RIVER FALLS, Wis. (uwrfsports.com) - UW-River Falls couldn't rally to defeat Missouri Baptist on a scorching Saturday afternoon at Ramer Field, falling to the Spartans 38-28 in their final nonconference game. The Spartans went on a 12-play, 85-yard drive in the closing five minutes to drain the clock and erase any hope of a UWRF comeback when Chris Baldwin scored on a one-yard touchdown run on fourth and goal. The win was the first for Missouri Baptist in 2018.

The Spartans got on the board early in the first quarter when their first drive resulted in a field goal. UWRF responded with a 10-play, 75-yard drive that took only two and a half minutes before Anthony Silva scored his first touchdown of the season on a three-yard rush to give the Falcons a 7-3 advantage. Sam Altena ran for over 40 yards on the opening drive and would finish with 142 yards on the ground and over six yards per carry.

The high-scoring first quarter continued with freshman quarterback Lucas Rockford carving up the Falcons defense for a 40-yard pass to Isaiah King on the next drive. King hauled in a 11-yard touchdown pass from Rockford later in the series to retake the lead at 10-7. UWRF had two more drives stall out in the first quarter, with the only highlight being a Mitch Dienger interception.

Rockford had a 27-yard rush to end the first quarter before King recovered his fumble, and he continued to spread the ball around to receivers and keep drives alive. Baldwin ran in his first touchdown of the day only two minutes into the second quarter to make it 17-7. The Falcons continued to struggle moving the ball in the early phases of the game, punting the ball four times in the first half. Rockford was later injured on a run in the second quarter and was replaced by Gunnar Griffin. Griffin threw a 60-yard strike to King on only his second pass attempt to blow open a huge 24-7 lead over a stunned UWRF crowd.

The Falcons kept their cool in the second quarter by responding with their own 7-play drive that saw Alex Traxler catch two passes for 38 yards and Altena take a 20-yard rush to the one-yard line. Ben Beckman snuck the ball in on third and goal to cut the Spartans' lead to 24-14. UWRF waited until the end of the half to punch into the end zone again when Sam Altena scored from nine yards out to make it 24-20 before Dylan Swerig's extra point hit the field goal post. 

UWRF's defense came out stronger in the second half, forcing a turnover on downs after the Spartans received the kickoff to start the half. This began a series of four-straight possessions that the team's punted the ball to each other, which ended when Beckman left the game briefly with a minor injury. Kole Hinrichsen stepped up under center for the Falcons but threw a pick-six on his first play that was returned 29 yards for a touchdown by Zack Kern. Beckman returned on the next series with his team trailing 31-20. 

The Falcons ended the quarter by relying on a run-centric offense, giving the ball to Altena or Silva on seven consecutive plays before Altena broke loose along the far sideline for a 16-yard rushing touchdown. This was the freshman's sixth touchdown of the season and second on the day. Alex Herink caught a pass from Beckman to convert the two-point conversion and bring the game within three points at 31-28. The Falcons tried to put the game away by marching down the field on their next possession and got as far as the Missouri Baptist 26-yard line. Beckman threw an incomplete pass on fourth down to hand the ball back over to the Spartans. 

With about six minutes remaining, the Falcons faced another fourth down situation within their own territory. They decided to punt the ball away, which the Spartans took to their advantage by sustaining their game-winning drive on an exhausted UWRF defense. An interception from Beckman on the final play of the game gave the Spartans a 38-28 win on the road.

Beckman finished 11-33 on the day for 154 yards as multiple receivers dropped open passes throughout the afternoon. Altena and Silva combined for almost 200 yards on the ground, while Baldwin ran for 194 yards on 31 carries for Missouri Baptist. King had 115 yards receiving on only four catches for the Spartans, but the Falcons didn't have a single receiver with more than three catches.

Dienger had nine solo tackles for UWRF, and Max Praschak came in second with six solo tackles. Dienger leads the team with 25 tackles in three games, while Praschak has 24 total in only two games. Jaylen Cowley was the most impressive for the Spartans on the defensive side, recording 13 solo tackles and three pass breakups.

The Falcons now are 1-2 on the season as they enter their bye week before hosting UW-Oshkosh at home on September 29. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.