No. 4 Oshkosh turns back Carthage
Derrick Jennings Jr. put on quite a show Saturday afternoon.
The UW-Oshkosh linebacker picked off three passes, blocked an extra point and scored a touchdown. Carthage College was certainly happy when the senior from DeForest got on a bus out of town.
Thanks to Jennings, the Titans, ranked fourth by D3football.com, knocked off the Redmen, 20-9, at Art Keller Field in Kenosha.
It was a struggle for the Titans in their season opener.
Carthage kicker Lance Unland kicked a 44-yard field goal that clipped the crossbar and went through with 12 minutes 14 seconds to play to give the Red Men a 9-7 lead.
Oshkosh finally took the lead at 14-9 when Cody Moon scored on a 4-yard run with 1:25 to go.
Jennings then sealed the victory with a 68-yard interception return for a touchdown as time expired.
The game marked the debut of Carthage coach Dustin Hass.
“We had our chances to win,” he said. “We turned it over twice in the red zone, missed a field goal and still had a chance at the end. Talent-wise we are right there, but when it came down to winning time they made the plays are we didn’t.”
UW-La Crosse 56, Luther 21: Ben Schramski tossed three touchdown passes in the first half as the visiting Eagles coasted past the Norse.
UW-Eau Claire 45, Loras 13: Quarterback Scott Proctor threw and ran for touchdowns in the first half as the Blugolds opened up a 24-0 lead and throttled the Duhawks at the Rock Bowl in Dubuque, Iowa.
John Carroll 45, UW-Stevens Point 21: Sam Kukura rushed for 130 yards and three touchdowns to carry the visiting Blue Streaks past the Pointers.
St. John’s 27, UW-Stout 0: Jackson Erdmann threw for 241 yards and four touchdowns as the Johnnies, ranked 11th by D3football.com, easily beat the Blue Devils in Collegeville, Minn.
Lawrence 20, Grinnell 13: Ethan Simmons scored on a 3-yard touchdown run with 3:16 remaining to give the host Vikings a victory over the Pioneers at Ron Roberts Field at the Banta Bowl.
Grinnell put together back-to-back long scoring drives late in the third quarter and early in the fourth to tie the game, 13-13. The Pioneers had a chance to take the lead, but Patrick Goldammer’s extra-point attempt was blocked by 6-foot-7 Chris Shaw.
Lawrence sophomore linebacker Wyatt Lee, who was making his first start, finished with 14 tackles.
Augsburg 31, Ripon 28: Tyler Hanson booted a 29-yard field goal with 5:44 left and the Auggies held off the visiting Red Hawks at Edor Nelson Field.
Concordia (Wis.) 31, Finlandia 3: Aaron Nixon threw for 310 yards and four touchdowns as the visiting Falcons rolled past the Lions.
Lake Forest 38, Wisconsin Luthern 30: Jagan Cleary tossed two touchdown passes and ran for another to lead the host Foresters past the Warriors.
St. Norbert 16, Aurora 7: Matt Gurgone returned an interception 20 yards for a touchdown and Spenser Thompson-Meyers booted three field goals as the Green Knights knocked off the visiting Spartans.
Carroll 45, Lakeland 26: JJ Keels rushed for three touchdowns and the host Pioneers ran away from the Muskies.
The Pioneers reeled off 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to snap an eight-game losing streak dating to last season.
It marked the first time Carroll has won its season opener since 2014 and was its highest point total since Nov. 7, 2015.