The greatest turnaround season in UW-Stevens Point football history came to an end in heartbreaking fashion Saturday as the Pointers lost to St. John's 9-7 on a muddy, cold afternoon in Collegeville, Minn. in the second round of the NCAA Division III playoffs.
     
The Pointers ended their season with an 8-3 record after finishing just 2-8 the previous year. It was the second time in three years that UW-Stevens Point's season came to an end in Collegeville, having also lost to the Johnnies 23-10 in 1999.
     
Just like that game, when the Pointers had two long drives stopped by interception returns for touchdowns, UW-Stevens Point struggled inside the "red zone" against the Johnnies. Unlike that game, however, the Pointers held the lead late in the game before Johnnies' kicker Brandon Keller hit a 25-yard field goal with 1:01 left for the victory.
     
"This was a great college football game," Pointers' coach John Miech said. "This is the type of game you expect when two great teams get together."
     
The Pointers were inside the St. John's 20-yard line three times in the first half, but failed to score each time. Ricardo Vega (Palm Desert, CA/Pinoce Valley) missed a 32-yard field goal, Johnnies' defensive back Jason Pfilpsen intercepted a pass and the Pointers mishandled a snap on a field goal attempt on the final play of the half to keep the game 0-0 at halftime.
     
St. John's only had 47 total yards in the first three quarters due to the sloppy conditions and a stingy Pointer defense. The Johnnies' only offensive scoring threats came when Pflipsen returned the interception to the Pointers' 21-yard line and a penalty put the ball at the 11. However, Keller missed a 23-yard field goal to keep the game scoreless.
     
After a UW-Stevens Point punt, the Johnnies were in good field position again, but Pointer defensive back Ryan Bentley (Waunakee, WI/Waunakee) intercepted a fourth down pass to end the threat.
     
The Johnnies scored the first points of the game in the third quarter on an 89-yard punt return by Blake Elliott. The junior broke two tackles at his team's own 10-yard line and then worked his way through the soggy left side of the field for the longest punt return in NCAA Division III playoff history. Keller missed the extra point to keep the game 6-0.
     
UW-Stevens Point took the lead on its first possession of the fourth quarter with a five-play, 49-yard drive that culminated in a nine-yard touchdown run by Lance Gast (Weston, WI/Schofield D.C. Everest) (pictured). Ricardo Vega's (Palm Desert, CA/Pinoce Valley) extra point gave the Pointers a 7-6 lead.
     
St. John's finally had success against the Pointer defense in the fourth quarter, totaling 97 of its 144 total yards during the quarter. UW-Stevens Point stopped the Johnnies on downs on their first possession of the quarter, but St. John's converted three third downs and used a 14-play, 61-yard drive for the game-winning field goal.
     
The Pointers seemingly stopped the Johnnies on third down from the seven-yard line late in the drive, but a pass interference penalty in the end zone gave the Johnnies a first down at the two-yard line with just over two minutes left. A false start penalty pushed the ball back to the seven-yard line and a rushing play lost two yards. Then Matt Raduechel (Wausau, WI/East) had his first sack of the season and one of six Pointer sacks for the day to set up a third-and-goal from the 25-yard line.
     
St. John's quarterback Ryan Keating scrambled out of the pocket and found running back Josh Nelson for 18 yards down to the seven-yard line, setting up Keller's heroics.
     
The Pointers had no timeouts left and Pflipsen picked off a pass on the final drive to preserve the victory. The Johnnies will host Pacific Lutheran (Wash.) in the third round on Sat., Dec. 1.