EAU CLAIRE, Wis. - With Cory Sartorelli (Jr. -Appleton, Wis./North) scoring four touchdowns and rushing for 285 yards, the 14th-ranked UW-Eau Claire football team defeated Hope College (Mich.) 28-6 at Carson Park today.

Sartorelli, whose performance today was the third most rushing yards in a game in program history, scored his initial touchdown midway through the first quarter. After 12 plays on the Blugolds' second drive of the contest, Sartorelli pounded the ball from one yard out to put the Blugolds on the board. Eau Claire then got up by a touchdown in the second quarter with another Sartorelli run from two yards out. Hope closed to within eight after a Jake Manning to Kyle Dietrich touchdown pass. Hope went 71 yards in nine plays in 1:26 to make the halftime score 14-6.

For the first half, Sartorelli ran for 117 yards on 21 carries while the Blugolds accumulated 270 offensive yards. The Flying Dutchmen were only able to put up 124 yards of offense in the first half.

The third quarter went by without much action. Hope chewed up seven minutes to start the quarter and Eau Claire only had the ball once, coming up with eight rushing yards and nine passing yards for the entire quarter.

The Blugolds exploded in the fourth quarter to score two more touchdowns. On a fourth-and-one in Blugolds' opening drive of the quarter, Sartorelli ran for a 34-yard score to put Eau Claire up 21-6. Sartorelli then broke loose on the Blugolds' next drive, taking the ball 91 yards to the end zone to seal the deal. It was the longest touchdown run in school history. For the day, Sartorelli ran for 285 yards on 33 carries (8.6 yards per carry).

While rushing was the Blugolds' strong point in the game today, they still passed for 113 yards as well. Kyle Paulson (Jr.-Amery, Wis.) completed the game with 113 yards on 12-for-16 passing, while Nils Dillon (Jr.-Iola, Wis./Iola-Scandinavia) led the Blugolds in receiving with 47 yards on six catches. Eau Claire tallied 482 total yards of offense for the contest.

The Flying Dutchmen finished the game with 319 yards of total offense. Jake Manning led Hope, going 25-for-54 for 279 yards. Jon Rodriguez led the Dutchmen with 54 rushing yards on 16 carries, while Kyle Dietrich led the team in receiving with 10 catches for 149 yards.

The Blugold defense was led by Kyle Meulemans (Sr.-Wrightstown, Wis.) with 11 solo tackles and one assist. Ryan Leis (Jr.-Alma Center, Wis./Lincoln) ended the game with six tackles, including a sack. Matt Ebner (Sr.-Mindoro, Wis./Melrose-Mindoro) and Tom Dohr (Sr.-Neenah, Wis.) combined for a sack, while Bryant Dorsey (Jr.-De Pere, Wis.) and Ryan Maher (Jr.-Cottage Grove, Minn./Park) each picked off Flying Dutchmen passes.

The Dutchmen were led by Kevin VanDokkumburg with 10 tackles (nine solos, one assist) including one sack for a loss of 10 yards. Matt Anderson and Josh Echtinaw both picked off passes, while Kevin Mill and Chris Batterbee each recovered a fumble

Next weekend the Blugolds will be off. On October 4, UW-Oshkosh comes to town for the Blugolds' homecoming game. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. at Carson Park.

Eau Claire-Hope College Box Score

- KM -