and take the game on their shoulders and carry us to the win.”

“Guys know they’re only one or a handful of plays from being put on the field,” Pietrowiak said. “Everyone that has been forced to play has gone in with a mentality of making a play and not just filling in for a while.”

The Pioneers improved their WIAC record to 1-3 and their overall record to 2-4 on the season.

UW-P will travel to UW-Eau Claire to take on the Blugolds at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 20.

“Hopefully this will be the turning point of the season, and we’ll be able to keep things rolling these next four weeks and finish off strong,” Burkeland said.

Everyone has stepped up their play. When you’re 1-4, it’s easy to get down on yourself. But this team has character, and it showed on Saturday. We kept fighting and we will keep fighting and working hard until the last whistle at Whitewater.”