By: Jake Krier, UWEC Sports Information
WHO: University of Wisconsin-Stout vs. University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
WHEN: Saturday, October 28 @ 6:10 p.m.
WHERE: Carson Park - Eau Claire, Wis.
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (blugolds.com) - The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire football team will take the field one final time at Carson Park this season, and they will do so against UW-Stout in the renewal of the classic "War on I-94" rivalry on Saturday night.
These two teams square off in what has also been deemed Senior Day and Military Appreciation Day. The Blugolds class of thirteen seniors would like nothing more than one last victory in front of the home crowd.
In looking at the opposition, Head Coach Dan Larson said, "They mix up the run and pass pretty well, and they're certainly going to be a challenge."
Stout enters this contest having alternated pairs of wins and losses and are currently riding a two-game win streak. They are receiving votes in the most recent rankings after posting an overall record of 4-2 and sit in fifth in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) with a 2-2 conference record. The Blue Devils made noise early in the season with their upset of No. 4-ranked (at the time) St. Thomas for the Tommies' only loss of the year.
Last week, Stout topped UW-Stevens Point, 23-17, and their kicker Drew Pearson was named WIAC Special Teams Athlete of the Week. As for the Blugolds, they put up 14 points on the tenth-ranked team in the nation, UW-Platteville, but ultimately fell short, 34-14.
Eau Claire got some nice production out of the running game last week and hope to continue that against the Blue Devils. JT DenHartog (Jr.-Hopkins, MN) finished with 45 yards rushing on top of his 126 yards through the air, while Brian Kulaga (Jr.-Riverside, IL/Riverside-Brookfield) had his best game of the year with 93 rushing yards on 18 carries.
Another key takeaway from a week ago is that the Blugolds won the turnover battle with a plus-four margin against Platteville.
"To win the turnover battle is something we can continue to build off of and hopefully have something happen for us against Stout as well," said Coach Larson.
One of those turnovers last week was a fumble recovery by Jalen Thomas (Jr.-Flossmor, IL/Bloom Trail) that gave the Blugolds momentum at the start of the third quarter.
When asked how the team is responding to recent woes this season, Thomas said, "Continue to have faith and believe. We have to keep going, and we will get there eventually."
Follow all the action on Blugold Game Day.
