Box Score: UW-Eau Claire 17, UW-Stout 6
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MENOMONIE - UW-Eau Claire scored twice in the third quarter to break open a close game and went on to a 17-6 win over UW-Stout, Saturday at Don & Nona Williams Stadium.
Clinging to a 3-0 at halftime after stopping Stout from the Eau Claire 1 yard line just before halftime, the Blugolds' (6-4, 4-3) Craig Prolifka took the second half kickoff 50 yards to the Stout 44, then ran the ball right at Stout.
Cory Sartorelli set himself up for the score with a second down 41 yard run down to the Stout 3, and two plays later, Sartorelli carried the ball into the end zone.
Stout (5-5, 3-4) could not sustain a drive of any major consequence in the second half after the Blugolds put another score on the board on their next series, using 10 plays to go 43 yards in a drive that was completed when quarterback Kyle Paulson connected with David Goodman for an eight-yard scoring pass play at the 6:47 mark of the period.
Stout drove as far as the Eau Claire 25 early in the fourth period, but lost the ball on downs. Stout's only score came late in the game after Scott Riha (Sr, Green Bay) recovered a Blugold fumble on the Eau Claire 37.
Stout quarterback Kyle Provos (Jr, Brooklyn Center, Minn) hit John Sherman (Jr, Cokato, Minn) for a five yard pickup, then found Antawan Walker (Jr, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla) on a 32-yard touchdown pass play with 22 seconds left in the game. But the extra point attempt was problematic of the the Blue Devils' day. The snap was bad and Provos, the holder, was forced to attempt a two-point conversion pass, which fell to the turf.
Special teams did not have a standout day for Stout. In the second quarter, the Blugolds blocked a Stout punt, recovered it at the Stout 11 and turned that into a 26-yard Craig Kolb field goal.
Stout defense gave the offense a chance later in the period after Jake Pomputis (Sr, Owen) intercepted a pass in the end zone. Stout then drove to the Eau Claire, where the Blugolds held.
Craig Warminski (Fr, Stanley) had 86 yards rushing for the Blue Devils, while Sartorelli netted 86 yards on the ground for Eau Claire. Stout's Provos completed 13-of-29 passes for 125 yards, while Eau Claire's Paulson connected on 13-of-21 passes for 145 yards. Stout finsihed the day with 255 yards and Eau Claire rushed for 248 yards.
