UWSP Football

Scott Krause�s nine-yard quarterback draw for a touchdown with 1:50 left capped an 11-play, 82-yard drive and gave UW-Stevens Point a 20-17 win over Augustana (Ill.) Saturday in a matchup of two defending conference champions at Goerke Field in Stevens Point.

Augustana, last year�s College Conference of Illinois-Wisconsin champion, took a 17-13 lead with on a 38-yard run by Blair Westerly with 5:22 left. However, the defending Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champion Pointers drove for the win as Krause completed four of seven passes and rushed twice for 16 yards on the drive.

UW-Stevens Point�s biggest play on the drive was a 17-yard pass from Krause to junior Levi Massey on a fourth-and-six play from the Vikings� 26-yard line with two minutes remaining, setting up the game-winning score. Massey had two catches in the game after not catching a single pass all of last season.

Both teams ranked among the Division III leaders in rushing offense last season, but both defenses shut the running games down as UW-Stevens Point had just 131 yards on the ground and Augustana rushed for 153 yards after leading the country at 370 yards per game last season. UW-Stevens Point sophomore Cory Flisakowski, a transfer from the University of Illinois, led all rushers with 81 yards on 25 carries.

After a scoreless first quarter, Augustana�s Michael Clark kicked a 19-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead. The Pointers tied the game with 3:41 left in the half when Cory Kahl�s field goal was blocked, but he regained the ball and passed for a touchdown to an offensive lineman. Illegal touching was ruled and Augustana was forced to accept the penalty, resulting in a 26-yard field goal by Kahl on his second chance. He added a 23-yarder with 33 seconds left in the half for a 6-3 halftime lead.

Tom Anthony caught a 47-yard pass from Brad Wendell on the Vikings� first play of the fourth quarter to take a 10-6 lead. However, the Pointers rallied with an 11-play, 80-yard drive capped by a diving 13-yard catch by Jason VanderVelden for a touchdown and a 13-10 UW-Stevens Point lead.

After the two teams traded touchdowns again, Augustana gained possession with 1:50 left, but Pointers� strong safety Ryan Bentley intercepted a pass on the second play from scrimmage. Bentley also intercepted a pass on a late drive to preserve the Pointers� 14-10 season-opening win over Ohio Northern last season.

The Pointers were forced to punt back to the Vikings with 18 seconds left and free safety Dillon Maney picked off a pass on the final play of the game as UW-Stevens Point won its season opener for the seventh time in eight years. The Pointers also improved to 15-1 in annual �Spud Bowl� games.