Last weekend marked another tough loss for the UW-Eau Claire football team on the road against UW-La Crosse, as the Eagles commanded the field Saturday, winning with a lead of 45-14 by the end of the game.

The first quarter concluded with the Eagles up 21-0. A blocked punt and two more turnovers early in the game resulted in a hot lead for La Crosse, but the Blugolds fought back with a blocked field goal attempt by Jordan Wollin, a junior cornerback.

Despite another touchdown and successful field goal by the Eagles, things appeared to turn around for the Blugolds in the second quarter. Eau Claire achieved a 38-yard gain after Scott Procter, a junior quarterback, executed a successful pass to Darius Jones, a first-year wide receiver. This play was then followed by a 17-yard run from Brian Kulaga, a junior running back.

Procter went on to score Eau Claire’s first touchdown of the game with a one-yard run, just over a minute left in the half. After a successful punt by Brad Goetsch, a sophomore kicker, the first half ended with the Blugolds down 31-7.

Neither team scored during the third quarter.

The Eagles came into the fourth quarter swinging, scoring a touchdown within the first minute. However, the Blugolds weren’t done fighting yet. Procter responded during the following possession with a 30-yard touchdown run, his second score of the game.

Unfortunately, this was not enough for the Blugolds to steal the lead. The Eagles scored one more touchdown, ending the game with a score of 45-14, leaving the Blugolds with an overall record of 1-4.

“We started the game out extremely slow,” Head Coach Dan Larson said.

Larson said even though this game did not go well for the Blugolds, there’s always something that can be taken away from a defeat.

“Every time you fail at something, there’s an opportunity to learn something,” Larson said.

Even when the Blugolds fail to come out on top, Larson said he knows his team is always able to show resiliency and keep playing hard for one another. He said the team always tries to improve upon their performance.

“We continue to pull and play for each other,” Larson said.

Though the Blugolds struggled against the Eagles, JT DenHartog, a junior quarterback said the team showed signs of talented play, as well as play that requires improvement this weekend.

“We’ve got to execute better and learn our roles,” DenHartog said.

For their next competition, Eau Claire will take on the UW-Stevens Point Pointers. Even though the Blugolds lost this weekend, Larson said he is looking forward to a chance at redemption.

“It will all come down to which team does the little things right,” Larson said.

The Blugolds play the Pointers at 1:10 p.m. next Saturday on the road.