McDonald, Pearson have big days, Stout downs Point, 23-17

UW-Stout 23, UW-Stevens Point 17 | Photo Gallery One | Photo Gallery Two | Photo Gallery Three | Zaleski Sports Show | TV-13 | TV-18

MENOMONIE (October 21, 2017) -  Drew Pearson kicked three field goals, Levi Wolf returned an interception for a 28-yard TD and wide receiver Kevion McDonald caught six passes for 112 yards and rushed for 83 yards (on four carries) as UW-Stout (4-2, 2-2) defeated UW-Stevens Point (4-3, 1-3), 23-17, Saturday at Williams Stadium.
 
Following a 53-yard field goal by Pearson less than six minutes into the game, Stevens Point wide receiver, Steve Herra, crossed the goal line first with a 22-yard touchdown reception from Matt Urmanski. 

With Stevens Point leading 7-3 in the first quarter, Wolf stepped in front of a Matt Urmanski pass and returned it 28 yards to give Stout a lead they would not relinquish.

Pearson kicked two field goals of 30- and 41-yards in the second quarter to give the Blue Devils the lead going into halftime, 16-14. 

After halftime, the Blue Devils would not score until late in the third quarter. Brian Sandifer caught a six yard pass from Jay Alston on a seven play drive to make the score 23-14. 

Pointers kicker, Matt Taborn connected on a 30-yard field goal with 3:49 left in the game. 

After a five play drive by the Blue Devils, Stout had to give the ball back to the Pointers. Stout punted on their 35 yard line and Clark Reidel boomed a punt to pin down the Pointers on their 12 yard line for a net punt of 53 yards. 

A strong performance by the Blue Devils defense all game - the Blue Devils finished with eight sacks - Stout would prevail once again and the Pointers  turned the ball over on downs. 

The Blue Devils set up in victory formation to run out the clock and win the game.

Pearson had field goals of 53-, 30-, and 41-yards. The 53-yard field goal was one yard short of the school record of 54 set by Todd Miles more than 30 years ago.

Alston led the Blue Devils in the air with 198 yards and one touchdown. Alston also rushed for 19 yards.

Kevion McDonald led the rushing attack with 83 yards on only four carries. McDonald also had 112 yards receiving on six receptions. 

Stout rolled up 328 yards of total offense, with McDonald accounting for 195 yards from scrimmage, while the Pointers finished with 268 yards of offense.

Of the eight Blue Devil sacks, seven came against Pointer starter Urmanski, who was eventually replaced by Mitchell Neubauer, who was sacked once. Urmanski lost 50 yards on sacks. Urmanski completed 13-of-25 passes for 163 yards. Neubauer was 4-of-11 for 73 yards. Steve Herra caught eight passes for 109 yards and two touchdowns and Jerry Williams hauled in six passes for 104 yards.

Isaiah Hardy finished with 2.5 sacks and Iyen Ogbomoh recorded two sacks. Josh Johnson, Aaron Wisecup and Nick Schulenburg each had a sack and Brandon Vecchio combined with Hardy to notch a half-sack.

Defensive backs Wolf and Tony Blair led the Stout defense with eight tackles. Wolf's pick-six was the first of his career and his third interception of the season. Michael Pierson had one tackle, but recorded four pass break-ups.
 
Up next for the Blue Devils is the "War on I-94" against the Blugolds of UW-Eau Claire. The trophy has stayed in Menomonie the past two years and the Blue Devils hope to keep it in their trophy case for another year. The game is set to be played at 6 p.m. at Carson Park in Eau Claire.