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In a game that surprisingly turned pass-happy, Paulson was the star, passing for 307 yards and four touchdowns in the Blugolds’ 35-21 victory over the Eagles at Winona State University’s Maxwell Field.
UW-L’s difficult season continued, as it fell to 0-5 (0-2 WIAC) for the first time since 1963.
“It’s so hard, and I feel so bad for our kids,” Eagles coach Larry Terry said. “The bottom line to take out of this is that life is tough, but every day is an opportunity to do better than the day before.”
Anker, a sophomore, stepped in as UW-L’s third starting quarterback this season. His completion percentage was low (11-for-33), but he also passed for a team season-high 192 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 27 yards.
“I learned a lot really fast, that’s for sure,” Anker said.
Terry has gone from senior Griffin Moe to sophomore Alex Seguin and now to Anker in an attempt not only to find a quarterback with a sharp mind and strong arm, but one who is also a leader.
Anker probably won some admirers with his two-point conversion run in the second quarter. Rolling to his right, he broke a tackle at the 5-yard-line and dove into the end zone, absorbing two hits to get in.
“It’s just trying to do everything I can for this team,” Anker said. “To be a leader, and hopefully I took a step toward that tonight.”
Terry said Anker was far from perfect, evidenced by his 33 percent completion percentage, but the conversion play and other moments when he took hits at the end of passes or runs didn’t go unnoticed.
“The players will rally around that kind of an effort,” Terry said “He got hit a lot tonight and kept battling.”
Meanwhile, Paulson was razor-sharp.
The Eagles’ defensive game plan was to put Eau Claire running back Cory Sartorelli, averaging 137.8 rushing yards per game, under wraps. For the most part, they did that, holding him to 3.2 yards per carry (81 yards) with one touchdown.
Paulson demonstrated that the Blugolds (4-1, 2-1), ranked eighth by D3football.com, have more weapons than just Sartorelli. He completed 25 of 37 passes, throwing touchdowns to three different receivers. Tight end Brett Schreiner, who consistently got open on medium routes over the middle, caught 10 passes for 129 yards and two touchdowns.
“The great thing about our offense is that we’ve got threats all over,” Paulson said. “When they shut our run game down, our receivers executed and got great yards downfield.”
Eagles cornerback Matt Winney said Sartorelli was the No. 1 priority, but it wasn’t a surprise when Paulson took to the air.
“It was little mistakes that were hurting us on the pass,” Winney said. “We have to be on the same page.”
Paulson hit David Goodman for a 40-yard touchdown and Schreiner for 32 yards in the first quarter.
After that, the Eagles played a losing game of catch-up. It was 28-14 at halftime as Anker hit Travis Bordeau (12 yards) and Dan Sellers (15 yards) with touchdown passes, but Eau Claire responded each time.
The Eagles missed two opportunities to take the momentum from the Blugolds in the third quarter. They failed to score after getting a first down at the 11, and later grabbed a fumble by Sartorelli at the goal line, but couldn’t move out of their own territory.
Eau Claire finally broke the third-quarter stalemate with a 20-yard pass from Paulson to Spencer Kehoe on fourth down to make it 35-14.
Anker and Bordeau hooked up again for a late touchdown. Bordeau caught five passes for 118 yards.
“Our effort was there,” Anker said. “It’s hard. I hate losing.”
