STEVENS POINT, Wis. – The UW-Stevens Point football team (1-0) had to wait out a 93-minute weather delay and it took two overtimes, but the Pointers pulled out a 34-33 win over St. Norbert (0-1) in the season opener at Goerke Park on Saturday.
 
Senior defensive lineman Tanner Beaman (Phelps, Wis./Northland Pines) penetrated the line and blocked the SNC extra-point attempt in the second overtime.  One play later, senior quarterback Ryan Swigart (Winnebago, Ill./Winnebago) connected on his fifth touchdown pass of the game to tie it up.  Freshman kicker Hayden Neidert (Waupaca, Wis./Waupaca) drilled the extra point to seal the win.
 


Swigart completed 23 of his 32 pass attempts for 374 yards and five touchdowns.  His chief target was senior Jerry Williams (Milwaukee, Wis./Watertown), who became the 19th player in school history with more than 200 yards receiving in a game.  Williams caught nine passes for 201 yards and a touchdown.
 
Senior Nick Schroeder (Manitowoc, Wis./Lincoln) and junior Steve Herra (Rockford, Ill./Boylan) each caught a touchdown pass.  Sophomore Jonte Webb (Marinette, Wis./Marinette) hauled in a pair of touchdowns through the air.
 
Beaman led the Pointers' defense with 10 tackles on the day.  Fellow senior Blake Lehman (Edgar, Wis./Edgar) added nine tackles.  Sophomore Logan Strang (Elburn, Ill./Kaneland) registered the lone UWSP sack in the game.
 
The Pointers fell behind early as the Green Knights took a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter.  UWSP began a drive and moved into SNC territory as the quarter ended.  Swigart completed three passes of 10 yard or longer and it looked like the Pointers were about to tie the game.  With first and goal at the four, UWSP turned to the ground game and were unsuccessful in four attempts turning the ball over on downs at the one.
 
The Green Knights drove the length of the field on the ensuing possession and pushed the visitor's advantage to 14-0.
 
Swigart completed four-of-five passes on the next UWSP possession including a 15-yard toss to Herra to get the Pointers on the board.  The key play in the series was a 51-yard pass to Williams, his first of two 51-yard completions to Williams on the day.
 
On the first possession of the second half, the Pointers drove 88 yards for a touchdown.  Williams had three catches on the drive including a six-yard touchdown completion.  The extra point was blocked to put the Pointers behind 17-13.
 
UWSP held the Green Knights to a field goal on the next possession to hold the deficit at one score heading to the fourth quarter.
 
On the first possession of the final quarter, Swigart completed all four pass attempts, including a 32-yard pass to Williams on fourth down, and UWSP tied the game at 20-20.
 
That's where the game remained at the end of regulation.  In the first overtime, Swigart connected with Schroeder for a 25-yard touchdown on the first play.  SNC answered to send the game to a second overtime.
 
The Green Knights took four plays to retake the lead in the second overtime.  Beaman broke through to block the extra point and hold the deficit at six.  On the next play, Swigart hit Webb from 25 yards to tie the game.  Neidert calmly split the uprights with the point-after attempt to secure the win.
 
The Pointers travel to Albion, Mich., next Saturday to take on the Britons at 6:00 p.m. ET.  Last season, UWSP scored a season-high 50 points in a 50-13 Spud Bowl victory.