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On Saturday, they had a fantastic crowd that numbered 4,853 strong.
What the UW-La Crosse football team has yet to find, however, is an identity. If they don’t nail this one down folks, and soon, it won’t matter. UW-Whitewater blew into town and established itself as the team to beat in the WIAC once again, and they did it at the Eagles’ expense.
Costly? Yes. Is UW-L bankrupt? Not
hardly.
An unbelievable 25-point fourth quarter led to a Warhawks’ comeback that will be talked about for a long time. A comeback that left UW-L stunned, and staring at a stinging 35-28 defeat.
Before you say, ‘Whoa, the season’s not over,’ you’re right. But it will be if the Eagles don’t find the killer instinct that all good teams possess. And Whitewater proved once again that it is a good team. A very good team.
“When the player who is the heart and soul your team is on the sidelines and can’t play, somebody has to step and start making plays,” said UW-Whitewater quarterback Danny Jones, referring to the loss of All-American running back Justin Beaver.
“Our guys came back and made the plays they had to win the game. We needed to do that. We needed to put the ball in the end zone.”
UW-L did exactly that in the first three quarters, but when it needed a score — or a defensive stop — in the game’s last 11 minutes, it could do neither.
“You can’t cruise to a win. You’ve got to keep scoring,” said Everson, whose seven-reception, 205-yard receiving, two-touchdown day went for naught. “We are up 18 in the fourth quarter, and we are certainly playing to win. We didn’t get too comfortable with that (lead). Our offense had more opportunities, but Whitewater stepped it up.”
And UW-L didn’t.
The Eagles made a number of big plays — great plays — in the first three quarters when it built a seemingly comfortable 28-10 lead. Everson, a talented wide receiver who makes plays at the college level like Randy Moss makes them in the NFL, hauled in scoring strikes of 19 and 58 yards from Griffin Moe.
Hall, meanwhile, looked unstoppable in the first quarter when he rushed for 121 yards on 12 attempts. UW-L, in fact, racked up 176 yards in the first quarter, which is four yards more than Whitewater had been allowing in an ENTIRE game.
UW-L, which led 21-7 at the half and 28-10 after three quarters, suddenly lost control — almost entirely — after that. There is a two-pronged question here. One, what happened to UW-L’s intensity? And two, how did Whitewater steal it entirely?
“I think guys realized this is the season,” said Beaver, who had cramps in both calf muscles of his legs that left him unable to play in the fourth quarter. “We lose this game and we’re not going anywhere.”
If UW-L would have hung on, Whitewater would have been 2-2 overall, and 1-1 in the WIAC. UW-L would have been 3-0, 1-0 in WIAC action. Beaver’s right, the Warhawks — back-to-back Stagg Bowl participants — would have likely been shut out of postseason play regardless if they won out.
Now, the Warhawks are in control and UW-L must recover from its gut-check, and win out in order to have a legitimate shot at postseason play. While it may seem ridiculous to talk about the postseason after just three games, that’s the reality of the way the Division III playoffs operate today.
UW-L coach Larry Terry gave his team 24 hours to rid itself of any memory of Saturday’s game. If they listen, the season’s far from over. If they don’t, it could very well be.
“Whether it was going to be happy or sad, they have 24 hours,” Terry said. “Then it’s time to move on. Unfortunately we have a sad memory to deal with.”
Jeff Brown can be reached at
(608) 791-8403, or jbrown@lacrossetribune.com
