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Pointers Lock Up
Third Place With Fourth Straight Win
Box Score
With their collective fingernails likely worn down
to the end, the UW-Stevens Point football team posted another
down-to-the-wire finish to complete the season with four straight victories
in a 20-19 win over UW-Stout on Saturday in Menomonie.
The Pointers ended the year 6-4 overall, suffering
three of their four losses to teams ranked in the top 10 of the NCAA
Division III. UW-Stevens Point, which won its last four games by a combined
total of 10 points, finished alone in third place with a 4-3
record in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
The Pointers, who led 20-10 at halftime, used six
turnovers and a defensive stop in the final minute to earn the victory.
Leading 20-17 with less than five minutes left, UW-Stout drove into
Pointers� territory, but UW-Stevens Point�s Kasey Morgan intercepted a pass
to end the drive.
UW-Stevens Point then forced the Blue Devils to
call their remaining timeouts and was backed up to its own one-yard line
with 1:51 left. The Pointers opted to take an intentional safety and
UW-Stout�s Shawn Korth returned the free kick 23 yards to the Pointers�
42-yard line with 1:44 left.
After an incomplete pass, the Blue Devils
completed a pass for seven yards, but then threw two straight incompletions
to end the game.
The teams traded first quarter field goals before
UW-Stout went ahead 10-3 on a seven-yard run by quarterback Tanner Kattre
with 10 seconds left in the period.
UW-Stevens Point�s Lincoln Berg recovered a second
quarter fumble and, three plays later, Cody Childs rushed 20 yards for a
touchdown to tie the game. The Pointers took the lead later in the quarter
as Brett Hirsch returned a fumble 29 yards for a touchdown. Ryan Graboski
kicked a 36-yard field goal with 15 seconds left in the half for a 20-10
halftime lead.
UW-Stout held the Pointers to a total of 71 yards
in the second half and climbed to within 20-17 on a five-yard touchdown run
by Ryan Englebert midway through the third quarter.
The Blue Devils finished with 424 total yards, but
had two more fumbles, finishing the game with five fumbles and an
interception. UW-Stevens Point had 294 total yards and did not turn the ball
over.
Cody Childs rushed 17 times for 95 yards and
finished six yards short of fourth place on the school�s all-time rushing
list with 1,929 yards. His 906 yards this season was the third-highest
single-season total in school history. He also had three catches to finish
with 193 receptions for his career, ranking fourth in Pointers� history.
Jacob Dickert caught nine passes for 83 yards and
Brett Borchart was 17-for-35 passing for 132 yards for the Pointers before
leaving with a fourth quarter injury. Englebert rushed for 87 yards on 19
carries and Kattre totaled 77 yards rushing and 212 yards passing. |
