Pointers Put Up Big Numbers Again in Victory
Box Score
Few Division III teams have been hotter than UW-Stevens Point in
recent weeks and the Pointers put an exclamation point on a red-hot finish
with a 49-15 thumping of UW-River Falls Saturday in Stevens Point.
The 13th-ranked Pointers scored touchdowns on seven of their first
eight possessions and built a 35-7 halftime lead while posting its most
points ever against UW-River Falls. UW-Stevens Point ended the regular
season with a five-game winning streak after opening the conference season
0-2. The Pointers clinched their ninth eight-win season in school history
with an 8-2 record and finished runner-up in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate
Athletic Conference.
UW-Stevens Point scored 164 points over the final three games of the
season, marking the most points the Pointers have ever scored in a
three-game span. It was the Pointers� biggest win over UW-River Falls
since a 48-6 win in 1967, excluding a 37-0 win in 1987 that was later
forfeited. UW-Stevens Point outgained the Falcons 567-274.
Quarterback Scott Krause had another huge day, completing 20 of 27
passes for five touchdowns, while also running for 97 yards and a touchdown.
The senior finished the regular season with 2,963 yards and a Division III
leading 37 touchdowns while completing a school record 66.1 percent of his
passes. Saturday�s effort was the fourth game this season Krause has
thrown for at least five touchdowns.
Krause again led a big day on third down as the Pointers converted
six of their first 10 third downs and converted three fourth downs after
their four failed third down plays. Krause was five-for-six for 165 yards on
third down and finished an incredible 24-for-27 for 504 yards on third down
plays over the past three games.
He also had 58 and 22-yard runs on third down plays and the 58-yarder
set up his own three-yard run to give the Pointers an early 7-0 lead. After
a fourth-down offside penalty kept a UW-River Falls possession alive, the
Falcons scored on a two-yard run by John Peterlik to tie the game at 7-7.
However, it took the Pointers just 1:28 to regain the lead as Cody
Childs scored the first of his four touchdowns on a two-yard pass that was
set up by a 51-yard pass play to Tony Romano on the previous play. Childs
added a one-yard run on the second play of the second quarter for a 21-7
lead.
Krause threw a 63-yard touchdown to Romano on a third-and-one play
with 5:29 left in the half and then hit Childs from six yards out with 13
seconds left before halftime.
The Pointers didn�t slow down in the second half as Krause passed
to Childs down the left sideline for a 69-yard touchdown on the third play
of the half. Krause later hit Adam Spoehr for a 22-yard touchdown as the
Pointers took a 49-7 lead with 4:36 left in the third quarter.
UW-River Falls� Owen Schmitt scored from 49 yards and a two-point
conversion cut the lead to 49-15 with 3:18 left in the third quarter, but
both teams milked the remainder of the clock as the fourth quarter took just
28 minutes and featured a total of 33 plays.
Childs became the 15th player in school history to score four
touchdowns in a game as the Pointers easily set a single-season school scoring record with
39.4 points per game this season. The freshman had eight catches for 103
yards and also rushed for 37 yards. Romano had three catches for 125 yards.
Schmitt led the Falcons with 150 yards rushing on 20 carries.
UW-River Falls attempted only four passes in the game and completed three
for 29 yards.
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