RIVER FALLS, Wis. - The No. 7-ranked UW-River Falls football team fell 31-28 against No. 4-ranked UW-La Crosse during the regular season home finale Saturday afternoon from Smith Stadium at Ramer Field.

UWRF trailed by as much as 31-7 before responding with three touchdowns in the second half to cut the Eagle lead to 31-28 with seconds remaining in regulation. The Falcons had a chance to tie the game with a field goal, but it was blocked by UWL.

The Falcons put themselves in a hole early, fumbling twice in the first quarter as the Eagles took a 14-0 lead despite an Aaron Borgerding interception. Kaleb Blaha found Michael Krueger for a 29-yard passing score to trim the UWL lead to 14-7 after one period, but the visitors held the Falcons scoreless in the second and scored twice more to earn a 24-7 halftime lead.

Through the first half, UWL scored seven points off Falcon turnovers and had six more minutes of possession time, leading 167-131 in yards of total offense. In the second half, UWRF compiled 20 first downs compared to UWL's nine, and put up 261 yards of total offense.

Eagle quarterback Keyser Helterbrand, who led the team on the day with nearly 250 yards of total offense, scored twice through the air and twice on the ground. He opened the second half with his second rushing score of the day during UWL's first offensive drive of the third quarter to give the Eagles a 24-point lead, their largest of the game.

Down by four scores, the Falcons didn't quit, and began to rally, scoring on the ensuing drive with a Blaha two-yard rushing score. The Falcons then forced an Eagle punt and scored again with another Blaha rushing touchdown, cutting the UWL lead to 31-20 heading into the final 15 minutes.

The Falcon defense held the Eagles scoreless in the fourth quarter with a pair of clutch stops. Yet again, Blaha rushed in for his third score of the game during UWRF's first offensive chance of the fourth quarter, and completed a two-point conversion attempt with a pass to Jake Hilton to come within one score, trailing 31-28. 

With just under four minutes remaining, UWRF had a chance to tie or take the lead, and drove down the field in 15 plays to setup a potential game-tying field goal with four seconds left in the contest, but the Eagles blocked the Justin Scheberl field goal attempt to escape with the victory.

Kaleb Blaha finished with 337 yards of total offense, passing for 249 yards along with 86 rushing yards. Michael Krueger compiled season-highs with 58 rushing yards and 75 receiving yards.

Carson Steen led the defense with a career-high nine tackles. 

The Falcons (7-2, 4-2 WIAC) close out the regular season next Saturday at UW-Oshkosh.
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