The Titans suffered their first loss of the season on Saturday, Oct. 8 as they fell to the UW-Whitewater Warhawks 14-17 in front of an NCAA Division III record crowd of 17,535 in Whitewater at Perkins Stadium.
The Titans are now 4-1 overall and 1-1 in WIAC play.
Although a loss on the Titans’ record in the WIAC could cost the team a first place finish, the players know it is not the end of the season.
“We’re really a one game at a time type of team,” Titans wide receiver CJ Blackburn said. “We want to go 1-and-0 each week. Whitewater is a huge loss for us, but we just have to focus on next week and not let one loss turn into two losses.”
Titans are currently tied for second with UW-Platteville and UW-Stevens Point while UW-La Crosse and UW-Whitewater remain undefeated and tied for first.
Titans quarterback Brett Kasper said it was tough losing such a highly-anticipated match.
“I’d say that this is probably one of my bigger loses that I’ve ever had,” Kasper said. “It’s definitely something that I’ve been taking a lot of responsibility for because there’s so many different plays that I want back, so many different things that I could have done.”
Kasper threw for 157 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
The game consisted of the top two rush defenses in the WIAC with the Titans being ranked first and the Warhawks being ranked second. It showed, considering that there were only five scoring drives between the two teams throughout the whole game.
The first score of the game came from the Titans in the second quarter with a 10-yard touchdown pass from Kasper to wide receiver Dom Todarello.
The Titans were up 7-0 with 13:50 to play in the second quarter. Neither teams scored for the rest of the first half.
The Warhawks first scored on a 36-yard field goal, to make the score 7-3, at the 10:40 mark in the third quarter.
A 36-yard field goal from Warhawks kicker Will Meyer made the score 7-3.
An empty possession from the Titans and the Warhawks resulted in a punt to the Titans who got the ball on their own six yard line with 4:02 left in the third quarter.
The Titans drive lasted three plays and seven yards before Kasper was intercepted on the Titans own 15 yard line by Warhawks defensive back Vince Mason, who was brought down on the Titans 16 yard line.
The Warhawks drive lasted two plays and 16 yards, took 42 seconds and resulted in the Warhawks first touchdown of the game.
An 18-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Cole Wilber to wide receiver Brent Campbell with 1:57 left to play in the third quarter put the Warhawks on top 10-7.
An empty possession from the Titans that went for three yards resulted in a punt to the Warhawks, who were also stopped short of putting any points on the board.
The Warhawks were forced to punt to the Titans as the third quarter came to an end.
After an empty possession from the Titans to start the fourth quarter, the team managed to stop the Warhawks, resulting in a punt.
On the Titans second possession of the fourth quarter, they managed to score another touchdown with a 1-yard touchdown run from running back Dylan Hecker in a drive that was 11 plays for 53 yards.
The Titans were back on top 14-10 with 7:54 left in the game.
Whitewater then got the ball back with 7:41 left in the game. Their drive started on their own 28 yard line.
After moving the ball 56 yards in 13 plays, the Warhawks scored a 16-yard touchdown run from running back Drew Patterson putting them back on top 17-14.
The Warhawks touchdown drive ate up 6:46 of the clock which gave the Titans 00:48 to come up with a score.
The Titans started their drive on their own 40 yard line and were able to move the ball to the Warhawks 47 yard line; however, after a sack on Kasper for a loss of 19 yards, the clock expired.
Titans head coach Pat Cerroni said he knows this loss was tough for his team, but he is not going to let the loss affect them moving forward.
“They better get over it,” Cerroni said. “We have a long way to go.”
Cerroni admited the team played well despite the loss considering the conditions they were in.
“I’m very proud of them,” Cerroni said. “I think we did a good job and I am very proud of everybody. We came up short and we made mistakes but that’s life.”
The Titans’ next game is at 1 p.m. in Stevens Point on Saturday.