This story by the Sports Information staff appeared in the 1984 football program. The Blugolds' 1983 football team will celebrate its 40th anniversary this weekend.

Few fans leaving Carson Park on September 10 could not have foreseen the success that the Blugolds were to achieve in 1983.  For on that afternoon, when the gun sounded, the Blugolds found themselves on the wrong end of a lopsided 56-28 score against Franklin College of Indiana.

But bouncing back is what champions are made of and the 1983 edition of the Blugolds certainly became a champion.

The Blugolds would go on to lose only once more that year as they captured their second undisputed Wisconsin State University Conference championship in three seasons and at the same time pushed their WSUC record to 21-3 over those three years.

After the disaster against Franklin, where the Blugolds turned the ball over six times and had their young secondary riddled with 402 yards through the air, the Blugolds put together an impressive six-game winning streak.

First, Eau Claire, behind its powerful offense, avenged a 1982 loss to Valparaiso, 34-25.  The offense was a potent one, directed by former Wisconsin star Jess Cole, who had led the Badgers to victories over Michigan and Ohio State as well as a berth in the Garden State Bowl.  But now Cole was at the helm of the Blugolds and he had plenty of firepower to work with.  Lee Weigel rushed for over 100 yards for the second consecutive week against Valparaiso, this time gaining 131 and scoring three touchdowns.  A trio of outstanding receivers — Tom Saskowski, Jeff Gospodarek and tight end Darryl Goehring — made throwing the ball a pleasure for the junior transfer quarterback.  Those players, plus an offensive line led by future All-American Jeff Wilson, would enable the Blugolds to average over 27 points and 370 yards of offense per game.  But the Blugolds would also need a strong defense in order to contend in the always-tough WSUC.
 

 

The Blugolds opened Wisconsin State University Conference play the next week against River Falls, always a contender with its wishbone offense.  The defense, which had given up 81 points in the first two games, held the high-powered Falcons to 254 total yards and forced three turnovers.  Eau Claire had to come from behind with two fourth quarter scores.  Cole hit Gospodarek with a seven-yard pass for one touchdown, then added the clincher three minutes later with a one-yard run himself.  For the day, Cole was 22 of 34 passing for 250 yards.

Both the offense and defense were in high gear the next week as Eau Claire whipped previously undefeated Oshkosh, 28-7.  The Titans didn't know whether to watch out for the run or the pass and as it turned out, they found it difficult to stop either, as would almost every Blugold opponent.  Weigel ran for 195 yards and added three touchdowns while Cole clicked on 12 of 18 passes.  John Kuhn had his second straight outstanding defensive effort as he had eight solo tackles and assisted on seven others.  He also recovered an Oshkosh fumble.
 

The Blugolds treated their homecoming fans to a 28-12 victory over Platteville as Weigel once again hit the 100-yard plateau, getting 142.  He repeated the over-100 trick the next week as he had 116 against Stout.  The Blugolds appeared to have the game well in hand as they rolled to a 21-0 lead over their neighboring rival.  Goehring's touchdown catch of 43 yards appeared to be frosting on the cake when he put Eau Claire up 28-6 but it turned out to be the winning margin as Stout came back in the final minute to close within 28-20.

Eau Claire hit 28 points for the fourth consecutive week when it beat Superior, 28-0.  The Blugolds, the No. 1 offense in NAIA District 14, were going against Superior's No 1 defense.  But it was the Blugolds' defense that emerged with the outstanding performance.  The Yellowjackets gained just two yards on the ground and had a measly total of 150 yards for the game.  Ken Heffel, who shifted from fullback to tailback in place of the injured Weigel, rushed for 86 tough yards and two touchdowns.
 

But just when the Blugolds had visions of an undefeated conference season, Whitewater gave the Blugolds a sound whipping, beating them at almost every phase of the game in a 34-14 Warhawk win, putting the Blugolds a half game behind La Crosse, their next opponent.

Clicking on all cylinders, Eau Claire pasted La Crosse, an eventual NCAA III semi-finalist, 25-3.  The Indians (now Eagles) were limited to just 20 yards in total offense and 10 first downs behind the outstanding play of Kevin Fitzgerald, John McBride, Bart Mattson, Grant Bashore and company.  It was the Blugolds' biggest test of the year and they passed it with flying colors, setting up a chance at a WSUC title the next week at Stevens Point against the offensive-minded Pointers.

In a wild, high-scoring affair, the Blugolds would not be denied their title as Weigel rushed for an incredible 279 yards.  There were many big plays in the game.  Gospodarek hauled in a Cole 27-yard pass on the last play of the first half to give the Blugolds a 28-7 lead.  After the Pointers came back with two touchdowns, linebacker Al Smith forced a fumble which he recovered in the end zone to seal the victory and the title.  Cole's run with four minutes left accounted for the final score of 41-21.

And when the game was over, the players hoisted veteran coach Link Walker on their shoulders for the second time in three years.



Note:  The Blugolds had five players named to the All-Conference first team in offensive tackle Jeff Wilson (who was the team MVP and an NAIA 1^st team All-American), running back Lee Weigel, quarterback Jess Cole, linebacker John McBride and defensive back Grant Bashore.

Two more players received second team honors.  They were tight end Tom Saskowski and wide receiver Jeff Gospodarek.

Earning honorable mention were defensive back Mark Barstad, offensive tackle Mike Molnar and offensive center Pete Derleth.