The No. 18 UW Oshkosh Titans beat UW-Eau Claire 28-21 in UWO’s 100th Homecoming game at J.J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 18.
The win was not only UWO’s 13th straight win on Homecoming, but it was also the Titans’ sixth straight win over the Blugolds and their eighth straight over UWEC at home.
UWO’s defense forced either a punt or turnover in each of UWEC’s offensive drives up until a minute into the fourth quarter, when the Blugolds were finally able to convert for a touchdown, making the score 21-14 at that point. Eau Claire had only scored via a pick-six off of Keene in the second quarter.
Outside of Keene’s mistake, he was able to lead the Titan offense to their best scoring week since week three against Roosevelt University (Illinois) with a 76.7% completion percentage, 361 passing yards and a touchdown.
“I’m a former quarterback and quarterbacks coach, so I absolutely love passing the ball around the yard,” head coach Peter Jennings said. “You know he’s got that type of ability and it’s about unleashing him, and that’s what happened today. He made the most of his opportunities for sure.”
Keene started the game with nine straight completions and 13-for-14 until his interception in the second quarter.
“If you’re taking 13 steps forward, then take one step back, you’re still 12 steps ahead,” Keene said. “Just having playmakers around and being able to distribute to them … makes it easier.”
The first play after Eau Claire’s equalizing touchdown with eight minutes left in the fourth quarter, Keene and wide receiver Hunter Gibson connected on a go-route for an 80-yard touchdown, helping Gibson reach his single-game career high in receiving yards at 122.
“I got put in the right system and right plays for real,” Gibson said. “The defense gave us what we were looking for and it just happened to be my turn.”
Running back Ben Vallafskey returned to the gridiron on Saturday and played a pivotal role in the offense. Vallafskey was able to find paydirt on a 19-yard carry to put the Titans up 21-7 at that point of the game. He finished the game with 16 attempts, netting 73 yards on the ground, adding eight yards on two receptions.
In the first half, the Titans scored twice by way of “tush push,” with Kellan Mella getting pushed into the endzone twice. Outside of the “tush push” attempts, Mella didn’t have another touch, concluding the game with two carries for two yards and two touchdowns.
Defensively, Curtis Jasulke led the way with seven total tackles, four being for loss and an eight-yard sack. Jasulke’s efforts earned him a spot on the d3football.com team of the week.
The No. 18 Titans (4-2) will travel to face off against the No. 12 UW-La Crosse Falcons at Roger Harring Stadium at Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex. The game can be streamed on the radio at 90.3 WRST-FM or wrst.org, as well as on the Radio FX app.
