WHITEWATER, Wis.- UW-Oshkosh football entered halftime tied with No. 5/4 UW-Whitewater before the Warhawks outscored the Titans, 35-6, in the second half to secure a 48-19 victory at Perkins Stadium on Saturday (Oct. 31).
Oshkosh (2-6, 0-5 WIAC) held the lead three times in the second quarter before Whitewater (8-0, 5-0 WIAC) scored five touchdowns in the second half to remain undefeated.
The Warhawks held a 567-387 advantage in total offensive yards, including a 345-223 edge through the air and a 222-164 advantage on the ground. Whitewater also recorded 27 first downs to Oshkosh's 19.
The Titans converted four of their 14 third-down attempts and one of two fourth-down opportunities, while the Warhawks went 6-for-12 on third down. Whitewater held a slight 30:31-29:29 advantage in time of possession.
Demir Ashiru (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North) completed 20 of 34 passes for 199 yards and a touchdown while rushing for a team-high 118 yards and another score on 16 attempts. Ashiru accounted for 317 of Oshkosh's 387 yards of total offense.
Brayden Larson (Tomahawk/Tomahawk) led the Titans with 45 receiving yards on three catches, while
Boden Frosch (Prairie du Sac/Sauk Prairie) hauled in a team-high four receptions for 43 yards.
Jackson Brush (Franktown, Colo./Legend) added three catches for 39 yards, and
Sam Peterson (Green Bay/Green Bay Preble) recorded a 34-yard reception.
Nick Hermansen (DeForest/DeForest) caught the Titans' lone passing touchdown on a five-yard reception from Ashiru in the third quarter.
Defensively,
Ty Adams (Fort Dodge, Iowa/Fort Dodge) paced Oshkosh with eight tackles, including half a tackle for loss.
Trevor Bahrs (Evansville/Evansville) followed with six tackles, while
Johnny Spallasso (Sugar Grove, Ill./Kaneland),
Bryce Manders (Brown Deer/Brown Deer) and
Kaleb Brooks (Brillion/Brillion) each recorded five.
Eli Curry (Geneva, Ill./Geneva Community) added two pass breakups.
Whitewater opened the scoring with a 20-yard field goal from Grant Urban with 6:05 remaining in the first quarter. Oshkosh responded with a 13-play, 75-yard drive that carried into the second quarter, capped off by a five-yard touchdown rush from Ashiru to give the Titans a 7-3 lead.
After forcing a Warhawk punt, Oshkosh extended its advantage to 10-3 on a 35-yard field goal from
Cooper Winslow (Montgomery, Ill./St. Francis) with nine minutes remaining in the half. Ashiru highlighted the drive with a 43-yard rush to the Whitewater 22-yard line.
The Warhawks tied the game at 10 on an 18-yard touchdown pass from Justin Klinkner to Luke Roeder with 6:12 remaining in the second quarter.
Oshkosh reclaimed the lead on its ensuing possession, moving 61 yards on six plays. Ashiru connected with Peterson for a 34-yard gain before
AJ Korth (Menasha/Menasha) found Larson for another 24 yards. Winslow converted a 36-yard field goal to give the Titans a 13-10 advantage with 2:56 remaining.
Whitewater answered with a 38-yard field goal from Urban with 1:20 left in the half. The Warhawks had an opportunity to take the lead following an interception, but Urban missed a 52-yard attempt as time expired, sending the teams into halftime tied at 13.
After forcing Oshkosh to punt on its opening possession of the second half, Whitewater took its first lead since the opening quarter on a 75-yard touchdown rush from Tommy Novotny. The Warhawks extended their advantage to 27-13 on a five-yard rushing touchdown from Klinkner with 7:41 remaining in the third quarter.
The Titans responded with a five-play, 71-yard scoring drive, highlighted by a 23-yard reception from
Keyvon Holloway (Adams/Adams-Friendship) and a 24-yard rush from Ashiru. Frosch added a 17-yard catch to move Oshkosh inside the Whitewater 5-yard line before Ashiru connected with Hermansen for a touchdown. The extra-point attempt was blocked, keeping the score at 27-19 with 4:58 remaining.
Whitewater answered with a 19-yard touchdown pass from Klinkner to Conor Johnson on third-and-17 to extend its lead to 34-19 with 1:34 remaining in the third quarter.
The Warhawks added two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter on rushing scores of four and two yards from Klinkner, while their defense held the Titans scoreless over the final 15 minutes to secure the 48-19 victory.
The loss marked the first time since 1998 that the Titans have opened WIAC play with five consecutive losses.
The Titans will return to the road on Saturday (Nov. 7) to face UW-Stevens Point in a WIAC matchup. Kickoff against the Pointers is scheduled for 1 p.m. The Titans have won the last six meetings in the series.
