RIVER FALLS, Wis. (uwrfsports.com) - The Falcons couldn't keep pace with UW-La Crosse on Saturday, failing to score in the first half and falling 29-14 at Roger Harring Stadium in their final road game of the season. UW-River Falls was held to only 35 yards on the ground and completed 40 percent of their passes against the Eagles.

UWRF almost forced two turnovers on the opening two plays from scrimmage. An interception from Antoin Kealoha was called back for an offsides penalty, and UW-La Crosse Quarterback Ben Schramski fumbled the ball before recovering to keep the drive alive. Schramski responded by throwing a 72-yard touchdown to Dominic Labellarte on the next play to put the Eagles ahead 7-0 in under a minute of action. The Falcons picked up 62 yards on the next drive over a 6-minute span, but they came up short on fourth-and-4 from the La Crosse 14-yard line. The teams traded three-and-outs before the Eagles put together an 8-play, 66-yard drive that was capped off by an Austin Mancosky touchdown run to make it 14-0.

The Falcons were pinned deep in their own territory in the beginning of the second quarter at the eight-yard line, and a short punt from Owen Schommer gave the Eagles great field position at the Falcons' 30-yard line. UW-La Crosse was stood up by the UWRF defense after first-and-goal from the 9-yard line, but Ryan Beirne made a 26-yard field goal to build the lead to 17-0. The Falcons had trouble moving the ball the rest of the half, and Beirne later missed a 30-yard field goal with only two seconds left to keep the score at 17-0 at halftime.

A pass interference call on Alex Herink was followed by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Ben Beckman on the second play of the third quarter, which pushed the Falcons back to their own 6-yard line. A fumble on the following play was recovered by backup quarterback Kole Hinrichsen in the end zone for a safety. Schramski found Labellarte on the second play of the following drive to go up 26-0 less than two minutes into the third quarter. Labellarte finished with 161 yards on four catches and was responsible for over half of Schramski's 273 passing yards. 

UWRF put together their first touchdown drive later in the quarter, aided heavily by Herink drawing two pass interference calls on Eagles' defenders to move the chains. Hinrichsen completed a pass to Evan Verhota for 15 yards on a key third-and-7 play at the 25-yard line, and Hinrichsen ran the ball in for a touchdown two plays later to put the Falcons on the board for the first time at 26-7. Joey Leonard recovered a fumble on the following drive and Hinrichsen completed a 10-yard pass to Trenton Monson after facing a fourth-and-9 situation. Hinrichsen was later sacked three times on the last four plays of the drive before the Falcons turned the ball over on downs on fourth-and-29.

The defense continued to keep the Falcons in the game as Alex Wood recorded his fourth interception of the year on Schramski's next pass. A 71-yard pass from Hinrichsen to Monson on the first play of the fourth quarter cut the Eagles' lead to 26-14 and put UWRF back into the game. Monson was the only Falcons' receiver to record more than two catches, totaling nine catches for 128 yards. Monson's 715 yards this season puts him at 2,023 yards for his career, which is only seven yards shy of breaking the all-time Falcons' receiving record set by Michael Zweifel in 2008. 

The Eagles chewed up six minutes off the clock with a 13-play, 51-yard drive that was capped off by a Beirne 34-yard field goal to keep the game within two possessions at 29-14 with nine minutes remaining. Neither team was able to put up any more points on the board, with Hinrichsen throwing two interceptions on the closing drives and Anthony Silva blocking a Beirne field goal attempt. 

Hinrichsen went 9 for 22 for 153 yards and a touchdown, while Beckman was 9 of 23 for 58 yards in the first half. Hinrichsen was also sacked six times by the Eagles' defense in the second half, with Ryan Flathers recording 2.5 sacks. Sam Altena was the leading rusher for the Falcons with 43 yards on the ground, and Max Praschak continues to lead the WIAC in tackles per game by adding 12 more against the Eagles. He now has 61 solo tackles in eight games this season.

The loss drops the Falcons to 3-6 on the season and 2-4 in the WIAC, while the Eagles improve to 4-2 in the WIAC and 6-3 overall. UWRF is seventh in the WIAC standings, sharing a 2-4 record with UW-Eau Claire, UW-Platteville and UW-Stevens Point. The Falcons will host the Pointers at 2 p.m. at Ramer Field this coming Saturday in their season finale.