EAU CLAIRE, Wis. - The ninth-ranked UW-Eau Claire football team had its way against UW-Oshkosh, defeating the Titans 34-0 today at Carson Park.

The Titans, who came into the game undefeated this season and on a five-game winning streak dating back to last season, fall to 2-1 overall and 0-1 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The Blugolds improve to 3-1 overall and 1-1 in the conference.

Kyle Paulson (Jr.-Amery, Wis.) had a great day for the Blugolds, throwing three touchdown passes in the first half. The first came on a 61-yard pass to Cory Sartorelli (Jr.-Appleton, Wis./North) with just under five minutes to go in the first quarter. Sartorelli took the pass only a few yards from the line of scrimmage and did the rest of the work to break away from the pack. That touchdown made the score 10-0 as Craig Kolb (Jr.-Marshfield, Wis.) nailed a field goal earlier in the quarter.

The Blugolds then struck again with less than a minute to go in the first quarter with Spencer Kehoe (Jr.-Clear Lake, Wis./Winona State) catching a 33-yard pass from Paulson to make the score 17-0. Paulson then connected with Brett Schreiner (Jr.-Somerset, Wis.) half way through the second quarter on an eight-yard pass to make the score 24-0. Another Kolb field goal with a minute to go in the half made the halftime score 27-0.

The Blugolds then came out strong in the third quarter. On the Titans' opening drive, Craig Polifka (Sr.-Kewaunee, Wis.) picked off a pass and returned it 35 yards to put the Blugolds up 34-0. Paulson would only see two more drives for the day, being relieved by Jason Mahn (So.-New Berlin, Wis.) late in the third quarter.

For the game the Blugolds accumulated 414 yards of total offense while they held Oshkosh to 165. Paulson went 15-for-20, throwing for 220 yards. Mahn was 2-for-4 and threw for 29 yards. Sartorelli led the Blugolds with 62 rushing yards on 12 carries, while Ethan Turriff (So.-De Pere, Wis./West) contributed 60 yards on 13 carries. Four other Blugolds ended the game with rushing yardage, while the entire team totaled 165.

Schreiner ended the game with five receptions for 46 yards, while Kehoe had 56 yards on three receptions. Nils Dillon (Jr.-Iola, Wis./Iola-Scandinavia) ended the game with 32 yards on two receptions and two others had more than 20 yards receiving.

Oshkosh's Craig McClelland finished the game with 103 yards passing, going 11-for-16. He was sacked three times and threw one interception. Steve Levonowich led the Titans in rushing with 48 yards on 13 carries, while Juston Wara led the receiving crew with two catches for 28 yards.

On the defensive side, Ryan Leis (Jr.-Alma Center, Wis./Lincoln) led the Blugolds with four solo tackles and one assist, including a sack and another tackle-for-loss. Polifka, Dave Wicklund (Sr.-Kewaskum, Wis./Bemidji St.) and Matt Ebner (Sr.-Mindoro, Wis./Melrose-Mindoro) all finished the game with four total tackles. Ebner had one and half sacks, while Polifka and Wicklund both had a tackle-for-loss. Five other Blugolds were credited with at least a partial tackle-for-loss.

Next weekend the Blugolds face UW-La Crosse. The game will be played at Winona State University starting at 7 p.m. Saturday and will be televised live on WKBTD2.

Eau Claire-Oshkosh Box Score

Slideshow

- KM -