The University of Wisconsin-Platteville Pioneer football team suffered a loss, similar to last season’s playoff game, to the fifth-ranked North Central College Cardinals, Saturday.

In the first quarter the Pioneers found themselves down after a slew of North Central gains, beginning with a 67-yard touchdown.

The Cardinals, capitalizing on the unsuccessful efforts of the Pioneers to convert a first down in three plays, were able to recover the ball and rush just seven yards into Pioneer territory. The Pioneers found themselves in 21-0 hole at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter brought new opportunities for the Pioneers to score. However, they came up short after a failed attempt at a field goal.

Later in the quarter, the Pioneers experienced more frustration when possession was turned over to the Cardinals at their own six-yard line.

The end of the game’s first half resulted in a Cardinal lead, 21-0.

The second half started off promising for the Pioneers as senior quarterback Bryce Corrigan completed a drive to senior wide receiver Trevor Whitehead, who landed in the Cardinal end zone for a touchdown. The score then 21-7.

North Central then gained possession of the ball at the 10-yard line. Subsequently, the cardinals rushed the ball a total of 62-yards for another touchdown.

The game concluded with a Pioneer defeat, 28-7. This game makes the season record now 2-1.

Mike Emendorfer, Pioneer football head coach, recognizes this defeat as an opportunity for his team to pinpoint areas that are in need of improvement.

“We were all obviously disappointed about the loss,” said Emendorfer. “But we were expecting a good game from them. Now we just have to concentrate on our conference games.”

With this week being a bye week for the Pioneer football team, Emendorfer looks forward to paying specific attention to conditioning.

“We are going to use this week off as an opportunity to get our guys in the weight room,” Emendorfer said. “Some of our guys are a little banged up so we are happy to get everyone healthy and focus on getting stronger.”

The Pioneer football team will kick off the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference schedule when they play against the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Blugolds at Carson Park at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct 4.