OSHKOSH, Wis. – Justice Lovelace's 2-yard run gave No. 17 Wisconsin-Oshkosh the lead in overtime and linebacker Kyle Dietzen's interception of a
Blake Eaton pass sealed the victory for the Titans over the 21st-ranked Linfield Wildcats in a see-saw NCAA Division III football game Saturday at J.J. Keene Field at Titan Stadium.
The loss overshadowed a gutsy performance by the Wildcats (1-1), who scored the game's initial points and took a 21-14 lead early in the fourth quarter only to see the Titans pull even with 3:30 left on a 12-yard TD reception by Clayton Schwalbe from Cole Warren.
In overtime, the Titans needed six plays to reach the end zone with Lovelace carrying the ball four times for 14 yards, including the eventual game-winning points on third down.
In Linfield's overtime session, Eaton found
Caleb Woodcock for 14 yards on first down.
Jackson Pfeifer then carried four yards to the UWO 10. From there, Eaton's pass to
Jacob Slifka over the middle was batted down and and on third down, his attempt to connect with Slifka again was picked off by Dietzen, ending the game.
UW-Oshkosh outgained Linfield in total yards 401-338, including a sizable 167-56 advantage in rushing. Lovelace led all ball carriers with 130 yards on the ground. Pfeifer was Linfield's leading ground gainer with 52 yards on 13 carries.
Eaton finished with 191 yards passing, completing 14 of 23 attempts.
Luke McNabb split time with Eaton behind center, completing 10 of 14 throws for 91 yards and one TD.
Linfield drew first blood midway through the first quarter as
Luke McNabb hooked up with
Connor Wolfe in the corner of the end zone for a 14-yard touchdown. That capped a 12-play, 72-yard march that consumed the opening seven minutes.
UWO quarterback A.J. Korth broke free for a 38-yard run at 5:39 of the opening period. The extra point by Nolan Mobley knotted the score at 7.
Linfield moved in front 10-7 on
Gavin Dalziel's 33-yard field goal three minutes later.
The team battled back and forth for the better part of the next 15 minutes until the Titans' Mathieu caught a 17-yard pass from Warren to put UWO in front 14-10 with 2:44 left before intermission. The Wildcats got the ball back and drove inside Titan territory. A last-minute drive stalled and the Wildcats were left to settle for a 36-yard field goal by Dalziel, pulling the 'Cats to within one point at the break, 14-13.
First-half statistics were fairly even with UW-Oshkosh leading slightly in total yards 200-195, despite Linfield's 18:09-11:15 edge in time of possession.
Early in the third quarter and facing a fourth-and-9 play from deep in their own territory, the Titans' fake punt attempt fell short gaining of a first down, giving the Wildcats the ball at the UWO 37-yard line. But Dalziel's 49-yard field goal attempt sailed just wide, keeping the game a one-point affair in favor of the hosts.
Warren completed 15 of 19 passes for 180 yards and two TDs for UW-Oshkosh. He did not allow an interception to the Wildcats but was sacked five times, including two by Wildcats defensive end
Caleb Sell.
Blake Rybar led all tacklers with 12 total stops, including a sack.
Blaze Holani added eight tackles.
Johnny Miller,
Logan Sloman,
Kenyon Johnson, and
Nick Severson all contributed six tackles toward the Wildcats' defensive effort, which forced multiple players leave the contest with muscle cramps.
UW-Oshkosh now leads the all-time series with Linfield 2-0 with both games being decided in overtime. In 2012, the Titans defeated the Wildcats 30-24 in overtime in McMinnville in the NCAA Division III quarterfinals.
AHEAD
Linfield returns home to host Redlands on Saturday, Sept. 21, in the final nonconference tuneup prior to the start of Northwest Conference play October 5 at Willamette.
