Trojans Still Searching For Offense; Fall To Wisconsin-La Crosse 31-6

Dakota State drops to 0-2 after falling to Division III upcoming powerhouse, Winsconsin-La Crosse, 31-6 in the 8th Annual Ag Bowl.

The attempt by the Trojans to win three straight Ag Bowl games was halted by the Eagles on Thursday night. On a positive note, the Trojans last drive of the game that got their only score was against the first team defense of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Hopefully giving the team a hint of confidence in knowing that if they can all band together and take care of their assignments, they can march down the field with ease.

It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows for Wisconsin-La Crosse in the victory. 

They began the game with a pair of three-and-outs with the Trojans defensive ways carrying over from week one. Though after the early part of the game, they began to figure some things out. Blending in a good mix of the run and the pass to keep the defense on their toes.

They were unable to manage a first quarter touchdown for the second year in a row. Instead, this year, they were limited to just a first quarter field goal. The Eagles mixed in both of their quarter backs in the game – Keysey Helterbrand & Zack Weir. Helterbrand finished with 12-for-18 passing with 196 yards through the air and passing TD. Weir, who was in for most of the scoring drives for UWL, finished 7-for-9 passing with 133 yards passing and 3 pass TD’s.

Searching For A Rhythm

The Trojans opened up the second half firing with three consecutive passes in the direction of Cole Sylliaasen. The urgency had Wisconsin-La Crosse on their heels – with the Trojans getting a pair of first downs through Sylliasen. Once the Eagles gathered themselves after the quick burst, they immediately stalled the offense and forced the drive to end in a punt. The Trojans punted on 10 of their 13 total drives.

Austin Lake ended up leading the Trojans in receiving with eight receptions for 99 yards. Brady Dannenbring threw the first passing touchdown by a Trojan quarterback this season – tossing the completion and TD to Shaun Crawford. In the previous game, Austin Lake was the passer on their lone touchdown through the air.

Dakota State finished with just 180 yards of total offense with all but nine yards coming through the air. DSU failed to garnish double-digits on the ground against UWL. They now, through two games, have less than 100 yards on the ground with just 85 total. Safe to say, some work needs to be done to keep this offense from being one dimensional.

Next Game

DSU will look to get back on track this next week as they open North Star Athletic Association conference play against Waldorf on the road. The game will kickoff at 4pm with pregame set to begin at 3:30pm on Jammin Country 103.