The Falcons football team opened up the 2010 WIAC season with a loss to Oshkosh 43-15. Standout tailback, Taylor Edwards (Janesville, Parker) put in another fine performance breaking the 100-yard mark for the fourth consecutive game this season. Edwards, the leading rusher in the WIAC, carried the ball 27 times for 128 yards and a score in the losing effort.
Both River Falls and Oshkosh headed into Ramer Field on Saturday with winless records, but each squad has seen some of the best competition in the country. The Falcons started the season facing three teams in the top 15 and the Titans first two non-conference opponents were ranked in the top ten.
The Titans opened up the scoring in the first quarter on a Nate Wara 32-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Roach. On the ensuing drive, the Falcons answered back with a 16 play, 65-yard drive which ate up 8:13 off the clock. The scoring drive concluded on a fourth-and-one touchdown run by Edwards. The experienced offensive line gave him the push he needed to cross the goal line for the fourth time in 2010 and tie the score at 7-7.
After a 6-yard score by Roach early in the second quarter, the Titans took the lead for good. Roach leads the WIAC in all-purpose yards and added another big day racking up 109 total yards and three touchdowns.
The Falcons had a few chances to keep the game close but a few mishaps kept the momentum on the Titans side. Trailing only by a touchdown, the Falcons second trip inside the red zone came up empty-handed as Oshkosh blocked Chad Blair's (Oakdale, MN, Tartan) 35-yard field goal attempt.
The real dagger to the Falcons came with under a minute to play in the first half. Trailing 20-7 the Falcons faced a fourth-and-four near midfield and looked to pin the Titans deep into their own territory to end the half. Instead, a bad snap on a punt attempt resulted in a 33-yard-loss and a turnover on downs for the Falcons.From there, the Titans took over at the Falcons 12 and punched the ball in on another strike from Wara giving the Titans a 26-7 lead at the break.
The story of the second half was the defensive front for the Titans. Oshkosh picked up five of their six sacks in the second half. Early in the fourth quarter, the pass rush created a River Falls fumble which gave the Titans offense a short field once again, starting at the River Falls 27. This led to the final score of the day giving the Titans a 43-15 victory.
The lone scoring play in the second half for the Falcons came on a B.J. LeTourneau (Falcon Heights, MN, Roseville) four yard pass to Joel Yogerst (Richfield, Slinger) in the third quarter.
Saturday's matchup marked the WIAC opener for both teams and the only conference game of the weekend. All other WIAC member schools either have the weekend off or were playing non-conference contests.
The victory puts Oshkosh at the top of the conference standings with a 1-0 WIAC record and 1-2 overall. River Falls drops to 0-4 overall and 0-1 in league play.
Next Saturday is homecoming week at River Falls. The Falcons host UW-Stout on Saturday at 1 p.m.
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