RIVER FALLS, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-River Falls football team opened its long awaited 2021 schedule with a 45-7 victory over Elmhurst University Saturday afternoon at David Smith Stadium.
Junior wide receiver
Andy Groebner led the offense, hauling in a trio of touchdown receptions, two from senior quarterback
Kole Hinrichsen and the first career TD pass from freshman
Kaleb Blaha. Groebner totaled 114 receiving yards and Hinrichsen passed for 263 yards.
Luke Fugate led the ground attack with 92 yards with one touchdown.
Anthony Silva also added a rushing touchdown along with 52 yards.
During UWRF's opening drive, it took just a minute and a half for the Falcons to claim a 7-0 lead as a 45-yard TD pass from Hinrichsen to Groebner got the scoring started.
Cade Henry added a 27-yard field goal to set the score at 10-0 in favor of UW-River Falls after the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the Falcons and Bluejays traded interception returns for touchdowns. With just over seven minutes remaining in the first half,
Bailey Germain intercepted and returned a pass near midfield to the endzone to give the home team a 17-7 at halftime.
UWRF held Elmhurst scoreless in the second half and put together a trio of scores, including Groebner's second and third touchdown receptions of the game. Fugate and Silva added rushing touchdowns to gain the 38-point margin of victory for the Falcons. Henry was 6-for-6 on PAT attempts.Â
The UW-River Falls defense was a collective effort, led by freshman linebacker
Isaiah Karels, who tallied eight tackles with three sacks.
Ben Ertz and
Jacob Lytle each recorded a pair of tackles for loss, while
Dylan Brown had four pass breakups.
As a team, the Falcons collected 502 yards of total offense and limited the Bluejays to 151.Â
Up Next
UWRF hits the road next week to Conway, Ark., set for a nonfoncerence contest at Hendrix College on Saturday, Sept. 11. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m.
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