UW-Eau Claire football hosted the UW-Stout Blue Devils for the war on I-94 for the 102nd time in the program’s history on Saturday, Oct. 4 at Carson Park. It was also the Homecoming game for the Blugolds.
This year represented 100 years of homecoming for the UW-Eau Claire. Along with the excitement shared by the community, the Blugolds came into the game with a buzz of their own, entering the game 3-0 on the season.
UW-Stout entered the game 2-1, coming off a 56-13 victory over the University of Northwestern Minnesota and scoring 42 first-half points.
Similar to a typical gameday for the Blugolds during Homecoming weekend, there were fans and families tailgating hours before the game as well as food trucks and a musical performance from the Blugold Marching Band.
It was a sellout game at Carson Park with 9,458 people in attendance, according to Blugold athletics. This year’s attendance for the Homecoming game exceeded last year’s total of 8,021.
Head coach Rob Erickson said it was unbelievable to see all of the members of the Eau Claire community support the team the way they did.
“For the community of Eau Claire, thank you for coming out,” Erickson said.
With the stage set and a full house, the Blue Devils won the toss and deferred, opting to receive the ball in the second half.
On the first offensive play of the game, Blugold quarterback (QB) Ayden Helder completed a 28-yard pass to wide receiver (WR) Matt Kuczaj. Kuczaj entered the game as the team’s leading receiver with 11 catches and 172 yards.
The reception brought the Blugolds to their 47-yard line, but two plays later, UW-Stout forced Helder to fumble and was able to recover the ball. The fumble recovery represented the Blue Devils’ seventh takeaway of the season.
On their first offensive drive, the Blue Devils earned four first-downs en route to a one-yard touchdown run by Chandler Ross.
On their second offensive drive, the Blugolds got down to the Blue Devils’ 15-yard line and were driving until Helder was sacked on fourth down, making it a turnover on downs.
On first and down on their own 38-yard line, UW-Stout QB Adam Moen connected deep with WR Avron Carter, who caught it at the Blugolds 31-yard line and took it all the way to the Blugolds one-yard line for a 55-yard catch.
After another touchdown run by the Blue Devils, the Blugolds found themselves down 14-0 within the first 11 minutes of the game. The Blugolds took the ball on offense all the way through the first quarter. With 11:10 left in the half, they got on the board for the first time.
After running up the middle and not finding the end zone, Paxton Rothmeier bounced around Blue Devil defenders and eventually found the end zone, shortening the Blue Devil lead to 14-7.
A Gyanni Kanellakis tackle of Moen on third down forced the Blue Devils to punt for the first time in the game. The Blugolds stormed down the field with three first downs, but eventually settled for a 33-yard field goal made by Satchel Johnson.
After a third touchdown scored by UW-Stout and a Helder interception on their own side of the field, the Blue Devils had the ball on the Blugolds’ 47-yard line with 44 seconds left in the half, up 21-10.
UW-Stout had a short, successful drive getting to the Blugolds’ 24-yard line, which set up a 41-yard field goal attempt. Moen held the snap for Blue Devil kicker Garrison Jackman, but as Jackman went to kick the ball, Nate Majewski came from the outside and blocked the kick.
Erickson said the blocked field goal by Majewski was a huge play for the Blugolds and was the play the Blugolds needed in the moment.
“That’s a testament to our kids,” Erickson said. “We talk about (the) standard of play and how we want to do things on a play-to-play basis.”
Any momentum the Blugolds got from the blocked field goal was overshadowed by a UW-Stout second-half opening drive, which featured a Davonte Evans 44-yard touchdown catch to put the Blue Devils up 28-10.
On that play, Erickson said the Blugolds’ defense ran an automatic check for a zone coverage based on the Blue Devils’ formation.
There was a miscommunication in the secondary as one player did not get the check, meaning there was confusion as to whether the Blugolds were playing man or zone defense. This allowed Evans to become wide open for his second catch on the day.
UW-Stout held the Blugolds on their first offensive drive of the second-half, which led to Evans’ second touchdown of the day, this time for 55 yards.
Moen wasn’t done scoring for the day and used his feet for a three-yard touchdown run, giving UW-Stout six touchdowns on the day. Moen had a successful day on the ground, running for 101 yards and two touchdowns.
With about three minutes left in the game, the Blugolds scored on a Kuczaj 10-yard touchdown catch.
That would be the last scoring for either team, with the Blue Devils taking the war on I-94, winning 42-17. This win is the Blue Devils’ 10th win in a row versus UW-Eau Claire.
While the Blugolds took their first loss of the season, a bright spot for the team was WR Yaach Chuol. Chuol had two total touchdowns last year with 311 receiving yards. So far this season, he has 225 receiving yards with four total touchdowns.
Chuol is currently eighth in receiving yards in the conference. Chuol credits the team with setting him up with catch opportunities.
“Just getting open by other guys doing their job but also reading the safeties,” Chuol said. “Quarterback makes me look good, I just get open.”
Erickson said Chuol is a leader for the team.
“He’s our spark plug,” Erickson said. “He’s positive and with his teammates all the time.”
The Blugolds will look to get in the win column again on Saturday, Oct. 11 at No.9/8-ranked UW-La Crosse
Benes can be reached at [email protected].
