09/12/09
Posted: 09/14/09

The UW-Eau Claire football team almost sent Saturday’s game at St. John’s University (Minn.) into overtime.

After marching more than 70 yards in the game’s final minute, the Blugolds found themselves just nine yards away from scoring a possibly game-tying touchdown (pending a two-point conversion) against the nation’s 11th-ranked St. John’s University.

But time wasn’t on Eau Claire’s side, and the scoreboard’s clock struck zero before the Blugolds could make it into the end zone.

“We played our hearts out, and we just came up a little short,” said senior tight end Brett Schreiner, who scored one of Eau Claire’s four touchdowns that afternoon.

Eau Claire lost Saturday’s contest 35-27, putting the Blugolds’ season record at 1-1.

“We played a very good team and we played them pretty well, but we also realize that it’s going to take a little bit more to beat some of those top-quality opponents,” said senior running back Cory Sartorelli, who also scored a TD for the Blugolds Saturday.

St. John’s was the first to score, doing so late in the first quarter off a one-yard run.

Eau Claire responded minutes later when senior quarterback Kyle Paulson connected with sophomore wide receiver David Goodman on a 42-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter.

But the Johnnies scored twice more before the Blugolds could get another mark on the scoreboard, eventually bringing the score to 20-7 early in the third quarter.

Eau Claire’s offense picked up another TD late in the third quarter, again involving a pass from Paulson. With little more than six minutes left in the third quarter, Paulson hit senior wide receiver Spencer Kehoe on a 26-yard passing play for the Blugolds’ second touchdown of the day.

Six minutes into the fourth quarter, Paulson connected with Brett Schreiner for the team’s third TD, putting Eau Claire up 21-20.

But the lead didn’t last long. About five minutes later St. John’s quarterback Joe Boyle ran into the end zone to retake the lead, and a successful two-point conversion gave the Johnnies a 28-21 advantage.

Eau Claire had a chance to tie things up with 1 minute, 39 seconds remaining, but couldn’t capitalize on the opportunity. Senior running back Cory Sartorelli ran 15 yards into the end zone, but the point-after attempt was blocked, keeping the Blugolds back, 28-27.

Eau Claire nearly had another chance to tie the game later in the quarter, but came up just short.

After the Johnnies scored a last-minute touchdown to extend their lead to 35-27, the Blugolds constructed a more-than-70-yard drive to the Johnnies’ nine-yard line and appeared poised to punch in a last-second TD – a two-point conversion would have tied the game and would have sent the game into overtime. But time ran out before the Blugolds could punch the ball in, sending them home with a loss.

“We definitely could have won it with a couple plays,” Schreiner said. “It just wasn’t in the cards for us.”

The Johnnies dominated the run game Saturday, racking up 296 rushing yards to the Blugolds’ 99. Cory Sartorelli led Eau Claire’s ground game, tacking up 79 rushing yards.

Paulson threw for 286 yards and three touchdowns Saturday on 18-of-35 passing. He also threw one interception.

Eau Claire will play at Hope College (Mich.) this Saturday. The Blugolds will play their next home game Oct. 17, when they will host UW-Platteville.