LA CROSSE, Wis. – The University of Minnesota Morris football season came to an end with a 62-7 loss to #4 University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in the opening round of the NCAA Division III Playoffs on Saturday afternoon. 

Minnesota Morris entered the game knowing a tall task was in front of it against a top-five team nationally and UW-La Crosse confirmed it on the opening kickoff as Jack Janke returned it 90 yards for a touchdown. After the Cougar offense was forced off the field after three plays, the Eagles struck again with a 45-yard touchdown run by Dayo Oye to put UW-La Crosse in front, 14-0, with just over three minutes gone. The Eagles would continue to neutralize the Minnesota Morris offense and built a 35-0 lead by the end of the first quarter.

The Cougars began to move the ball in the second quarter and a Marcus Reeb pass to Dylan Naughton for a first down kept the offense on the field for a fresh set of downs before Minnesota Morris was forced to punt. Late in the first half, Reeb scampered for a 30-yard gain and put the Cougars in UW-La Crosse territory before an interception brought the first half to a close with the Eagles out in front, 52-0.

UW-La Crosse grew its lead to 59-0 after three quarters, but Minnesota Morris started the fourth quarter with a 45-yard touchdown pass from Reeb to Cole Mitchell to put the Cougars on the board. Alex Happ supplied the extra point. The Eagles tacked on one final field goal in the closing minutes as they moved on to the final 16 of the Division III playoffs.

Reeb ended his Cougar career with a 14-for-25 day, picking up 130 yards and a touchdown. Minnesota Morris was without the services of Izayah Boss on Saturday, so Blake Johnson had to pick up the slack and had 13 carries for 37 yards. Mitchell's one reception went for a team-high 45 yards, while Sam Jordan had four catches for 32 yards and Ethan Tang had another four catches for 19 yards. Defensively, Gregory Ohman had 14 tackles (10 solo), while Chayce Meyer finished with two sacks, helping the sophomore break the Minnesota Morris single-season record for tackles for a loss.

Minnesota Morris ends the year at 7-4 overall, with a perfect 5-0 UMAC record for the program's second-ever UMAC title and the first playoff appearance since 1981 in the school's NCAA Division II era.