PLATTEVILLE, Wis. (uwrfsports.com) - The Falcons got within three points of the Pioneers in the third quarter but it was the closest the Falcons would get to the Pioneers who would go on to win the WIAC matchup 52-27.

UWRF junior quarterback Ben Beckman was 28-41 for 405 yards and one touchdown.   Trenton Monson connected on 166 yards and Alex Herink connected on 103 yards.

The Falcons started their first drive with a holding penalty to put them 1^st and 20 at the UWRF 10.  Beckman made an 18 yard complete pass to Sam Altena to get within two on the third down.  Altena rushed for two yards to get the first down and then rushed again for 15 yards to give the Falcons another first down on the River Falls 45 yard.  Twenty yards of penalties took away the gains the Falcons made and forced Owen Schommer to punt it 39 yards. 
 
Pioneer quarterback Colin Schuetz made a complete pass to Mark Johnson for 37 yards on the Pioneers second drive setting them up on the thirty.  Sean Studer combined for 11 yards on the next three downs and Schuetz passed to Tyler Knigge for a first down.  On first and goal, Sean Studer rushed for nine yards and put the Pioneers on the board 7-0. 
 
In the final five minutes of the first quarter, the Pioneers marched down the field making up ground and getting themselves within one yard.  Schuetz rushed for a yard and scored the Pioneers second touchdown. 
 
The second quarter was a back and forth scoring run for both teams.  The Falcons answered back the following drive scoring their first touchdown of the day.  Beckman threw five complete passes for 83 total yards.  His scoring pass was a 26 yard complete pass to Alex Herink. 
 
Not to be outdone the Pioneers scored their third touchdown at 10:27 on a 16 yard rush by Studer.  Schuetz had completed 2-3 passes for 29 yards and got within 23 yards for Studer to run it in and take a 21-7 lead.
 
Beckman made a 50 yard complete pass to Herink to get within 8 yards and Tyler Blum rushed it in.  The extra point by Jacob Lytle was blocked and the Falcons only trailed 13-21.  A field goal was made by the Pioneers in the final drive of the half and as the teams headed to the locker room the Pioneers led 24-13.
 
The Falcons came out of the half hot scoring their third touchdown on seven plays for 72 yards.  Altena rushed in for 11 yards and Beckman passed to Evan Verhota for the extra two points.  The Falcons only trailed by three points after the drive. 
 
Platteville would begin to cool the Falcons down and it would take the Pioneers two more drives before they would score on an 80 yard complete pass from Schuetz to Mark Johnson.  The Pioneers led 31-21 through the remainder of the quarter. 
 
The fourth quarter was controlled by the Pioneers who would score three touchdowns on four drives. The first touchdown was a 25 yard rush by Studer at 14:54.  Beckman's pass was intercepted by Eric Siedenburg on the UWRF 40 and Studer rushed for 40 yards on two plays to widen the Pioneer to 45-21.  Studer scored the final touchdown after rushing for 29 yards.
 
The Falcons did get one touchdown at 11:10 in the fourth quarter.  Anthony Silva rushed for four yards and Beckman's pass attempt failed for the extra points.

The Pioneers outran the Falcons with 258 yards compared to the Falcons 96.  Sean Studer was the leading rusher of the day with 217 yards and five touchdowns.  Sam Altena picked up 53 yards for the Falcons.  UWRF only converted on three of their 12 third-down attempts. They were 3 for 5 on fourth down conversions.
 
The Falcons fall to 1-4 and 0-2 in the WIAC after the loss. UWRF will return home for homecoming Saturday Oct. 13 to take on the Stout Blue Devils.