An embarrassment of riches helped propel the University of Wisconsin-Platteville football team past visiting Buena Vista University, 42-17 on Saturday.
Ten players caught passes from two quarterbacks, and five different players had rushes in the Pioneers’ season-opening win, their fifteenth straight in season debuts, and fifth straight win as a team dating back to last year.
“We’re fortunate to have a lot of depth at receiver and running back,” head coach Mike Emendorfer said. “We needed all those guys today to finish this game.”
More than 4,200 fans withstood the low-90s temperatures, which translates to the low-100s on the field due to the field-turf surface at Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium. The heat caused key Pioneer players, such as junior receiver Ryley Bailey and senior running back Lee Vlasak, to suffer leg cramps as the game wore on.
The Pioneers started the game with a 12-play, 89-yard touchdown drive, capped off with a 19-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback John Kelly to junior wide receiver Bryan Whitehead.
BVU fumbled on their first possession and the Pioneers quickly turned the miscue into points, as sophomore running back Andy Puccini scored on a 23-yard run to give UW-Platteville a 14-0 lead.
Puccini had a breakout game in his first career start, gaining 149 yards on 21 carries and a touchdown.
“I owe this one to the offensive line. They were really stepping up and opening a lot of holes,” Puccini said.
The Beavers got back on track with an 11-play touchdown drive to half the lead. Kelly then threw an interception, giving the ball to the Beavers deep in Pioneer territory. The defense stood tall, forcing the visitors into a field goal.
Junior quarterback Bryce Corrigan replaced Kelly in the second quarter, as the Pioneers are still locked in a competition for the starting quarterback slot. Corrigan threw touchdowns on back-to-back drives, a 19-yarder to Vlasak and a 14-yard pass to senior receiver Drew Lyons, which was Lyons’ first touchdown as a Pioneer.
“John and I try to make it so that the offense is the same no matter who is in,” Corrigan said. “It’s all about communicating and staying focused.”
“I thought both quarterbacks did an outstanding job,” Emendorfer said. “Kelly made one poor decision on the interception, but after that, they both managed the offense well.”
The Pioneers were driving late in the second quarter, but a fumble by junior receiver Russell Martin gave the Beavers the ball and they scored with a minute remaining to put the halftime score at 28-17.
Two first half turnovers and five penalties, one of which brought back a touchdown, were the point of emphasis at the break for UW-Platteville.
“I think we started feeling sorry for ourselves, with the heat and everything, we just needed to be mentally tougher,” Emendorfer said.
BVU was unable to match the Pioneers’ intensity from the start of the second half, and the home team’s defense stifled the Beavers, allowing just 110 yards of total offensive in the half and intercepting two passes.
Sophomore Christopher Ramos and senior Kevin Ybarra were responsible for the two picks.
Ybarra’s inception came midway through the fourth quarter when the experienced cornerback jumped a hitch route on the sideline and got in between BVU quarterback Bobby Brown and his intended target.
Kelly and Martin atoned for their earlier mistakes, connecting in the back of the end zone for a 19-yard score midway through the third quarter, giving the Pioneers a 35-17 lead.
Sophomore running back Ryan Fish capped off the afternoon’s scoring on a one-yard touchdown plunge, culminating an eight-play drive.
Corrigan finished the game with 120 yards on 15-19 passing and two touchdowns, while Kelly ended with 14 completions on 23 attempts, 125 yards, two touchdowns and the aforementioned interception.
The competition at quarterback will be key again next week as the Pioneers play their lone night game of the regular season 7 p.m. Saturday at Dubuque University.
“We’re ecstatic. It’s going to be high intensity. Especially against Dubuque, they’re just 20 minutes away. It’ll be fun,” Corrigan said.
