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Defense Lifts UW-Stevens Point to Season-Opening Win
Box
Score
UW-Stevens Point used a strong defensive effort that scored eight of the
Pointers� points and limited high-scoring Ohio Northern to just 98
second half total yards in a 14-10 victory over the Polar Bears Saturday
at Goerke Field.
The Pointers trailed 10-8 late
in the third quarter when Jonah Roth intercepted a Jeff Soliday pass and
raced 46 yards for the go-ahead touchdown.
Ohio Northern had four fourth
quarter possessions, but the final two lasted just one play each as
Pointers� freshman Ryan Bentley had interceptions with 2:33 left and
0:23 left.
The loss snapped Ohio
Northern�s 41-game streak of scoring at least 20 points. It was the
fewest points the Polar Bears have scored in a game since a 44-7 loss to
Mount Union on Sept. 30, 1996. Ohio Northern had 275 total yards after
averaging 504.7 per game a year ago.
UW-Stevens Point also had a
solid offensive effort, piling up 409 total yards, including 267 yards
rushing. Freshman Kurt Kielblock rushed for 99 yards on 17 carries and
sophomore Jason VanderVelden had 78 yards on 17 carries. However, the
Pointers were only able to score on their first drive of the game as Scott
Krause connected with Chad Valentyne for a nine-yard touchdown pass. A
missed extra point kept the lead at 6-0.
Ohio Northern rallied on its
first possession with a 21-yard field goal by Seth Burkholder and
UW-Stevens added a safety with 11:01 left in the second quarter when the
Polar Bears were called for holding in the end zone.
Ohio Northern scored its only
touchdown with 4:55 left in the first half on a six-yard pass from Soliday
to Jace Metzner.
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