WAVERLY, Iowa -- The No. 6/10-ranked Wartburg College football team battled defending national champion and No. 4-ranked University of Wisconsin-River Falls before falling 31-14 Saturday afternoon at Walston-Hoover Stadium.
The Knights (1-2 overall) stayed within 10 points at halftime and held the Falcons scoreless in the third quarter, but UW-River Falls added a fourth-quarter touchdown to secure the victory.
Drew Hobart gave the Orange and Black a quick answer in the first quarter, returning a kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown to cut the deficit to 14-7. Wartburg again found the end zone late in the second quarter when
Josh Papesh connected with
Taylen Curry for a 20-yard touchdown, bringing the Knights within 24-14 at halftime.
Papesh completed 12 of 22 passes for 117 yards and a touchdown, while
Dylan Swanstrom paced the receiving corps with six catches for 76 yards. Swanstrom also contributed a 15-yard punt return.
Defensively,
Tyler Gayer led the Knights with a career-high 14 tackles, while
Jake Walker added a season-best 10 tackles. Wartburg's defense held UW-River Falls scoreless throughout the third quarter and forced a fumble that
Grant Gray recovered in the red zone.
HOW IT HAPPENED
UW-River Falls opened the scoring after a 47-yard kickoff return set the Falcons up at the Wartburg 47-yard line. The visitors needed nine plays to reach the end zone, taking a 7-0 lead on a nine-yard rushing touchdown with 10:31 remaining in the first quarter.
After Wartburg's opening possession ended in a punt, the Falcons extended their lead with a 66-yard scoring drive, capped by a 10-yard touchdown pass with 5:10 left in the quarter.
Hobart answered on the ensuing kickoff, breaking free for an 89-yard touchdown return. Othmer's extra point cut the deficit to 14-7.
The Falcons added another touchdown early in the second quarter to make it 21-7 before the Knights responded with a scoring drive of their own. Papesh connected with Swanstrom four times on the possession before finding Curry for a 20-yard touchdown with 37 seconds remaining. Othmer's extra point brought Wartburg within 10 at halftime.
The Knights' defense came out strong in the second half, keeping the Falcons off the scoreboard throughout the third quarter. Gray recovered a UW-River Falls fumble at the Wartburg 15-yard line with 8:21 remaining in the quarter, while a sack ended another Falcons scoring opportunity following a muffed punt recovery.
Wartburg forced a punt on the Falcons' opening possession of the fourth quarter and later flipped the field with a 64-yard punt from
Keegan Weber. UW-River Falls broke through on its next possession, however, scoring on a 67-yard rushing touchdown with 6:16 remaining to extend its advantage to 31-14.
The Knights continued to battle late, moving from their own 7-yard line to the UW-River Falls 40 on a series of completions before an interception ended the drive with 2:17 remaining. The Falcons punted once more before the final whistle.
GAME NOTES
- Wartburg has not lost two home games in a season since 2011.
- Hobart recorded his first kickoff-return touchdown of the season.
- Gayer established a career high with 14 tackles.
- Walker recorded a season-high 10 tackles.
- Christofferson recorded his first fumble recovery of the season.
- Austin Souhrada recorded his first tackle of the season.
UP NEXT
The Knights travel to Lincoln, Nebraska, Saturday, Oct. 3, to face Nebraska Wesleyan University at Abel Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
