Quarterback Kobe Berghammer threw for a school-record seven passing touchdowns to help the UW Oshkosh football team cruise its way to a 48-31 victory over Texas Lutheran University Sept. 2 on Senior Day at J.J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium.
Berghammer set the single-game school record for passing touchdowns on a 17-yard pass to fellow senior Tony Steger late in the third quarter to put the Titans up 48-10. Berghammer finished the game 24-34 with 382 passing yards and a team-high 42 rushing yards to go along with his seven passing touchdowns. Steger finished the game with a career-high three receiving touchdowns and five receptions for 139 receiving yards.
Berghammer became just the sixth player in Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) history to throw for seven or more touchdowns in a game. The last player to accomplish this feat was UW-La Crosse quarterback Evan Lewandowski against UW-River Falls in 2019.
UWO, ranked No. 19 in the nation in the recent d3football.com Top 25 Poll, scored 21 unanswered points in the opening quarter to jump out to a 21-7 lead after 15 minutes of action. TLU received the ball to start the game and drove down the field on eight plays on their opening drive, capitalizing with a 28-yard passing touchdown from Bulldog quarterback Seth Cosme to wideout Jacob Wallace.
It took the Titans just six seconds to respond with a touchdown of their own after Berghammer found a wide-open Steger on a post route for the 74-yard score. UWO held the Bulldogs to a three-and-out and 12 plays later, the Titans found the endzone once again when Berghammer found wide receiver Trae Tetzlaff for a 4-yard passing touchdown to cap off an 80-yard drive and put the Titans on top 14-7.
The Titan defense forced another TLU punt halfway through the first quarter and UWO marched down the field in seven plays, adding another touchdown to the board after Berghammer found senior running back Bryce Huettner for a 10-yard passing touchdown.
TLU began the second quarter with an eight-minute drive capped off by a 32-yard field goal from kicker Joaquin Rodriguez, but the Bulldog defense couldn’t slow the Titan offense, which scored its fourth-straight touchdown in four drives after Berghammer found Steger for a 9-yard score. Oshkosh could not convert on the extra point, putting the Titans up 27-10 midway through the second quarter. The Titans drove down the field on their final possession of the half, but kicker Nolan Mobley missed a 38-yard field goal and UWO entered the locker room with a 17-point lead.
The Titans scored once again on their first drive of the third quarter, with UWO driving 74-yards down the field before Berghammer completed a 1-yard passing touchdown to tight end Clayton Schawlbe to put Oshkosh on top 34-10.
Bulldogs running back Jacob Forton fumbled on TLU’s first drive of the second half after UWO’s Mitch Borkovec punched the ball out at the 27-yard line and safety Carson Raddatz was able to recover the pigskin for the Titans. Oshkosh turned the ball over on downs just outside the redzone but on TLU’s next possession, Raddatz picked off Cosme to give the Titans the ball deep inside Bulldogs territory.
Berghammer tossed his sixth passing touchdown of the day to Schwalbe just two plays later and UWO’s lead grew to 31 points. Berghammer broke the school record for passing touchdowns in a game on Oshkosh’s next drive, finding Steger for the 17-yard score to put UWO ahead 48-10 with four minutes to go in the third quarter.
Many UWO starters were taken out of the game late in the third quarter, including Berghammer, and TLU was able to capitalize by picking off Oshkosh quarterback Brooks Blount and scoring two plays later on a pass from Cosme to Wallace. More Titan mistakes were made on the final play in the third quarter when Huettner fumbled at the UWO 40-yard line and TLU’s Grayson Kowalski was there to return the ball for a touchdown. With just under nine minutes to play in the game, the Bulldogs were able to score once again after Forton rushed up the middle for a 4-yard touchdown to cut the Titan lead to 48-31.
Berghammer and the offensive starters returned to the field for the remainder of the game, and the Titans were able to seal the win in front of 2,396 fans after UWO’s Jared Saad picked off TLU quarterback Caden Bosanko late in the fourth quarter.
UWO finished the game with 533 yards of total offense, holding TLU to 15 first downs and 76 total rushing yards. Cosme finished the game 14-25 with 135 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Forton led the team with 70 rushing yards and a score while Wallace had a team-high 65 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
On the defensive side of the ball, UWO’s Jhe’veon St. Julien had a game-high 1.5 sacks to go along with two tackles. Kyle Dietzen and Trent Riekkoff each recorded sacks from the Titans, who had a combined seven tackles for loss. Raddatz finished the game with a team-high eight tackles, a fumble recovery and an interception.
The Titans will hit the road to take on Wheaton College (Illinois), ranked No. 13 in the nation by d3football.com, at McCully Stadium Sept. 9 at 1 p.m. The game will be available to stream online at https://www.uwoshkoshtitans.com/.
Wheaton will be playing in their first game of the 2023 season after finishing 8-3 last year and qualifying for the NCAA Tournament. The Thunder offense will be headed by a strong offensive line led by guard Trevor Gabriele, who earned three All-America awards last season including a Second Team nod to the Associated Press All-America Team. The Titans will also have to deal with another All-American in Giovanni Weeks, who earned a second straight d3football.com All-America selection after breaking the school record with 24 touchdowns last season to go along with 1245 rushing yards.
