Don Richards

Recently, one topic of conversation among my coffee guys was blood types. Unfortunately, I had not been paying strict attention, so when Type A was mentioned I told them that was the capital of the island of Taiwan, much to their amusement. At least the UWRF Falcons were paying attention as they beat the Oshkosh Titans 28-14 in the final game of the 2024 season. Coach Matt Walker, however, was thinking the win over the Titans would allow the Falcons (7-3 overall, 5-3 WIAC) to get into the playoffs. Not so. Only Platteville (winner of the WIAC at 6-1 and 9-1 overall) and La Crosse (5-2, WIAC and 7-3 overall,) got in. La Crosse beat Northwestern University of St. Paul 59-14 on Saturday, Nov. 23 in La Crosse and will play at St. John's University on Saturday, Nov. 30. Platteville got a bye Nov. 23 and will travel to Wartburg, Iowa Saturday, Nov. 30.

Did Walker think three WIAC teams should have been eligible for the playoffs? Yes, he said in a recent online interview by Frank Rossi of D3 Football. Because of the expanded number of teams in the playoffs this year (40, up from 32 in previous years) the chances looked good to Coach Walker. He thought the Oshkosh win was big. "I'm very proud of our guys," he said. "I feel for the kids. It's hard to explain why we did not get in the playoffs to our team."

He felt the Falcons could have made a legitimate run deep into the tournament. He was especially puzzled how teams like Mount St. Joseph of Cleveland, Ohio, a team the Falcons thrashed 68-9, and Alfred State University of Beverly, Maine, with a 5-5 overall, 2-1 conference record, got in. But both teams are conference winners and therefore automatic picks. Alfred State plays in a four-team conference, the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference. They had to win an extra game with another conference foe to determine who would be declared the champion of their league. 

Walker would like to see a strength of conference ranking which would factor into the decision about which teams get into the playoffs. But, he says, "I understand the need for regional representation in the playoffs." That means that the WIAC, even though it has more ranked teams than any other conference, will not get more than two teams in.

Next year should be another good one for the Falcons. Kaleb Blaha will be back after getting a "medical red shirt," a status available only to athletes whose injury limited them to minimum playing time in a season. "We designed our system around Kaleb," Walker said. That meant Riley Warzynski, the junior transfer quarterback from La Crosse who had planned not to play this year, had to fill in and use up a year of eligibility.

On Thursday, Nov. 21 the WIAC announced its 2024 football postseason awards with 12 student-athletes representing UW-River Falls, including five Falcons on the First Team and Aaron Borgerding selected as the Max Sparger Scholar Athlete.
In total, UWRF had 13 All-WIAC selections represented by 12 Falcons, including Gage Timm earning first team honors on special teams and second team honors on defense. Five Falcons were selected to the first team; Ethan Sigler, Carson Steen, Aaron Borgerding, Dylan Brown, and Timm.
UWRF placed four on the second team; Ben Wesolowski, Ian Gould, Timm, and Justin Scheber. Austin Fox, Michael Krueger, and Andrew Schumacher were Honorable Mentions. In addition, Michael Brown was selected to the All-Sportsmanship Team.

All players listed are seniors except Wesolowski (sophomore) and Timm and Scheber (juniors).

UWRF's Borgerding has been named the recipient of the 2024 WIAC Football Max Sparger Scholar-Athlete Award. He becomes the 15th Falcon in UWRF football history to earn the honor, and the most recent since Michael Diggins in 2017.
A senior from Spring Valley, Wis., Borgerding maintains a 3.742 grade point average and is majoring in health and physical education with a minor in adapted physical education. He is a semifinalist for the 2024 National Football Foundation's William V. Campbell Trophy. The award, which includes Division I, II and III football student-athletes, recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation combining academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership.

Borgerding also secured a spot on the 2023 NCAA Division III Academic All-District Football Team, as selected by the College Sports Communicators. He is a three-time member of the WIAC Scholastic Honor Roll and has been recognized on UW-River Falls' Dean's List numerous semesters. Borgerding is also a member of the National College Athlete Honor Society.

In closing, perhaps you've seen the Appalachian Word of the Day online. Recent examples were "rectum," which is what the Falcons did to Oshkosh. Another is "ammonia," as in "ammonia porch. Come on out and talk to me."