Box Score

The UW-River Falls Falcons took the long trip to Rapid City, S.D. and topped Div. II South Dakota School of Mines & Technology 43-28 on a night they put up 577 total yards on offense.

"This obviously feels good for everyone involved in the program. I cannot say enough about our players. I love these guys and respect their passion for this football program and their dedication to what we call the Falcon way," said Falcon Coach Matt Walker.

UWRF was led by a strong performance from junior quarterback Ryan Kusilek who went 32-45 with 405 yards passing and three touchdowns while also rushing for 96 yards. The 405 passing yards and 501 total offensive yards are both school records. The 501 mark is fourth all-time in WIAC play. 

"Obviously our quarterback played well. I've been around a lot of football and had the pleasure to coach some great quarterbacks in my career and this was one of the best and gutsiest performances I have seen," Walker said.

UWRF started the game with a three and out. After the three and out SDSMT took the ball 10 plays for 71 yards taking 3:29 off the clock. They were led by Trenton McKinney who ended the drive with a 13-yard touchdown run. McKinney finished the game with 310 pass yards and 99 rush yards.

"We beat a very good football team. This is a full Div. II program that has a ton of talent. I respect where they are going with their program," Walker said.

The Falcons answered when Emmanuel Udeh plunged three yards into the end zone to tie the game 7-7 with 4:37 left to go in the first quarter. UWRF took the drive seven plays for 37 yards. Udeh finished with 50 rush yards on the day.

With 8:44 left in the second quarter McKinney found a receiver for a two yard touchdown connection to cap off an 11-play, 96 yard drive.

With just 4:53 left to go in the first half Kusilek connected with Jordan Christianson for a huge 28-yard touchdown to tie the game. Christianson finished with five catches for 119 yards.

"Their defense challenged us on the perimeter all night with man coverage and our wide receivers answered the challenge with big play after big play," Walker said.

Jake Ryan led the receivers with nine grabs for 117 yards, Charles Dixon caught six passes for 44 yards, Matt Woller had four catches for 38 yards and Jay Ekman had two big grabs for 61 yards.

To start the second half the Hardrockers would march down the field for a nine-play, 67 yard drive and took a 21-14 lead.

The very next possession saw the Falcons march down and score on a nine,play, 83 yard drive that took just over three minutes. The drive ended in a 12-yard touchdown run on a big third and 10 play by Kusilek.

UWRF got the big defensive stop they needed on the next Hardrockers possession.

"This was an explosive offense that we faced tonight and our defense played their hearts out," Walker said.

Cornerbacks Kyle Kittel and Robbie Flom both played great with a combined seven pass break ups. Kittle recorded a team high eight tackles while Flom recorded five in the game. Cole Sirek and Albert Itula each recorded big sacks in the game and Luke Radke forced a fumble.

After the big defensive stop the UWRF offense came storming down the field again and took the 28-21 lead after Udeh took in a 13-yard rushing touchdown for his second of the game.

"This was a full team win. We just answered the call all night," Walker said.

Just 40 seconds into the fourth quarter the Kusilek-Christianson connection hooked up for a 61-yard touchdown bomb to put UWRF up 35-21 in the game.

SDSMT scored on its next possession to come only a score away. UWRF has had struggles in the past finishing out games but that was not the case tonight as the team got some more big stops down the stretch and sealed off the victory with an eight-play, 70 yard drive that took 3:31 off the clock and ended with a Wade Smethers 4-yard touchdown catch.

To cap off his great night Kusilek also punted for UWRF in the game averaging 37.3 yards per punt and pinning the Hardrockers inside the 20 twice.He also was good on five extra points as the kicker for the evening.

UWRF moves to 1-2 on the season and will head into its bye week before playing UW-Stevens Point on Oct. 4 for the Homecoming and Shrine game. The contest will also be the first game played on the new turf field. Kickoff is set to start at 2 p.m.

"In addition to our players, so many people work so hard to support this program. From the office staff, to the trainers, to our strength staff, and to our coaches and their families," Walker said. "This was a big night for all those people that sacrifice for this Falcon football family." 

Box Score