October 22, 2022
WINONA – The No. 11 USF football team fell to the Winona State Warriors 17-20 today moving to 7-1 on the season.
"It stings right now, but we have to learn and improve and come back ready for Minnesota State," said Head Coach Jon Anderson. "Good defenses take away things you're good at, and that's what they did…we just have to be better."
The Cougars opened the game strong with a 10 yard touchdown pass from Adam Mullen to Mark Leonard for an early lead. Thuro Reisdorfer nabbed his 1,000th yard of the season on USFs opening drive while the Coo marched 91 yards on 13 plays to go up 7-0.
After a missed Winona State field goal, the Cougars took over at their own 30 yard line while marching the field 57 yards on 14 plays. Sioux Falls found the ball on the ground three times, but thanks to a pass interference call on the Warriors the Cougars were able to collect a new set of downs at the WSU 2. With a 10 yard sack, USF found themselves at the WSU 13 where Nick Hernandez split the uprights with a 30 yard field to put the Coo up 10-0 to start the second quarter.
After a three and out series from the Warriors, Sioux Falls started with the ball on their own 1 yard line after a booming 68 yard punt. With their backs against the wall, the Cougars were forced to punt it away. Seamus Hall punted 22 yards to the USF 25 where the Warriors would start with a short field.
In just two short plays, Winona connected for a 20 yard touchdown pass to narrow the lead 10-7.
Walker Harris and Conor Rice made their presence in the back field as Harris picked up his 4th sack of the season while Rice tallied a 3 yard tackle for loss. Amaurii Grosskopf led the Coo with nine tackles on the day.
At the half, USF produced 163 yards of total offense with 64 on the ground and 99 through the air while picking up a 10 yard touchdown and a 30 yard field goal.
The Cougar D opened the second half with an interception by Cam Alfaro to give Sioux Falls the ball at the WSU 48.
Mullen connected with Ethan Wittenburg for a 42 yard touchdown pass to travel 48 yards in 38 seconds to go up 17-7 in the third quarter. Wittenburg picked up his fourth touchdown in a Cougar jersey and first of the day against the Warriors.
The Warriors started the fourth quarter with a 34 yard touchdown to tie the game 17-17 with 14:53 left in the game before splitting the uprights to go up 17-20.
Sioux Falls ended the game with 294 yards of total offense with 226 of those coming through the air. Mullen ended the day with 14 completions on 28 attempts with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Freeman rushed for 57 yards on 20 carries while Wittenburg led the receiving game with four receptions for 80 yards and one touchdown.
Career Bests
Seamus Hall tied his career long with a 64 yard punt for the Cougars.
Landon Freeman tallied a career high of 20 attempts
Joseph Sapp pulled down his first interception of his career
Sioux Falls will be back in action next weekend as they host the 6-2 Minnesota State Mavericks. Kick-off is slated for 1:00pm at Bob Young Field with gates opening at 12:00pm. For all things Cougar Football, be sure to follow along on the new USF Cougars app as well as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
