MEQUON, Wis. – The Falcons thrilled the fans in the home opener on Saturday afternoon. The Falcons bounced Benedictine 28-20 to soar to 3-1 on the year and remain in first place in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference at 2-0.
Benedictine flew north feeling good after handing Aurora its first NACC loss since CUW topped the Spartans in 2018, but quickly learned Saturday would be a tough test against the Falcons.
The first quarter saw both teams march down the field with methodical drives and chew up time before both drives were stopped on fourth down.
On the second play of the second quarter, sophomore Roman Funk (Scottsdale, Ariz.) showed his muscles as the offensive line pushed him across the goal line for a one-yard touchdown.
The Falcons' defense came up big with a blocked field goal by senior Marquiton Sellers (Winnsboro, La.).
The Falcons controlled a majority of the momentum in the first half, but a late turnover set Benedictine up with an instant redzone opportunity. The Eagles then scored a touchdown as time expired in the half to send the teams into the break tied at seven.
Benedictine struck first in the third quarter with a long drive that chewed up nine minutes of clocks and ended with a five-yard touchdown, but a failed extra point attempt gave Benedictine a 13-7 lead.
The Falcons showed no fear trailing and marched down the field and carried the ball into the fourth quarter, where a two-yard rush for senior Ashar Thomas (Punta Gorda, Fla.) tied the game at 13.
Both defenses stood tall to end regulation and iced the opposing drives.
Benedictine drew first blood in overtime and connected on a 23-yard pass on the right side to take the 20-13 lead in the first overtime and a CUW penalty setup 1&25 for the Falcons on the 40-yard line.
On second down, Roman Funk found senior Jason Leonard (Tampa, Fla.) open down the left side and connected for a 31-yard strike.
The Falcons applied pressure in the second overtime as sophomore Caleb Espinoza (Pasadena, Texas) continued to break down the Benedictine defense and broke free for an 11-yard burst to score. Roman Funk then kept the ball to convert the two-point conversion.
The CUW defense closed the door in the second overtime, putting Benedictine behind the chains with a sack on first down by junior Ben Birch (Grafton, Wis.) and Marquiton Sellers. A fourth-down heave could not connect and the Falcons walked away victorious.
Roman Funk threw for 187 yards and a touchdown on Saturday and also led the ground game with 44 yards and a touchdown.
Jason Leonard led the contest with 78 yards through the air.
Junior Devin Glowicki (Commerce City, Colo.) had a game-high 13 tackles in the victory and had a break up.
The Falcons stand alone at 2-0 in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference. St. Norbert and Lakeland are also undefeated at 1-0.
Concordia Wisconsin travels north and will face the Green Knights of St. Norbert on Saturday.
