Falcon Comeback Falls Short

Box Score

St. Peter, Minn. (uwrfsports.com) – The UW-River Falls Falcons put on a defensive showcase in the second half of play against Gustavus Adolphus in St. Peter, Minnesota not allowing a single point in the second half. The Falcons were unable to overcome the 17 point deficit and fell the Gusties 24-21 in a thriller.

THE RUNDOWN
Final Score: UW-River Falls: 21 Gustavus Adolphus: 24
Location: Hollingsworth Field, St. Peter, Minnesota
Record: UWRF: 0-2 (0-0 WIAC) Gustavus Adolphus: 2-0 (0-0 MIAC)

WHAT HAPPENED

The Gusties struck first on their opening drive of the game marching 70 yards in six plays and scored on a 41 yard throw from Michael Veldman to George Buchner with 12:23 to go in the first quarter.
UWRF responded with a 12 play, 73 yard drive that took up just under four minutes capped off by a four yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Sawyer Moon to tight end Evan Verhota.
The next score came from a 27 yard field goal from Gustavus in the second quarter making the score 10-7 with 8:33 to go in the quarter.
On the ensuing Falcon possession, UWRF punted and had their punt blocked and returned for a touchdown giving the Gusties a 17-7 cushion with 5:01 to play in the first half.
Moon orchestrated a huge drive starting with a 43 yard run by Moon on an option keeper. The drive was ended when Gustavus intercepted a screen pass and returned it 75 yards for a touchdown making the score 24-7, the largest lead in the game for the Gusties.
The Falcons and Gusties both struggled to score in the third quarter, neither team scoring any points. The Falcons did put together a drive at the end of the third quarter that resulted in a seven yard touchdown run by Michael Diggins to cut the lead to 24-14 with 14:26 to play.
The Falcon defense in the second half held the Gusties on offense and did not allow another score, giving the Falcon offense some opportunity forcing one turnover in the second half on a Robbie Flom fumble recovery.
UWRF cut the lead once more on an 11 play drive that went 64 yards ending in another Diggins touchdown, this time via the air on a 16 yard reception.
The Falcons had one last opportunity with 2:52 to go in the game after a Gustie punt. Moon heaved a huge pass to Trenton Monson for 34 yard to start the drive. The Falcons eventually got to the Gustie 35 yard line before turning the ball over on downs giving Gustavus the 24-21 victory.

IN-DEPTH LOOK

The Falcons defense held Gustavus to to 270 total yards in the game, and only gave up 14 points while on the field. Gustavus achieved just 16 first downs in the game and 85 rushing yards.
Each team had one turnover in the game.
Moon finshed 19-44 for 230 yards in the game with 2 touchdowns and one interception.
Diggins had a huge afternoon with 18 carries for 102 yards and two touchdowns. One on the ground, and one via reception giving him 121 total yards.
Monson led the recievers with 62 total yards on four catches
Tyler Halverson and Griff Christensen each had four catches for 56 and 47 yards respectively.
The Falcons offense produced a total of 454 total yards of offense, which puts the offense averaging 440 yards per game in the first two games of the year.
UW-River Falls sacked Gustavus twice in the game. Geno Demike and Kyle Hunter each registered a sack for the Falcons.
Hunter also had two tackles for loss and one pass breakup
Robbie Flom led the Falcons in tackles in the game with 10 total tackles. Senior Tyler Ledbeter had eight as well as senior Albert Itula.

THE OPPOSITION

Gustavus receiver George Buchner caught three passes for 62 yards and a touchdown.
Quarterback Sam Archer was 10-18 for 101 yards with Michael Veldman going 6-9 for 84 yards and a touchdown.
Karim Ortiz led the rushing attack with 10 carries for 51 yards.

LOOKING AHEAD
UW-River Falls will have one week off before the homecoming game on Saturday September 24 against Southwestern. That game is set to kick off at 1 PM. The Falcons only meeting with Southwestern was last year in Texas in a 35-20 victory.

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