OSHKOSH, Wis.- UW-La Crosse scored with 24 seconds left in the game and opted to go for a two-point conversion to take a 32-31 lead and win over UW-Oshkosh at J. J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium on Saturday (Oct. 3).
Oshkosh (2-2, 0-1 WIAC) fell behind La Crosse (2-2, 1-0 WIAC) early with the Eagles scoring twice in the first quarter and again in the second for a 17-10 lead with 13:34 left in the half. The Eagles are ranked nineteenth in NCAA Division III by both
D3football.com and the
American Football Coaches Association while the Titans are receiving votes in the coaches' poll.
The Titans scored 28 unanswered points between 10:52 remaining in the second quarter and 6:03 on the clock in the third quarter and kept La Crosse at bay with a field goal following an Eagle touchdown before the game-winning drive at the end of the game.
La Crosse totaled 30 first downs to the Titans' 20, passed for 339 yards to Oshkosh's 228, and held a slight total offensive yards (499-471). Oshkosh rushed for 243 yards, the most for the program since accumulating 381 at UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 12, 2022.
Both teams attempted 11 third-down conversions.: La Crosse was successful on eight tries and Oshkosh on five.
The Titans owned a 30:51-29:09 advantage in time of possession.
Demir Ashiru (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North) accounted for 437 of the Titans' 471 yards and all four touchdowns. He went 16 of 28 for 228 passing yards with two touchdowns through the air while rushing 19 times for 209 yards and another pair of scores on the ground.
Ashiru spread out his passes to 10 receivers with none making more than three catches. His most popular targets were
Tommy Hammond (Crystal Lake, Ill./Crystal Lake Central) and
Jackson Brush (Franktown, Colo./Legend) who each had three receptions. Hammond totaled 68 yards while Brush had 28.
Ryan Sims (Chicago, Ill./Marist) and
Sam Peterson (Green Bay/Green Bay Preble) both scored on their only catches of the day. Sims on a 14-yard pass and Peterson on a 6-yard pass.
Four Titans recorded a team-high six tackles.
Johnny Spallasso (Sugar Grove, Ill./Kaneland) added a tackle-for-loss and a pass breakup,
Bryce Manders (Brown Deer/Brown Deer) added an interception, a pass breakup and two quarterback hurries, and
Kellen Wright (West Salem/West Salem) also had a tackle-for-loss.
Dayshawn Henry (Oshkosh/Oshkosh North), who also had three tackles and half a tackle-for-loss, snagged Oshkosh's second interception of the day.
Axel Vera Trejo (Appleton/Appleton East) went 4-for-4 on extra-point attempts and added a 23-yard field goal.
La Crosse received the opening kickoff and used nine plays and 3:56 to march downfield and score. The Eagles extended their lead to 10-0 at 9:51 with a 37-yard field goal after Oshkosh punted and added another seven points to their score early in the second quarter with a 43-yard passing touchdown after the Titans' preceding drive stalled out on fourth down at the La Crosse 9.
Oshkosh got on the board before the first five minutes were over in the second quarter. Ashiru rushed for 13 yards on the first play of the drive and escaped multiple sack attempts in the third before finding Hammond open for a 61-yard catch-and-run that ended four yards short of the goal line. Ashiru then capped off the drive with his first rushing touchdown.
Following three drives that ended in punts, Oshkosh cut the deficit to three points Ashiru found Sims in the endzone for six points.
The Titan defense held La Crosse outside the red zone as the first half wound down and a missed 41-yard field goal kept the score at 17-14 after 30 minutes.
UW-Oshkosh Athletics introduced its
2026 hall of fame class, which will be officially inducted on Sunday (Oct. 4) at the Culver Family Welcome Center, and recognized the 2026 National Collegiate Gymnastics Association national champion women's gymnastics team at halftime.
Oshkosh received the ball to open the second half and capitalized on the opportunity by flipping the lead on Ashiru's 21-yard rush to the end zone.
Manders ended La Crosse's following drive by snagging his first career interception on the Eagles' 45 and Oshkosh took just four plays to create a 28-17 lead. The drive was capped off by Ashiru finding Peterson open in the back corner of the end zone.
The Eagles scored for the first time since the first quarter with 1:22 left in the third period after using 4:41 of the clock and driving 75 yards downfield, cutting the deficit to 28-24.
The Titans reached the Eagles' 6-yard line early in the fourth quarter before stalling out and settling for a field goal from Vera Trejo that pushed the gap back to seven points.
Henry grabbed the Titans' second interception of the game inside the Oshkosh red zone; however, the offense was forced to punt just outside the 2-minute timeout.
The Eagles used up 2:30 of the clock, going 80 yards with a 12-yard passing touchdown to end the drive and bring the score within a point at 31-30. La Crosse opted to go for the win instead of forcing overtime and successfully pulled off a reverse to pull ahead with 24 ticks remaining.
Oshkosh returned the kick to the 26 and got a first down but didn't have enough time to reclaim the lead and take the win.
The Titans hit the road next week to face No. 2/2 UW-River Falls at the Falcons' Smith Stadium at Ramer Field on Saturday, Oct. 10. River Falls leads the all-time series, 37-31-1, but the Titans own a 7-3 edge in the last 10 games including a 21-17 upset win in Oshkosh in 2025.
