RIVER FALLS, Wis. (uwrfsports.com) - The Falcons fought back in the closing seconds of the first half to go into halftime with only a seven point deficit against #12 ranked UW-Oshkosh, but turnovers and the Titans' offense took over in the second half to hand UW-River Falls a 49-14 defeat at home in their WIAC opener. 

UW-Oshkosh's sophomore quarterback Kyle Radavich was 15-25 for 300 yards and five touchdowns, and running back Mitch Gerhartz led the team with 122 yards on 21 carries. The Titans ended the game with almost 550 yards of total offense and plus four in turnover differential. 

The Falcons took the opening kickoff and marched down the field, thanks to a 38-yard completion from junior quarterback Ben Beckman to Nicholas Studer. The Falcons offense was stalled on third down and settled for a 25-yard field goal, but Dylan Swerig's kick was wide left to keep the game scoreless. It only took the Titans five plays to respond with a 56-yard touchdown pass to Riley Kallas to take a 7-0 lead. Kallas had a game-high 109 yards and two touchdowns on four catches.

The teams combined for four three-and-outs as the quarter came to a close, but Gerhartz ripped off a 39-yard run with less than a minute remaining. Radavich found Kallas just inside the pylon for a controversial catch from 27-yards out to put UW-Oshkosh up 14-0 as the first quarter clock expired.

Both teams continued to trade punts as the second quarter stared until Beckman threw his first interception of the day to Cole Yoder. The UWRF defense held tough after the turnover, and the Falcons retook possession with 10 minutes left in the second quarter. Two pass interference calls on AJ Plewa helped the Falcons move down the field, as the Pioneers committed 11 penalties for 111 yards on the day. Beckman completed a key 22-yard pass to Alex Herink on 4th and 10, and Anthony Silva took over to power into the end zone from 1-yard out to cut UW-Oshkosh's lead to 14-7. The nine-play drive went 70 yards in just under three minutes.

Radavich threw his only interception of the day on the following drive on an diving catch by linebacker Joey Leonard. Beckman responded by throwing an interception of his own that set the Titans up at their own eight-yard line with three minutes remaining in the half. UW-Oshkosh ran for 54 yards on the drive before Radavich delivered a spot-on throw to Dom Todarello in the corner of the end zone for a 21-7 lead with only 28 seconds remaining.

UWRF wasn't ready to go to the half yet, as Beckman completed a 47-yard jump ball to Herink at the Titans' seven-yard line. The Falcons took a timeout with only five seconds remaining, and Herink caught a seven-yard touchdown pass from Beckman after Plewa tipped the ball up for Herink to snatch out of the air. The touchdown and Swerig's extra point cut the lead to 21-14 at the break.

The Titans came out stronger in the second half, instantly going up by another touchdown after a 37-yard touchdown to Mitchell Gerend made it 28-14 after only two minutes. UW-Oshkosh next put together a long four minute, 10-play drive after sacking Beckman on third down. The drive only ended in a 32-yard field goal from Peyton Peterson, but Plewa picked off Beckman on the next series to continue their momentum. Another four-minute drive ended in a field goal for the Titans after 11 plays and 52 yards. UW-Oshkosh continued to run down the clock as they stretched their lead to 20 points.

Beckman threw his fourth interception of the day on the following play, but linebacker Max Praschak helped out by forcing and recovering a fumble at the 23-yard line. Praschak had a game-high 17 tackles on Saturday, nine of which were solo tackles. The third quarter ended with the Falcons taking the ball back over, but they quickly punted to begin the fourth quarter, one of their six punts on the day.

Radavich continued to create big plays, throwing a 57-yard touchdown pass to Todarello to make it 41-14. Janari Glover fumbled on the ensuing kickoff, and the Titans took advantage of the turnover by handing off to Max Nowinsky three-straight times as he scampered into the end zone for a nine-yard touchdown to increase the lead to 48-14 with 13 minutes remaining.

Neither team was able to put any more points on the board in the fourth quarter, and both teams seemed content to run the ball to close out the game. Beckman ended the game 15-34 passing for one touchdown and five interceptions. Five different players had at least five rushing attempts for the Falcons, but they only totaled 89 yards on 36 carries. Herink was the team's leading receiver with five receptions for 98 yards.

The Titans outgained the Falcons by over 250 yards, and UWRF only converted on four of their 17 third-down attempts. The Falcons are now 1-3 and 0-1 in the WIAC after the loss. UWRF will continue conference play next week when they travel to UW-Plateville for a 2 p.m. game.