|
Pointers
Drop Final Game of Tough Non-Conference Slate
Box
Score
UW-Stevens
Point lost a non-conference regular season road game for the first time
since 1992 and gave up over 40 points for just the second time in its last
92 games in a 43-29 loss at Division I-AA Butler on Saturday in
Indianapolis.
The
game featured 988 yards of total offense, including 810 yards passing as
the teams combined for five touchdown plays of 70 yards or more in front
of 6,871 fans at the Butler Bowl. It snapped the Pointers� 15-game
non-conference road winning streak since a 25-13 loss at Michigan Tech on
Sept. 8, 1992.
Bulldogs�
running back Dale Jennings accounted for four touchdowns and over half of
Butler�s 525 total yards by rushing for 122 yards and catching five
passes for 153 yards.
Jennings
wasted no time getting the Bulldogs out to an early lead by running 77
yards on the third play of the game to start a frantic first five minutes
of the game. UW-Stevens Point�s Cory Flisakowski returned the ensuing
kickoff 66 yards to set up a 33-yard field goal by Ryan Mullaney.
On
the second play of Butler�s next possession, Jennings caught a short
pass from Travis Delph across the middle and again raced 77 yards to the
endzone for a 14-3 lead. However, on the second play of the Pointers�
next possession, Scott Krause hit Eric Heidenreiter for an 86-yard
touchdown pass to cut the lead to 14-9.
The
score stood until late in the third quarter when Jennings capped a
10-play, 55-yard drive with a three-yard touchdown run with 5:52 left.
However, again the Pointers rallied quickly as Krause found Heidenreiter
for an 82-yard score on their first play to trim the lead to 21-15.
Heidenreiter hadn�t caught a pass in his four-year career and made
another catch on the second-last play of the game to finish the day with
three catches for 186 yards.
Jennings
made another big play on the second play of Butler�s next possession,
catching a pass across the middle and breaking several tackles before
sprinting 72 yards for a touchdown. Delph later hit Robert Leonard with a
26-yard touchdown pass with five seconds left to boost Butler�s lead to
36-15.
The
Pointers scored two touchdowns, both on runs by Krause, to pull to within
36-29 in the first 3:36 of the second half. However, the Bulldogs added
another score on their next possession with a nine-play, 74-yard drive
that culminated in a pass from Delph to Scott Reddel.
UW-Stevens
Point still had a chance by driving to the Bulldogs� eight-yard line
with three minutes left on 15 consecutive passing plays, but Butler�s
Russ Mann picked off Krause to seal the game.
Krause
was 20-for-42 passing for a career-high 391 yards, while Delph was
20-for-30 passing for 419 yards for Butler. The 43 points were the most
allowed by the Pointers since a 49-20 loss to UW-River Falls in 2000 and
the second-most since 1993.
|
