EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (blugolds.com) - There was a quiet wind blowing in Eau Claire during the fall of 1981.
The UW-Eau Claire football team was about to embark on another season. After a 3-8 finish the previous season, the Blugolds’ foes had little knowledge of the explosion about to begin. Nobody, maybe even some of the players themselves, knew how good the Blugolds could and would be before the end of a 9-1 campaign.
Before anyone could stop them, the ‘Golds overcame an opening-day loss and rattled off nine consecutive victories to earn Coach Link Walker his first Wisconsin State University Conference title.
The names became familiar—Roger Vann, Mike March, Brett Cole, Kevin Bohlig, Jeff Gospodarek, Tom Saskowski—but one of the most distinguishing characteristics of the Blugold squad and the epitome of its success lay in its ability to overcome all expectations, odds and injuries.
It was a season that took team chemistry and resiliency to new highs as the Blugolds’ never-say-die attitude carried them through close game after close game. Despite injuries, there was always someone stepping up to play a big role in helping the team.
After a 23-7 loss to Concordia (Moorhead, MN) in the season opener, the Blugolds traveled south to Evansville, Indiana to take on a heavily-favored NCAA Division II opponent. But the mismatch proved to be in Eau Claire’s favor as the Blugolds may have realized the level of their own talent and set the tone for an exciting eight-game stretch. Evansville was left baffled at how to shut down Roger Vann, who darted for 239 yards and scored five touchdowns. The Blugolds’ offensive show racked up 555 yards on its way to a 45-16 romp in front of a stunned home crowd in Evansville.
In their conference opener the next week, both the offense and defense clicked in a 35-0 walkover of UW-Oshkosh. Vann rushed 39 times for 192 yards, but the Blugolds’ passing attack and defense came front and center. Kevin Bohlig threw touchdown strikes to Jeff Gospodarek, Tim Leis and Pete Derleth, while the Eau Claire defense gave up just 207 yards of total offense to the Titans.
At 3-1, the Blugolds hosted winless UW-Superior for homecoming and didn’t disappoint family, friends and alumni who packed Carson Park to see the game. Eau Claire got a tough ride early, forging a 21-21 tie in the second half. But the tide turned quickly on a touchdown by Bohlig and an interception return for a touchdown by Dave Hellestad. Also key was kicker Bob Leffler, whose lively leg booted 41, 45 and 49-yard field goals in the win.
For the first time during the conference season, the Blugolds found themselves trailing at halftime during their Oct. 10 game at UW-Stevens Point. But Eau Claire’s potent offense could not be held in check. The ‘Golds rallied from a 14-12 deficit as Vann toted the pigskin a conference-record 43 times for 209 yards and two touchdowns.
The rain couldn’t stop Eau Claire the following week as the Blugolds eeked out a 14-6 win over River Falls on the rain-soaked grass turf of Carson Park. Bohlig’s touchdown passes to Leis and Gospodarek aided in the victory. Vann passed the 1,000-yard barrier in the sixth game of the season to lead all NAIA rushers. The Blugolds were now 5-1 heading into the gauntlet—the toughest remaining teams in the conference.
Eau Claire’s defense keyed an Oct. 24 win at Whitewater, as the Blugolds held a narrow 17-14 lead with time winding down. With the Warhawks knocking on the door, Jeff Kitzman answered with an amazing sprawled-out interception that secured an Eau Claire win. Sophomore Kevin Haag, filling in for the injured Bohlig, tossed a pair of touchdowns and Leffler booted a 42-yard field goal that turned out to be the margin of victory.
With a convincing 28-7 win over Platteville on Halloween, Eau Claire clinched a share of the WSUC crown. The Blugolds rolled on as Haag tossed a TD pass to Gospodarek and Vann rushed for a pair of scores to key the win. One of the more interesting plays of the season was Bart Mattson’s interception and return of a lateral on a kickoff that set up an Eau Claire score and helped seal Platteville’s fate.
November 7 was Mike March’s day. His unbelievable defensive day led Eau Claire to a 31-0 romp over UW-Stout. The junior cornerback picked off five passes, ran one back 22 yards for a touchdown and became the first player in school history to be named NAIA national defensive player of the week.
With the conference crown already in hand, the Blugolds were determined to end their 1981 campaign with a thrilling come-from-behind win against La Crosse filled with drama and suspense. Eau Claire jumped out to a 15-0 lead, but the Indians and running back Reggie Raab charged back with 19 unanswered points of their own. Enter Bohlig, still playing with a broken bone in his leg, who capped a 46-yard drive with a 21-yard touchdown to Tom Saskowski. The win left no doubts that Eau Claire was the cream of the 1981 WSUC crop.
The Blugolds finished the regular season ranked No. 9 in the final NAIA Division I poll and thus missed the school’s first opportunity at a post-season playoff as only the top eight teams in the poll were selected. The irony was that after the first week of the playoffs, one of the teams was disqualified from further play for use of an ineligible player.
In 1981, not only were the big names key, but the lesser-recognized players came to the fore to become heroes. And the Blugolds displayed amazing tenacity to overcome injuries and expectations. The camaraderie will be remembered as will the quiet leadership of Vann, the off-field antics by March, Brett Cole and Jeff Adams, and the unique philosophies of Coach Walker.
In one amazing year, Eau Claire went from pretender to contender to champion and as Walker himself would say before games: “Lord, here we are again…we’re not asking for 110 percent from each of these guys; that’s impossible…but we ask you to give them the strength to give 100 percent effort and they will win.”
And they did.
This article was written by Sports Information Assistant Brian Graham for the Oct. 5, 1991 Blugold football program.