Box Score
Box score
WATERTOWN, Wis. - The Wisconsin Lutheran
College football team concluded its inaugural season in the
Northern Athletics Conference by collecting a 35-20 victory over
Maranatha Baptist Bible College on a cold and windy Saturday
afternoon at Maranatha Field.
The Warriors' defense turned four of its six takeaways into
touchdowns and running backs Jesse Muldrow (Milwaukee,
Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran) and Larry Hairl (Chicago, Ill./Clemente)
each rushed over 100 yards to help overcome an early deficit and
top the Crusaders.
Maranatha notched the first score of the game at the 11:39 mark
of the opening quarter when Rob Dupre hauled in a 16-yard touchdown
catch from Nathan Chromy to give the Crusaders a 6-0 lead through
one quarter.
Wisconsin Lutheran took the lead back with 9:16 left in the
second quarter when sophomore quarterback John Bodnar (Racine,
Wis./Park) snuck across the goal line from one yard out for a 7-6
lead. Maranatha regained its lead two possessions later when Chromy
scrambled for a 13-yard touchdown run.
Both Muldrow and Hairl proceeded to score touchdowns on runs of
two and eight yards, respectively, with under two minutes left in
the first half to give WLC a 20-12 halftime advantage.
Muldrow accounted for the only score in the third quarter when
he found the end zone from five yards out to cap off a nine-play,
71-yard drive and send the Warriors into the fourth quarter with a
28-12 lead.
Sophomore linebacker Brad Marshall (Cudahy, Wis./Wisconsin
Lutheran) began the fourth quarter by returning one of his two
interceptions on the day for a 35-yard touchdown to extend WLC's
lead to 35-12. The Crusaders added a late score with just over
three minutes to play for the 35-20 final.
Muldrow, who rushed for a career-high 169 yards, and Hairl, who
finished with 103 yards on the ground, became the first running
back tandem in the program's brief history to each rush over 100
yards in a single game. The Warriors, who's average starting field
position was their own 43 yard line, finished with 297 yards of
total offense in the game, compared to 265 for Maranatha.
Defensively, senior Justin Cromas (Greenfield, Wis./Greenfield)
led the way with eight tackles. The six turnovers forced by the
Warriors tied for a season high.
Wisconsin Lutheran finishes its 2008 season with a 4-6 overall
record, including a 3-4 mark in its first season of play in the
NAC. The four-win season ties for the second most wins in program
history. Check out wlcsports.com later this week for the release of
the all-conference awards.
