12-6 Book to Upload - Wisconsin-Whitewater Warhawks

The Blugold offense again mounted a drive, starting from their 31 and advancing to the WW 26. Halted
by a sack, an incompletion and a Neu scramble to avoid a sack that resulted in no gain, Albrecht came on
for a field goal attempt. Timm, EC’s defensive nemesis, blocked the kick to retain the Whitewater lead at
14-7 as the teams went into the locker room.
Steve Morris (Racine/Horlick) took the Eau Claire second half kickoff 65 yards, Whitewater’s longest kick
return of the season, to the Blugold 11, and a penalty on the play moved the ball to the five. Two
Coppage runs got the ball into the end zone, and Kindler’s PAT at 14:11 put UW-W up 21-7.
It took just 1:15 for the Blugolds to bounce back, covering 63 yards in three plays, scoring on a Neu to
David Goodman pass that covered 49 yards. Albrecht’s kick cut the Whitewater lead to 21-14. The
points were the first given up by the Warhawk defense in the second half since Stout scored in the third
quarter October 14.
Whitewater’s next drive stalled at the EC 35, but Kindler came on for Kris Rosholt
(Reedsburg/Reedsburg) and punted a ball that was downed at the one yard line.
Facing a fourth and one, EC dropped back to punt, but the snap sailed over the punter’s head for a
Warhawk safety, making it 23-14 with 7:46 left in the third quarter.
Eau Claire’s offense again moved the ball, advancing from their 20 to the WW 41. Looking at fourth and
one, the Blugolds’ fake punt attempt was stopped. It took just four plays for the Warhawks to capitalize,
Blanchard hooking up with Tyler Huber (Mukwonago/North Prairie) for the 32 yard score with 14:51 left in
the game. Kindler made it 30-14.
UW-W increased the margin to 37-14 with a 78 yard, eight play drive that took 4:54 and ended with
Blanchard’s fourth TD toss of the day, to the fourth different receiver, this time a throw and catch of three
yards to fullback Bernie Tamsett (Waterford/Waterford Union).
Neu and the Blugolds came back again, covering 79 yards in just four plays and 1:19 off the clock. Neu
and Austin Goetsch connected on two long pass plays, the first for 43 yards and the next play for 35.
Joel Sweeney went the final yard for the score, and Neu and Mike O’Connell teamed up on the
conversion to cut the margin to 37-22 with 6:59 left in the game.
Whitewater missed a field goal on its last possession, and Eau Claire’s last gasp ended with a fumble that
Whitewater recovered.
Whitewater had 393 yards of offense, 298 on the ground. Eau Claire totaled 399 yards, 330 of those
coming via passes. Whitewater controlled the ball 33:57, and EC led in first downs, 18-16. The (more
than) equalizer, a plus three in turnovers for the Warhawks.
Blanchard may not have passed for big yards, but he demonstrated why he is the passing efficiency
leader in the WIAC, hitting 10-15 for 95 yards and the four touchdowns. The offensive line led Coppage
to 236 yards on 36 carries, the seventh 200+ game of his career. Timm added three solo tackles to his
two picks and blocked kick.
Neu went 25-33, with the two TD’s and two interceptions. Goetsch was on the receiving end of 11 of
those for 177 yards, the most yards any receiver has had against UW-W this season. Defensive back
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