Battle of the Bridge Favors #23-ranked Pioneers
Sep 8, 2012 | UD Sports Info
PLATTEVILLE, Wis. - A renewed "Battle of the Bridge" for the University of Dubuque football team and the University of Wisconsin Platteville between the two border schools which began in 2005 returned in 2012 featuring sponsorship by Dairy Queen of Dubuque and Platteville. The Spartans fought a valiant effort on Saturday against #23-ranked Platteville, but fell short in the final outcome 52-35.
The Spartans trailed at halftime 24-7, but responded in the fourth with 21 unanswered points, before a late touchdown on missed tackling allowed the hosts to add another seven points on the board after the Spartans had just sliced the lead to 45-35.
Quarterback Wyatt Hanus began to find his targets in the second half and he would finish with the eighth most passing yards in a game after completing 28 of 42 passes for 391 yards and three touchdowns. His three touchdowns broke the Spartans school record for career touchdown passes with 58. Previous mark was held by Shawn Tate (1996-98) with 57 careers TD's. Hanus, who has 679 yards in the air this season, utilized five Spartans for receptions with his favorite target being Sean Anderson who grabbed 13 catches for 170 yards. Tyler Rutenbeck finished with 79 receiving yards and Austin Morgan had 75 yards. Kyle Acker rushed for 103 yards in 25 carries.
The two teams finished just under 1,000 total yards of offense. Defensively Trevor Runkle led UD with 11 tackles, trailed by Vincent Whipple who had nine. Douglas Lillibridge punted seven times for 237 yards.
Next week, Sept. 15, the Spartans face UW-Steven Point in the friendly confines of Chalmers Field with kick-off slated for 6:00 p.m.
