UW-Stout 16, UW-River Falls 10
MENOMONIE, Wis. (October 29, 2011) - #
Eric Brown# (Jr, St. Paul, Minn.) scored two touchdowns for the Blue Devils, helping them keep UW-River Falls winless on the season, in a 16-10 victory, Saturday afternoon at Ramer Field.
On the game's opening drive, Stout (5-3, 3-2 WIAC) methodically drove down the field against the Falcons (0-8, 0-5) defense that had been letting up a WIAC-worst 37 points per game. Quarterback #
Ross Carey# (Sr, Little Suamico) was six of six on the opening drive, with five of the six passes going for 10 yards or more. Stout only faced one third down, which they picked up 12 yards on when they only needed three. Brown did the rest, rushing three times for 11 yards, including the game's first touchdown, a 10-yard scamper up the middle.
On River's ensuing possession, their offense, that also ranks last in the conference, did not exactly answer Stout's call. After plays of one and three yards, facing a third and six, #
Jason Brenner# (Sr, Menomonie) forced a fumble that was recovered by Stout, giving them a fresh set of downs starting at midfield.
Stout's next drive was again pass-happy, with Carey dropping back to throw on nine of the 12 plays. An 11-yard screen pass from Carey to Brown set up a first and goal from the River Falls 10 yard line, but two incomplete passes and a sack later, #
Ricky Marteney# (So, Greenfield) came on to put Stout up, 10-0, just 11 minutes into the game.
In the first quarter alone, Carey was 10-for-14 for 112 yards, throwing for more yards than he did in all of last week's game. A scoreless second quarter left the Blue Devils' lead at 10 points going into the locker room. Neither team really threatened in the quarter. River Falls dominated the clock, as they held the ball for nearly 10 of the 15 minutes, but only outgained Stout, 92-75 in total yards.
The Falcons came out hot in the second half, opening the drive with a 32-yard run by Taylor Edwards, followed by another Edwards run that went for 17, setting up a first and goal from Stout's nine after just two plays. However, a defensive stand left River Falls scoreless when Chad Blair missed a 28-yard field goal attempt. Blair found redemption, however, near the end of the quarter, as he got his team on the board for the first time, booting through a 40-yard field goal to cap off a drive that started at the 50 yard line.
Within the first minute of the fourth quarter, Stout extended their lead to 13 when Brown scored his second touchdown of the afternoon, this time from 11 yards out. The drive lasted three minutes and covered 71 yards, keyed by two early 19-yard pass plays, one caught by #
Matt Small# (Fr, Atwater, Calif.), with #
Austin Schwartz# (Jr, Waconia, Minn.) reeling in the other.
#
David Lindell# (So, New Richland, Minn.) picked off RF quarterback B.J. Letourneau on just the third play of their next drive. Taking over at the Falcons' 30 yard line, Stout used nine plays to drive a net of just 10 yards due to a 15-yard illegal block penalty. Marteney set up for the 38-yard attempt, but had it blocked, the second straight blocked kick, going back to his last extra point attempt.
The Falcons, trailing by 13, had to put together a drive to stay in the game and they did just that. River Falls drove 87 yards on 15 plays, scoring their only touchdown of the game on a 5 yard pass caught by Charles Dixon. Stout relinquised possession of the ball on their next drive, but the defense saved the game, as they came up with a stop with 1:25 left on the clock, allowing them to kneel for the victory.
Carey finished the game 26-for-43 for 256 yards. He spread the ball around to eight different receivers, hitting #
Josh Peterson# (Jr, Cedar Grove) most often, as the two connected seven times for 47 yards. Letourneau was also exactly 26-for-43, but threw for one touchdown and one interception. John Wahlstrom caught nine passes for 101 yards. Edwards rushed 23 times for the Falcons, gaining 135 yards on the ground.
Stout will return home this Saturday, Nov. 5, when they host UW-Platteville in their final home game of the season.
