The No. 19 nationally ranked UW Oshkosh football team beat NCAA Division-II Roosevelt University (Illinois) 38-21 in its home opener on Saturday at J.J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium.
The win was the Titans first over a D-II team since 2021 (28-10 at Northern Michigan University). The victory also took longer than expected as both teams endured three lightning delays that all happened in the second half.
“(Head Coach Peter Jennings) told us that there was a threat of inclement weather,” linebacker Kyle Dietzen said. “We came prepared to play through it, we watched film (during the delays) and got stuff corrected.”
The game started off rough for the Titans, as Roosevelt held UWO to a three-and-out on its opening drive. The Lakers were able to take a long drive behind the passing and rushing attack from quarterback Zach Zella and running back Cam Davis down the field to take a 7-0 lead with a touchdown from Zella to Davis.
The Roosevelt defense held the Titans in check early in the game. On UWO’s second drive of the contest, the Titans were able to get into Lakers territory for the first time in the contest but UWO wasn’t able to get into field goal range. Then, after UWO turned the Lakers over on downs during Roosevelt’s second possession, the Titans were able to get all the way to the Roosevelt 9-yard line behind big plays from wildcat quarterback AJ Korth and running back Ben Vallefsky. Unfortunately, UWO couldn’t cash in as the Titans missed a field goal and came away with nothing. Roosevelt ended the first with a 7-0 lead and the ball deep in its own territory.
The Titans defense did not let the game get out of hand. On second down for Roosevelt, Dietzen came through on a blitz and blew up Zella, causing a fumble that UWO defensive lineman Curtis Jaskulske recovered and took to the 2-yard line. Set up with great field position, UWO executed a quarterback sneak to perfection, where to the stadium’s surprise, quarterback Quentin Keene was in the endzone with the ball for a touchdown after it looked like the Titans were stuffed. The trick play tied the game at 7-7. UWO was then able to take a 14-7 lead on its next possession behind 41 yards on five consecutive rushes from Vallefsky that set up a Kellan Mella touchdown dive on the 1-yard line.
Vallefsky, a transfer from the University of Minnesota Duluth, said he was able to be successful in his first UWO game because his team accepted him so fast.
“The coaches and teammates embraced me and helped me learn what my role is going to be,” he said.
Roosevelt, with the help of a UWO failed fourth down conversion attempt, was able to end the first half with 14 unanswered points to take a 21-14 lead going into halftime.
The third quarter started after an approximate one-hour lightning delay, causing an extended halftime. Roosevelt opened up the half with the football. Aided by two wide open drops from Lakers wide receiver Norion Espadrion, the Titans were able to get off the field, allowing no points. UWO got the ball back on its own 6-yard line and was able to run just one play before lightning delayed the game for a second time. After another delay, UWO returned to the field with a second-and-11 on its own 5-yard line. With a big challenge being stuffed deep in its own territory, coming out of the delay, UWO did not waver. Two straight catches from wide receiver Jon Mathieu and running back Jackson Brush got the Titans to their own 40-yard line. The big catches set up a sequence where wide receiver Londyn Little hauled in three catches for a combined 60 yards, which resulted in a game-tying touchdown to level the score at 21-21. The catches were also Little’s first targets since the win over Linfield two weeks ago.
After holding the Lakers to a three-and-out, UWO was able to take a 24-21 lead with a field goal from kicker Axel Vera Trejo. The Titans were able to end the third quarter with the lead at 24-21.
On its first drive of the fourth, it looked like the Titans were about to take a 31-21 lead as Brush returned a punt for a touchdown. However, a personal foul nullified the return and UWO’s offense went back out on the field. The Titans drove all the way to the Roosevelt 11-yard line, but once again were held to a field goal attempt and weren’t able to make the kick. They came away with zero points after looking like they were about to take a ten-point lead.
Similar to the response from the first missed kick, the Titans defense got the momentum back with an immediate interception from defensive back Johnny Spallaso. After being held to a three-and-out on offense, UWO defensive back Chad Gerig snagged an interception on the ensuing Roosevelt offensive drive to give the Titans the ball back again. This time, UWO was able to take advantage of the interception as Vallefsky was able to give the Titans the 10-point lead at 31-21 with a 44-yard touchdown run.
The touchdown was Vallefsky’s first as a Titan.
UWO’s defense came up with a third straight interception, courtesy of Kellen Wright, to get the ball back with 04:54 remaining in the game.
Dietzen said the defense’s mindset was “to be put the ball down and force turnovers” in the high-pressure spots that they were in, forcing four turnovers.
Despite a third lightning delay in the middle of the drive, the Titans offense was able to bleed out most of the final four minutes in the game and put a stamp on the game with a 21-yard touchdown pass from Keene to Little to end the contest with a 17-point win over the Lakers.
The Titans ended its non-conference slate with a 2-1 record, and Jennings said a part of that is due to how the offense has been creative with the wide variety of positions that each player can play.
“We can line them up in so many different positions,” Jennings said. “Having good football players makes the job easier and allows you to be creative.”
UWO will have its bye week this upcoming weekend (Saturday, Sept. 27) before it opens up its WIAC slate on its schedule with a matchup at home against No. 11 nationally ranked UW-River Falls. The game against UWRF will kick off at 1 p.m. on Oct. 4 at J.J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium.
