Justin Dade – UWEC Sports Information
MENOMONIE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire football team fell to the University of Wisconsin-Stout Blue Devils 30-7 on Saturday at Don & Nona Williams Stadium in the historic War on I-94 rivalry game.
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The Blue Devils found the end zone first in this one on an 11-yard touchdown run from quarterback Jay Alston with 10:27 left in the first quarter on a drive that featured multiple key third-down conversions.
The Blugolds got a big return from Matt Knapp (Sr. – Eau Claire, WI) on the ensuing kick-off to the 37-yard line of the Blue Devils, but were unable to capitalize.
UW-Stout's next drive ended in a 27-yard field goal from Drew Pearson giving the Blue Devils the 10-0 lead at the 3:29 mark.
After fumbling the ensuing kick-off, the Blugolds got the ball right back on the next play as Brandon Luedke (Sr. – Wausau, WI) picked up a Ben Hall fumble.
After a Blugolds' punt, the Blue Devils found pay dirt on another quarterback keeper from 43 yards out to extend the lead to 17-0 with 12:05 left in the half.
After another Blugold fumble, the Blue Devils tacked on another Drew Pearson field goal this time from 47 yards out to give UW-Stout the 20-0 lead with 10:55 left in the half.
Scott Procter (So. – Chicago, IL) entered the game at quarterback on the next drive and played the rest of the first half before JT DenHartog (So. – Hopkins, MN) returned to start the third quarter.
The Blugolds' defense held for the rest of the half, but the offense was held to just 58 yards of total yards of offense in the half as the Blue Devils took a 20-0 lead into the locker room.
UW-Stout wasted little time in the second half extending their lead as Adolfo Pacheco broke a tackle on an 85-yard touchdown run on the first play of the half to give the Blue Devils a 27-0 lead just 21 seconds into the third quarter.
The Blugolds found the end zone on a 2-yard touchdown pass from DenHartog to Tye McLaughlin (Jr. – Eau Claire, WI) to cut into the UW-Stout lead with 57 seconds left in the third quarter.
Drew Pearson would tack on another field goal from 44 yards out to give the Blue Devils the 30-7 lead with 7:39 left in the game.
The Blue Devils have now won three of the last four meetings, but the Blugolds still hold a 51-37-6 edge in the rivalry overall.
The Blugolds (1-5) will return to Carson Park next week to take on UW-La Crosse at 11:30 a.m.
Follow the action for all sports this season on Blugold Game Day.
