Battle of the Bridge Preview
Sep 10, 2015
Game Info
vs. #25 UW-Platteville
Chalmers Field – 6:00 PM
Dubuque, Iowa
WATCH LIVE HERE
Twitter-sphere
Spartans - @UDubuqueSports
Pioneers - @uwp_pioneers
DUBUQUE, Iowa – This Saturday, Sept. 12, 2015 marks the annual “Battle of the Bridge” rivalry as the Spartans take on #25-ranked UW-Platteville in the University of Dubuque football team's highly anticipated home-opener on Chalmers Field. The Spartans look to bounce back from a week one defeat at the hands of #9 St. John’s, 45-9, and beat a ranked Pioneer team that cruised to a 49-13 win over Buena Vista behind quarterback Tom Kelly’s 277 yards and five passing touchdowns.
Saturday marks the fourth consecutive season the Spartans have matched up with the Pioneers. UD hopes to beat a UW-Platteville team that has held the upper hand in winning the last 12 meetings and holds the all-time series lead at 14-8-2.
Offensively, the Spartans will rely on a pair of sophomore running backs, Dai Von Vance-Jenkins and Alec Arvanitakis, who combined for 141 yards and one touchdown a week ago to complement transfer quarterback Rio Johnson, who recorded 159 yards passing last week during his first action in two years. The Pioneers counter with an air show that features Kelly, who was nearly perfect after completing 21 of 25 passes against the Beavers, and big receiver (6-3, 225 lbs.) Russell Martin.
It was tough sledding last week for a Spartan defense that allowed 220 rushing yards against a potent St. John’s rushing attack. The Spartans, without senior linebacker Blaine Snitker due to injury, hopes to contain a Pioneer offense that lost running back Andy Puccini, who racked up 212 yards against UD last year, to graduation. Leading the UD defense are a trio of defenders in defensive back Michael Joseph, linebacker Dylan Hastings, and linebacker Larry Harleston that led the team with nine tackles each last week.
UNIVERSITY OF DUBUQUE
Record: 0-1
Preseason Conf. Rank: 4th (Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC))
Head Coach: Stan Zweifel | 7th year - [28-24, 22-17 IIAC]
Rankings: NR (D3football.com)
UW-PLATTEVILLE
Record: 1-0
Preseason Conf. Rank: 2nd (Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC))
Head Coach: Mike Emendorfer | 17th year – [75-87 overall]
Rankings: 25 (D3football.com)
Summary
|
2015 STATS |
UW-PLATTEVILLE |
UNIVERSITY OF DUBUQUE |
|
Overall Record |
1-0 |
0-1 |
|
Conf. Record |
-- |
-- |
|
Avg. Points |
49 |
9 |
|
Avg. Points Allowed |
13 |
45 |
|
Pass O ypg |
299 |
159 |
|
Pass D |
188 |
184 |
|
Rush O |
192 |
152 |
|
Rush D |
151 |
220 |
Statitude Adjustment
|
Season Stat Leaders |
ST. JOHN’S |
UNIVERSITY OF DUBUQUE |
|
Passing |
#16 QB Kelly |
#16 QB Johnson |
|
Rushing |
#21 RB Fish |
#1 RB Vance-Jenkins |
|
Receiving |
#12 WR Sheehan |
#2 WR Schultz |
|
Defense |
#1 DB Johnson |
#30 LB Hastings |
|
Kicking |
#41 K Matuszak |
#31 K Prull |
Complete 2015 UW-Platteville stats
Complete 2015 UD stats
Last Meeting
2014 at #8 UW-Platteville
#8 UW-Platteville won 26-21
-A WR Rutenbeck 31 yd TD pass from QB Fry and a 27-yd TD run by RB Arvanitakis left Spartans trailing 14-20 at half
-UW-P scored on a 3rd quarter TD pass, but missed 2-pt conversion to make it 26-14
-UD fell just short despite a 42-yd TD catch by Rutenbeck that cut the UW-P lead down to 26-21 with 3:49 to play
-UW-P won yardage battle 476-351, possession time: 34:59-25:01, including 11:12-3:48 in 4th Q
-Point off turnovers: UWP 14, UD 0
History Books
Series record: 8-14-2
|
Last 5 |
Score |
|
2014 |
UWP 26-21 |
|
2013 |
UWP 38-24 |
|
2012 |
UWP 53-35 |
|
2010 |
UWP 21-17 |
|
2009 |
UWP 28-20 |
*Did not play in 2011
-25th meeting between the two dating back to 1909
-Series took a 16 year break between ’88 and 2005
-UW-Platteville has won last 12 meetings dating back to ‘67
-UD started out 7-1, but 0-13-2 since then
-Average margin of defeat last five years: 9.8 points
