OSHKOSH, Wis. – The UW-River Falls football team closed out its regular season Saturday afternoon with a 28-21 victory over No. 19-ranked UW-Oshkosh.
 
The win keeps the Falcons' playoff hopes alive while marking the first UWRF win over the Titans since 2005.
 
UWO and UWRF each scored in the first quarter. Down 7-0, the Falcons answered with a Luke Fugate rushing score, but they had their PAT attempt blocked and still trailed 7-6.
 
The Falcons and Titans went back-and-forth with one score each in the second and third quarters.
 
A Kole Hinrichsen six-yard pass to Jager Reissman with six minutes left in the first half set the score at 14-13 in favor of UWO, which stood until halftime.
 
Charlie Huschka's 21-yard reception from Hinrichsen opened the second half scoring and gave the Falcons their first lead of the game at 21-20.
 
The Titans quickly answered, though, scoring on the ensuing drive to lead 21-20.
 
During the Falcons first drive of the fourth quarter, a seven-yard pass completed to Alex Traxler for a touchdown put UWRF up 26-20. Ben Beise then rushed in a two-point conversion to put the Falcons up 28-21.
 
Michael Brown intercepted a Titan pass on the next UWO drive and the Falcon offense ran down the clock to seal the win. With 2:12 left in regulation after a Titan timeout during fourth down, Ben Beise gave a tap pass to a sweeping Tim Oeun who rushed for 38 yards inside the Titan red-zone. UWRF then kneeled the ball to end the game.
 
UWRF compiled 556 yards of total offense while limiting UWO to 333. The Falcons were a perfect 6-for-6 on fourth downs and limited the Titans to just 10 first downs.
 
Hinrichsen collected 376 yards of total offense, completing 29-of-44 passes for 249 with three touchdowns and rushing for 127 yards. Fugate also rushed for 113 yards.
 
Defensively, Andy Metcalf and Bailey Germain each logged a team-high five tackles.
 
The NCAA Division III football selection show is Sunday, Nov. 14 at 4:30 p.m. Watch HERE.
 
Depending on the NCAA bracket, UW-River Falls (8-2, 5-2 WIAC) also has a chance to earn a spot in the inaugural Culver's Isthmus Bowl, which will feature one team from the WIAC and the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) on Saturday, Nov. 20.

The Falcons' eight wins on the season is the most since 1996, a season in which UWRF went 9-2 overall and reached the NCAA Playoffs.