UW-L victory not all roses

OSHKOSH, Wis. -- It isn't often that a victory creates more questions than it answers. 

Saturday, that was the case for UW-La Crosse. 

The Eagles left Oshkosh's Titan Stadium with plenty of long faces, some serious questions 
about themselves, and some doubts about how far this team can go æ in the league, 
and perhaps the playoffs. 

Overall, it was a somber mood for the maroon and white. 

All this despite a 32-15 victory over Oshkosh in the WSUC opener for both teams. 

A victory that ran UW-L's record to 1-0 in the WSUC, 3-0 overall, and its overall winning 
streak to 17 games. 

``I am disappointed. It was frustrating because there were so many offensive mistakes,'' 
UW-L coach Roger Harring said. 

``We almost threw the game away. We have a good, solid running game and we have to 
take advantage of that.'' 

UW-L quarterback Jeff Baker, making his third varsity start, threw three interceptions æ all 
in the second quarter. One of those interceptions was in the end zone. 

Backup quarterback Rob Slavens also was intercepted in the end zone in the fourth quarter. 

``We threw some coverages at them that I think fooled their quarterback,'' said freshman 
David Roloff, who wound up with three of the Titans' four interceptions. 

``On one (interception), their receiver ran an out (pattern) and the quarterback threw a fade.'' 

The game started out like so many of the past UW-L/Oshkosh battles. UW-L, which has 
won 22 of the past 24 games between the two teams, scored on its first two possessions. 

Beau Coulter, rapidly become the Eagles Touchdown Man, scored on a 11-yard burst 
with 5 minutes, 44 seconds left in the first quarter. 

With 28 seconds left in the opening quarter, Coulter scored his second TD of the game æ 
and eighth of the season æ on a 1-yard run. 

With a 14-0 lead, UW-L appeared in control. 

Oshkosh, however, rode the short passing attack of Brian Tomalak. Tomalak directed a 
five-play, 83-yard drive that he punctuated with a 22-yard scoring pass to Rob Stoltz 
with 13:31 left in the first half. 

Stoltz, at 6-foot-3, simply went up and took the ball away from Ric Mathias, UW-L's 5-10 cornerback. 

``He is the key to our offense,'' Oshkosh coach Ron Cardo said of Tomalak. ``We have 
some good receivers, but he is the one who has to get them the ball.'' 

Baker was then intercepted by Todd Stennett on a ball that tight end Dave Nagel tipped. 
After the Eagles' defense held, UW-L was on the march again. 

This time, Baker threw a timing pass to the corner of the end zone on a third-and-8 
situation from the Titans' 13-yard line. Roloff, however, was the only player remotely 
close to the ball. He simply caught it to thwart an excellent scoring chance for the Eagles. 

``We have a young quarterback who can't complete those passes,'' Harring said, 
obviously not happy with the play that was called. 

``When we are moving the ball on the ground, why are we passing it?'' 

Dan Kloepping added two points to UW-L's total when he sacked Tomalak in the end zone 
for a safety. UW-L, and many of the 1,125 fans in attendance, questioned the call as 
Tomalak fumbled the ball and UW-L recovered in the end zone. 

The official, however, didn't rule and incomplete pass or a fumble, rather that Tomalak 
was in the grasp of a defender. 

On the first play from scrimmage after the kickoff, Baker was again picked off by Roloff as 
he attempted to beat Oshkosh deep. 

``It was not one of my better days. I was not happy with my performance,'' said Baker, who 
was 16-for-30 for 196 yards. 

``To throw three interceptions, I'm really upset about that. Three in a season, OK, but three 
in a game?'' 

Despite its costly mistakes, UW-L did come up with a big play just before the half. 

Luke Fink sacked Tomalak with 1:40 left in the first half. On the next play, he recovered a 
Tomalak fumble at the Titans' 38 yard line with 1:21 left in the first half. 

UW-L drove the the Titans' 5, then found themselves facing a fourth-and-five situation with 
six seconds left. Baker managed to evade on tackle as he dropped back, then fired a 
5-yard scoring strike to Troy Harcey on the final play of the first half. 

A 21-7 lead looked safe, but it wasn't. 

``I was really concerned about that TD just before the half,'' Cardo said. ``I didn't know how 
our football team would react. Our defense in the second half, the kids came out to play.'' 

Oshkosh pulled with 23-15 with 4:40 left in the third quarter when Tomalak hit Stoltz with a 
27-yard pass. Again Stoltz simply took the ball away from Mathias, who appeared to 
have good coverage. 

``I think we did feel a little pressure then,'' said Fink, who finished with three tackles behind 
the line of scrimmage. 

``We've got to quit worrying about things and go out and play. We've got to start having fun.'' 

UW-L was able to relax a little when Coulter scored his third TD of the day æ and ninth of 
the season æ on a six-yard run with 11:53 remaining. Coulter's run finished off a 
nine-play, 56-yard drive which featured just two passes. 

Colin Peterson, subbing for the injured Thad Dugan, hit a 25-yard field goal to finish the 
scoring. 

``It's a win, but I know we've got to come out and play much better,'' Baker said. ``Against 
the top teams in the conference, we can't do what we did today.'' 

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