Box Score

STEVENS POINT – The UW-Stevens Point football team had two turnovers that led directly to touchdowns in the second half as the Pointers fell to No. 25 UW-Eau Claire 28-7 today on Senior Day at Goerke Field.

The loss drops the Pointers to 6-3 overall and 3-3 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC). The Blugolds improve to 7-2 and 4-2 in the WIAC.

The game started out a little sloppy as there were fumbles on the first three possessions. The Blugolds fumbled at midfield when Dustin Robinson (Florence/Florence) forced the ball loose and Lincoln Berg (Edgar/Edgar) recovered. Then the Pointers fumbled and the Blugolds returned the ball to the Pointers 13 yard line. However, then the Blugolds fumbled the ball back to the Pointers at the three yard line.

The Blugolds however would still strike first in the opening quarter as Mitch Schaeuble connected with Tony Hull for a 20-yard touchdown pass with 1:59 remaining in the quarter.

Then late in the second quarter, the Blugolds kicked a field goal to make the score 10-0, however Stevens Point was called for a personal foul to keep the drive going. On the next play, Matt Olson ran it in from three yards out to give the Blugolds a 14-0 lead at the half.

The Blugolds outgained the Pointers 237-119 in the first half. The Pointers were 0-for-5 on third downs, while the Blugolds were 4-for-8.

After Kasey Morgan (Iola/Iola-Scandinavia) intercepted Eau Claire on the Blugolds first possession of the second half, the Pointers took the ball down the field and cut the Eau Claire lead to a touchdown when Jake Swank (Oregon/Oregon) connected with Jared Jenkins (Milwaukee/Rufus King) on a seven-yard touchdown pass.

 
Then after Stevens Point held Eau Claire to a three-and-out, the Pointers were forced to punt after just three offensive of plays. The Blugolds' Nate Jahn would get a paw on the punt and Tom Dohr took 32 yards for a touchdown to give the Blugolds a 21-7 advantage. The last time the Pointers had a punt blocked for a score was against the Blugolds in October of 2003.

Then on the next Pointer possession, Kyle Meulemans picked off the Pointers and took it the other way for a 35-yard touchdown return to give Eau Claire a 28-7 lead. Eau Claire was also the last team to take an interception back for a touchdown against the Pointers in 2005. That is how the score ended up as the Pointers dropped their third consecutive game.

The Pointers outgained the Blugolds 315-287 in the contest, but turned the ball over five times. The bright spot for the Pointers was Jack Marx (Scandinavia/Iola-Scandinavia), who rushed for a career-high 133 yards on 27 carries. Jared Jenkins (Milwaukee/Rufus King) led the Pointers with five catches for 52 yards and one touchdown. Dustin Robinson (Florence/Florence) had 14 tackles to lead the Stevens Point defense.

The Pointers will travel to face UW-La Crosse in the regular season finale next Saturday. The kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.