RIVER FALLS, Wis. (uwrfsprots.com) – The Falcons battled hard against the 10^th ranked Royals of Bethel University Saturday afternoon.  Strong game play from both teams was a simple way to encompass the atmosphere of the game. 

The Falcons had a three-point lead going into the second half but three touchdowns in the third quarter by the Royals would secure the win for Bethel.

"We knew this was going to a battle between two very physical teams.  I am very proud of our effort and physicality, but we simply did not make plays down the stretch when we needed them," said Head Coach Walker.   "Obviously, we had momentum going into half with the lead, but we simply did not execute on either side of the ball in the 3^rd quarter.  And, then when you get behind and must come out of your game plan in the 4^th quarter it can be feast or famine.  We gave up too many big plays on defense and could not make the same big plays the 2^nd half that we did in the 1^st half when we controlled the game.  Hats off to Bethel.  They do things right and are well coached and play hard."
 
THE RUNDOWN
Final Score: Bethel University: 38
                        River Falls: 20
Location: Ramer Field, River Falls, Wisconsin
Record: UWRF 1-1; BU 2-0
 
WHAT HAPPENED

• Alex Herink, who had three catches for 68 yards, scored the first touchdown of the afternoon in the second quarter.
• Brett Wadman completed the second touchdown of the day with only a minute left to go in the second quarter.  He had three catches for 44 yards on the day. 
• At the end of the first half the Falcons led 13-10.
• Ben Beckman, who completed 16 of 40 attempts, threw a total of 258 yards, three of those ending in successful touchdown passes.
• Alex Traxler led the offense at 100 receiving yards out of a total of 258 yards by the Falcons.  He scored the third touchdown for the Falcons in the 3^rd quarter
• Luke Fugate and Ben Beckman had a combined total of 107 rushing yards, 61 and 46 respectively.  Fugate averaged 6.8 yard per rush in his nine attempts. 
• The Falcons had three leaders on the defensive team-Max Praschak, Calvin Rosen, and Jacob Lytle who had a combined total of 30 solo and assisted tackles
• Bobby Patterson ended the night with 7 punts totaling at 272 yards

 
THE OTHER TEAM

• Bethel led the game with 217 rushing yards to River Falls 129 yards.  They averaged 4.9 yards in 44 attempts.
• Royal quarterback Jaran Roste completed 21 of 33 attempts for 299 yards.   
• Drew Larson connected with Roste for two touchdowns.  He was a big contributor with 164 receiving yards in nine catches. 
• Cale Ferrin and John Sfire led the tackling stats with 5 and 4 solo tackles respectively

 
UP NEXT
The Falcons now 1-1 on the season head to Forest City, Iowa to take on the Warriors of Waldorf College.  Waldorf and NAIA team are currently 1-1 on the season.