Fresh off attendance record, No. 4 UW-La Crosse to honor seniors Saturday in last home game of regular season
The UW-La Crosse football team hasn’t lost to UW-Eau Claire since 2015. That streak dates back to 2013 at Roger Harring Stadium.
Saturday is the last regular-season home game for the No. 4-ranked Eagles (6-1, 4-0), who set an attendance record with 5,414 fans last weekend. Prior to the 11:30 a.m. kickoff, UW-L will honor both its seniors and veterans.
UW-L vs UW-EC on WKTY begins with pregame at 11:15 a.m. Tune in on 96.7 FM / 580 AM or wktysports.com and the WKTY app. Drew Kelly and Terry Erickson are on the call.
UW-L coach Matt Janus is making sure his team is prepared for the earlier start and the weather — where it could be around 35 degrees.
“Given how structured a football team is, and how the schedule is everything, to have them turn up their internal clocks is tough,” Janus said. “The other thing is working with 19- 22-year-olds, they don’t really think about the weather. So we’re telling them if you need handwarmers or other stuff, get it now.”
The 17 seniors being recognized Saturday have all overcome adversity off the field.
The fifth-year seniors went through a coaching change first season, after former coach Mike Schmidt left for Northern State. Traditional seniors had their freshman season canceled because of the COVID-19, which was also set to be Janus’ first as head coach.
Janus said despite all of that, the success they’ve been able to have on the field speaks volumes.
“That first season you go through COVID, and then flash forward a year and we’re in the playoffs,” he said. “Then the next year we do it again. And then this season, we’re a Top 5 program in the country controlling our destiny. What a journey.”
The Eagles have won 31 games since 2019, including a conference championship and two playoff appearances.