Turnovers fill Titans with joy
St. Paul, Minn. — Johnny Eagan shuffled to his right a couple of steps mimicking the movement of University of St. Thomas quarterback Alex Fenkse waiting for the Tommies quarterback to unleash the throw.
Fenske finally did, aiming for receiver Nick Waldvogel. The ball sailed high and into the exact spot where Eagan had shuffled to and the UWOshkosh safety easily grabbed the interception.
That was one of eight turnovers committed by the Tommies and came after Eli Wettstein’s goahead 37-yard field goal with 3:27 left, clinching the Titans’ 34-31 win in an NCAA Division III quarterfinal Saturday afternoon.
“It was just a broken play, really. Everyone was just on a secondary reaction,” Eagan said of his third interception of the game. “I was just kind of back there in no man’s land, honestly, and it just kind of ended up in my hands.”
Next Saturday the Titans continue their quest to reach the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl when they play John Carroll, a 31-14 winner over UW-Whitewater.
Eagan’s interception was the final blow for the Tommies, who rallied from a 24-10 halftime deficit but never led in the game.
St. Thomas did get one final chance, getting possession after an Oshkosh punt on its own 10-yard line, but did nothing with it as Justin Watson pounced on a loose ball after an errant St. Thomas lateral on the final play of the game.
Despite never trailing, the Titans had to fend off the Tommies in the second half and used the mettle of a team tested by playing their sixth NCAA playoff team of the season.
St. Thomas scored two touchdowns about two minutes apart — the second coming on a blocked punt — late in the third quarter to tie the game at 24.
A 16-yard punt return by Eagan early in the fourth quarter gave the Titans the ball on the St. Thomas 44. Four plays later Brett Kasper hit a streaking Sam Mentkowski with a 32-yard touchdown pass.
“We knew they were going to bring the house and play man-to-man. That’s kind of what they do,” Mentkowski said. “So what we did is get guys in different spots and attack them with rub routes.”
St. Thomas answered with a touchdown to tie it at 31 with 6:02 left, and the Titans faced a third and 11 on the ensuing drive from its own 24.
But with a Tommies defense poised to stop a Kasper throw, Devon Linzenmeyer broke free through the middle of the defense for a 36-yard gain. The Titans later converted a third-and-7 play on a Kasper to Mentkowski pass to extend the drive and move into position for Wettstein.
Following a St. Thomas timeout, the sophomore kicker delivered the goahead points.
“I just took everything the same and just go out there and execute,” Wettstein said off the kick. “Just visualize the kick. Relax, breathe and follow through.”
Oshkosh scored on its opening possession of the game on a fourth down, a 1-yard plunge by Dylan Hecker. The Tommies tied it on their first possession, but Oshkosh would score twice in a span of 21 seconds to take a 14-point lead.
Mentkowski, who finished with seven catches for 184 yards, hauled in a 46-yard pass from Kasper for the first score and then — following Eagan’s first interception of the game — caught a 38-yard touchdown pass for a 21-7 lead.
“Just some great calls by (offensive coordinator Luke Venne). He had a great, great game plan as you watched it unfold. He moved the pieces around to get (Mentkowski) open,” Titans head coach Pat Cerroni said. “We had the momentum on our side and usually you try to do that when you have the momentum.”
The teams exchanged field goals in the second quarter, but St. Thomas was driving to narrow the gap further when A.J. Plewa picked off a Fenske pass at the Titans’ 11 to keep Oshkosh’s 14-point lead intact.
“That was huge right before half,” Plewa said. “It changes the momentum and puts us right back where we are up two scores going in at half. We were definitely feeling good after that one.”