http://cslab.uwlax.edu/~ander_rj/foot/stout.html (Internet on a CD, 07/1998)Their defensive teammates.
It was the Eagles defense which kept the nation's longest collegiate football winning streak alive at 21 games.
UW-L's quick-strike, then disappear offense scored just enough points to hold off Stout 21-12 at Nelson Field.
The Eagles' postgame mood resembled that of the Oshkosh game. Happy with a victory, but unhappy with how they achieved it.
It was a classic case of ``winning ugly,'' as more than one UW-L player admitted.
``You've got to be happy with the win. You always want to play well and win, but sometimes just winning isn't bad,'' UW-L coach Roger Harring said.
``They were sitting there waiting for us. If we don't play with emotion, we are just an average team.''
By avoiding the upset, UW-L remained atop the WSUC at 5-0, and boosted its overall record to 7-0. Stout fell to 0-5, 2-6.
``We are happy to get a win here, but we're not satisfied with the way we played,'' said UW-L defensive end John Wilson. ``We played well enough to win, and that's about it.''
UW-L, playing without offensive starters Jeremy Earp (hamstring), Chris Schultz (shoulder), Beau Coulter (knee, leg) and John Barrett (Achilles), came out roaring.
After UW-L's defense forced Stout to do its imitation of a chorus line ð one-two-three, kick ð the Eagles' offense needed just 1 minute, 42 seconds to score.
Jeff Baker hit Brian Steines with a 32-yard scoring pass on a play where Stout simply blew the coverage. Steines went in motion, and Stout didn't.
``We tried to make some things happen defensively right away,'' Stout coach Ed Meierkort said. ``It was a coverage bust.''
After another defensive stop, UW-L nearly blocked Sean Anderson's punt. Instead, the Eagles took over at midfield after a 23-yard kick.
Seven plays later, Baker found a wide-open Dave Nagel ð UW-L's 6-foot-6, 250-pound tight end ð over the middle for a 14-yard scoring pass.
With 7:01 remaining in the first quarter, UW-L was on top 14-0. It appeared the rout was on.
Unlike last year when UW-L blasted Stout 54-0, the scoring spree ended.
``We started out like a wild brush fire,'' said UW-L defensive tackle Ken Grothe.
``Then we played down to their level. Maybe we were looking ahead to Eau Claire, or even thinking about playoffs. Every game is a step, and want to take 14 of them.''
Without a defense which held Stout to minus four yards rushing on 26 carries, the Eagles might have tripped Saturday.
Stout strung together a 13-play, 80-yard drive that Blue Devil quarterback Matt Bunyan ended in fine fashion.
Bunyan, a 6-6, 230-pounder who could be related to Paul (just kidding), fired a 19-yard scoring pass to Scott Wojcik with 3:47 left in the first half. Nolan Mosher's PAT kick was blocked, however, leaving it 14-6.
UW-L was on the edge of breaking the game open when linebacker Andy Alvis picked off Bunyan and returned the ball 40 yards to the Stout 17 yard line.
On the Eagles' second play, LaRue Pierce returned the favor. Pierce went high and intercepted Baker with 46 seconds remaining in the first half.
``Our defense stepped it up big time. For the first time this year we went into the locker room at halftime with our heads up high,'' Bunyan said.
They stayed there, too.
A big part of that was UW-L's inability to put the ball in the end zone. After Nagel's first-quarter TD, the Eagles went 39 minutes, 28 seconds without scoring.
``Offensively, I don't know what the problem was,'' Harring said. ``Sometimes we just go into a funk. You can talk about it all you want to, but this is what happens when you don't stay focused and play with emotion.''
UW-L finished with 338 yards, with former Blue Devil Mike Bechtel accounting for 91 of that on 13 carries.
UW-L finally ended its scoring drought when Steines bowled over from 1-yard out with 12:38 remaining.
The drive was just 38 yards as the Eagles' defense pinned Stout deep, then forced a 33-yard punt. A 10-yard holding penalty put UW-L even closer.
``We came into the fourth quarter thinking we had a chance to win,'' Meierkort said.
Stout made things interesting when Mauston High School graduate Jesse Witcraft made a spectacular one-handed grab in the end zone to complete a 23-yard scoring play.
Bunyan's two-point conversion pass failed, however, leaving UW-L on top, 21-12.
UW-L's defense, which held Stout to 256 total yards, did the rest.
``We knew what it would take to win, and we did just enough,'' said Wilson, who finished with two sacks to boost his team-leading total to 6.5. ``To be a championship team, that can't happen too much. It happened, and now let's move on.''