Box Score For the second consecutive week, the Falcon football team was in position to win but came up short in the final minutes. Trailing 16-10 with two minutes remaining,
B.J. Letourneau's (Falcon Heights, MN, Roseville) 41-yard touchdown pass was negated by a holding call, killing the Falcons drive as they fell to Stout for the fifth consecutive season.
Letourneau threw for over 200 yards for the second straight game as he matched career highs in completions and attempts. The senior was 26-43 for 233 yards and a late touchdown strike to freshman
Charles Dixon (River Falls, WI, South Dakota State). Dixon continues to be more involved in the passing game each week as he picked up a career-high seven receptions, while scoring his first collegiate touchdown.
Also having a career day was the WIAC's leading receiver,
John Wahlstrom (Hastings, MN, Hastings), as he caught nine more passes for a career-best 101 yards.
Senior tailback
Taylor Edwards (Janesville, WI, Parker) hit the century mark in rushing yards for the 15
th time in his career as he took the ball 23 times for 135 yards. Edwards has now rushed for over 3,000 yards in his career. He is just 89 yards away from rushing for over 1,000 yards in three consecutive seasons – a feat that has not been accomplished at UWRF since 1988-90.
The Falcons offense surpassed 400 yards of total offense for the second time in 2011 and the defense held Stout to just 16 points (the fewest allowed in the last 25 games). Yet it was still not enough as the Falcons were defeated for the 19
th time in the last 20 games.
Stout scored on its first two possessions of the game to go up 10-0, while the Falcons ran just three plays of offense. The Falcons first two drives ended in a fumble, which was recovered by Stout at midfield, and turning the ball over on downs at the Stout 24 yard-line.
The Falcons kept Stout off the board until the fourth quarter, when Eric Brown ran in a score from 11 yards out to make it a two score game. Trevor Seaman blocked the extra point, keeping the score at 16-3.
On the ensuing drive, Stout intercepted a Letourneau pass in River Falls territory, looking to make it a three-score game. But
Trevor Semann (LaCrescent, MN, Winona) busted through the line and blocked another kick, this time a 38-yard field goal attempt, keeping the Falcons down by 13.
Following Seamann's second blocked kick of the day, Letourneau led the team 87 yards on 15 plays. Letourneau kept the drive alive converting a third-and-10 on a completion Wahlstrom, a fourth-and-five to Wahlstrom, a third-and-18 on a 25-yard pass to
Nate Brandt (Lakefield, MN, Jackson County Central) then capped off the drive on a third-and-goal to Dixon.
The Falcons had one final chance as they got the ball back with three minutes to go, trailing by six. The offense moved the ball 42 yards on the first five plays before Letourneau found
Brady Hannigan (Oakdale, MN, North St. Paul) on the 41-yard touchdown pass, which was called back.
The offense never recovered as they turned the ball after four plays, allowing Stout to run out the clock.
The Falcons defense held Stout to just 312 yards of offense, their best performance since their 2009 game at Northwestern when they held the Eagles to 291. They also recorded four sacks, which is the most since the 2009 opener against St. John's.
Ryan Bartsch (Cameron, WI, Cameron) has picked up a sack in each of the last three games, and added two against Stout. Bartsch now leads the team in sacks for the second consecutive season.
Jake Mandoza (New Brighton, MN, Irondale) applied pressure all day as he picked up a sack along with three quarterback hurries.
Aaron Niemann (Edgar, WI, Edgar) grabbed the other sack for the Falcons in Niemann's first sack of the season.
The Falcons hit the road next week as they travel to La Crosse in search of their first win. The Falcons are 0-8 overall and 0-5 in the WIAC with two games remaining. Kickoff is at 1 p.m., next week in La Crosse. Since 1989 the Eagles are 22-1-1 against the Falcons, winning each of the last 18 seasons.
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