Pointers Drop Conference Opener at UW-La Crosse
Box Score
UW-Stevens Point has been used to making fourth
quarter comebacks in recent seasons, but this time it was UW-La Crosse that
battled from behind to pull out a 24-21 victory in a matchup of top 10
nationally ranked squads at Veterans Memorial Stadium in La Crosse.
The Pointers jumped out to a 14-0 lead and led
again 21-17 in the fourth quarter before the Eagles scored on a 35-yard
touchdown pass from Steve Tennies to Jason Kettenhofen with 4:17 left and
then stopped a Pointer drive in the final minutes for the victory. UW-La
Crosse was ranked third in the latest NCAA Division III poll by
D3football.com, while UW-Stevens Point was ranked eighth.
The game was a tale of two halves as UW-Stevens
Point controlled the first half and UW-La Crosse took over in the second
half. The Pointers marched 70 yards in 10 plays to the Eagles� 10-yard line
in the first quarter when an interception by Jacob Burch halted the drive.
UW-Stevens Point had another big drive in the second quarter, gaining 84
yards in 16 plays and seven minutes capped by a nine-yard touchdown pass
from Scott Krause to Ross Adamczak.
LaRon Ragsdale picked off an Eagles� pass on the
next play and Cory Flisakowski finished off a three-play drive with a
nine-yard run to give the Pointers a 14-0 lead with 1:59 left in the half.
UW-La Crosse had no timeouts left in the first
half, but received a 55-yard kickoff return by Matt Pagel to set up a
nine-play drive in the final minute that culminated in an eight-yard pass
from Tennies to Scott Burnoski with eight seconds left in the half to cut
the lead to 14-7.
The Eagles took the second half kickoff and drove
63 yards in seven plays to tie the game on a three-yard run by Matt Pagel.
UW-La Crosse controlled the ball for 11:30 of the third quarter and took the
lead on a 35-yard field goal by Jedediah Jensen with 13:38 left in the game.
UW-Stevens Point�s Eric Reible returned the
ensuing kickoff 47 yards to the Eagles� 45-yard line to set up a go-ahead
drive as Krause found Flisakowski for a six-yard touchdown on a
third-and-goal play with 9:19 remaining.
Pagel had a 51-yard kickoff return for the Eagles,
but the UW-Stevens Point defense forced a three-and-out. The Pointers also
were stopped on their next drive and the Eagles took advantage of a 15-yard
punt off a bad snap to start their game-winning drive at the Pointers�
40-yard line. Tennies hit Kettenhofen cutting across the middle of the field
for the winning score on a third-and-five play.
UW-Stevens Point drove to the UW-La Crosse 47-yard
line with two minutes left, but Khary Jeffers recorded a nine-yard sack and
Krause threw three straight incompletions to turn the ball over to the
Eagles, who ran out the clock for the win.
UW-La Crosse outgained the Pointers 365-319,
including 204-106 in the second half. Krause was 25-for-46 passing for 239
yards, while Tennies completed 16 of 31 passes for 193 yards. Andrew Mocadlo
rushed for 141 yards on 24 carries for the Eagles and Flisakowski gained 63
yards on 18 carries. |
