College football: Twice-broken trophy in good shape as UW-Eau Claire, UW-Stout renew War on I-94
Oct. 8—The War on I-94 football game returns this weekend. Thanks to some handiwork, so does the rivalry trophy that comes with it.
UW-Eau Claire and UW-Stout will square off at Carson Park on Saturday evening, with the victors bringing the coveted trophy home with them. Considering what happened the last time the two programs met, having a trophy at all is an accomplishment.
Former Blue Devils kicker Alec Benzinger proved his accuracy was a little too good prior to the 2019 installment of the rivalry at Carson Park. The trophy sat near the end zone bleachers as the teams hit the field for pregame warmups. It was a recipe for disaster, given Benzinger's prominent leg.
A warmup kick pummeled the trophy head-on. The pine hardware didn't stand a chance, splitting right down the center. When the Blue Devils went on to win 45-17, they celebrated with a broken piece of memorabilia.
"There's duct tape on it right now," former UW-Stout safety Jed Schlegel said that day. "We'll be good."
The celebration was still just as sweet. And the program later found that it paid to have a player who was good with tools in its ranks.
Backup quarterback J.Dan Sturgeon was a construction major and took matters into his own hands. He brought the trophy to a construction lab and repaired it with some dowels.
It wasn't the first time the trophy was on life support, either. It once fell off a chair in the Stout locker room before being repaired by players.
The trophy was introduced in 2007 when former Blugolds player and Stout assistant Sean Hoolihan and others collaborated to come up with the idea. There was already history between the two programs, but a traveling trophy seemed like a fun addition.
"I think it's a pretty cool thing," said Hoolihan, who now coaches girls basketball at Spring Valley. "When I played at Eau Claire, we didn't like Stout. When I was coaching at Stout, we didn't like Eau Claire — which was a little hard for me, obviously. But the rivalry's always been there, so to be able to claim that trophy each year is kind of a cool thing."
What started as a fun idea has turned into a piece of hardware with a history and stories behind it. The trophy has come a long way since its inception.
"It kind of just came to us, and it just took off from there," Hoolihan said.
The mayhem that has surrounded the trophy has simply added to the history of the rivalry, which will play its 99th edition on Saturday. Two 3-1 squads will clash at Carson Park — the Blugolds are coming off a 25-15 win over UW-Stevens Point last week, while Stout fell to third-ranked UW-Whitewater 37-6.
"It's going to be a huge game," UW-Eau Claire wide receiver Nick Kudick said. "Regardless of who we play in the WIAC you know it's a big game, but Stout, War on 94, I think it's going to be awesome."
Saturday's game will feature faces who are quite familiar with the rivalry. Stout quarterback Sean Borgerding threw for five touchdowns in the 2019 meeting, and returning receivers Levy Hamer, Parker Fossum and Tyler Seymour combined for nine catches that day. Going back further, current running back Rayshawn Graham ran for 145 yards and a score in the Blue Devils' 2018 win over the Blugolds.
"They're really good up front, that's where it always starts," UW-Eau Claire coach Wesley Beschorner said. "Their quarterback does a really good job of taking what they give him, some (run-pass option) stuff. And Rayshawn is a really good player. He breaks tackles, he's a big dude. He's talented. We're going to have to tackle."
There's experience on the Blugolds' side too. Star running back Austin Belot accounted for 90 all-purpose yards against the Blue Devils in 2019. He also caught a touchdown in the 2018 game.
Borgerding has thrown for 1,110 yards and 10 touchdowns this season to help the Stout offense get off to a blistering start. The Blue Devils (3-1, 0-1) average 31.75 points per game this fall. They ran into a wall last week though. While Stout managed to out-gain the mighty Warhawks in yards 420-358, they only had six points to show for it. Whitewater did particularly well at limiting the Blue Devils' ground game, which finished with 50 rushing yards.
"The coaches gave us an easy game plan," Whitewater linebacker Shane McGrail told the Janesville Gazette after the game. "We had a lot of quarterback blitzes, and they had us (linebackers) up on the line to contain the edge."
Meanwhile, the Blugolds (3-1, 1-0) rallied past the Pointers after coughing up a 14-point lead. Trailing 15-14 early in the fourth quarter, Belot broke off a 23-yard touchdown run to put Eau Claire ahead for good. The Blugolds will use a two-quarterback look for the second straight week, Beschorner said. Jonathan Malueg started against the Pointers before Harry Roubidoux replaced him on the team's third drive and went the rest of the way.
The Blue Devils have won the last five meetings between the nearby programs, but the Blugolds lead the all-time series 51-41-6. Kickoff is set for 6:10 p.m.
