Stevens Point 7, UW-Stout 6
STEVENS POINT (October 10, 2009) - In a game that was primarily a defensive battle, missed opportunities proved to be detrimental for the Blue Devils, who fell to Stevens Point, 7-6, Saturday at Goerke Field.
The game is the Fox Sports Network game of the week and will be broadcast on FSN-North and FSN-Wisconsin, Tuesday, Oct. 12 at 7 p.m.
Despite two missed field goals and no touchdowns from the offense, the Blue Devils (4-1, 1-1) had chances to win, but instead, suffered their first loss of the season.
The scoring began on the first drive of the game when
Kyle Martin (Sr, Hubertus) put a 25-yard field goal through the uprights. Special teams were the focal point of the drive as the longest play came when Martin drew a 15-yard roughing the punter call against Stevens Point on a fourth-and-14.
After a good ensuing return by the Pointers (3-2, 2-0) and a 17-yard strike on the first play, sophomore linebacker
Ryan Pearcy (Stevens Point) put an end to the drive by recovering a Jake Swank fumble to return the ball to Stout's offense.
Starting with the ball on their own 42, Stout drove to the Pointers' 14-yard line. The drive that featured a 24-yard
Patrick Mengelkoch (Jr, Champlin) reception on third down ended in a missed 31-yard field goal attempt.
After teams exchanged two punts apiece, Stevens Point took over deep in their own territory. On the first play of the drive, however,
Kendall Wade (Sr, Milwaukee) intercepted a deep Jared Beckwith pass, giving his offense very good field position.
Quarterback
Ross Carey (So, Little Suamico) kept the ensuing drive alive twice by converting with a run on a third-and-11, and an 18-yard pass to
Craig Warminski (So, Stanley) on a third-and-10. The drive then ended when Carey was sacked which caused a fumble that was picked up by Point.
On the following Stevens Point possession, Stout's defense stepped up in a big way. On the first play of the drive,
Marcus Ball (Sr, Austin, Minn.) forced a fumble, which resulted in a nine-yard loss. On the very next play, Ball forced another fumble, one that Stout picked up with 25 seconds remaining on the clock. After three incomplete passes from Carey, Martin successfully converted a 44-yard field goal as time expired, giving Stout a 6-0 halftime lead.
Early in the second half, with the ball in their own territory, the Blue Devils coughed up a fumble, giving Stevens Point their first drive starting on Stout's half of the field. The Pointers took advantage of the good field position, going 46 yards on seven plays, ending the go-ahead drive with a 24-yard touchdown reception by Jared Jenkins.
At the mid-way point of the fourth quarter, Stout put together a solid drive starting at their own 20. Warminski converted on a third-and-two early in the drive, and the Blue Devils took advantage of a pass interference call later in the drive on a third-and-11. The drive stalled on the Pointers' 31-yard line, and Martin's 48-yard field goal attempt came up short, leaving them one point behind with five minutes remaining.
The Blue Devils defense came up with a third-down stop on Point's final drive, but a successful fake punt on fourth down sealed the deal for Stevens Point, who was able to run the clock out for the win.
Stout won the turnover battle, 4-2, collected more first downs, more total yards, and won the time of possession by over 15 minutes.
Warminski led all players with 141 yards on the ground, in addition to 29 receiving yards on four receptions. On defense, Ball returned to last season's outstanding form, recording 3.5 tackles for a loss, two of which were sacks, to go along with two forced fumbles.
Stout will return home next weekend when they will face defending national runner-up UW-Whitewater at 3 p.m.
