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MENOMONIE - The UW-Stevens Point defense held UW-Stout to just 26 yards rushing and added a safety as the Pointers defeated the Blue Devils 19-9 in Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action Saturday at Williams Stadium in Menomonie.

In a game which saw both teams combine for 27 penalties totaling 254 yards, the Pointer defense shined through and the offense provided enough big plays to give UWSP its fifth consecutive win over UW-Stout.

The Pointer defense forced the Blue Devils to punt in each of their first five possessions, and only allowed Stout's offense to put points on the board one time in the contest.

The Pointers offense also struggled early in the game. They drove 54 yards in their opening possession, but came away empty when Ryan Graboski (Woodbury, Minn./Woodbury) (Wooodbury,MN) had a 35-yard field goal attempt sail wide-right.

UWSP finally opened the scoring early in the second quarter when Graboski nailed a 38-yard field goal to give the Pointers a 3-0 lead which they took into halftime.

The Pointer offense came out firing to start the second half. Quarterback Jared Beckwith (Baraboo/Baraboo) (Baraboo) hooked up with tight-end Brad Kalsow (Huntley, Ill./Huntley) (Huntley, Ill) on a 9-yard touchdown pass which capped off a six play, 70 yard drive, making the score 10-0 Point.

After both teams had drives stall, a Luke Frisch (Nekoosa/Nekoosa) (Nekoosa) punt pinned the Blue Devils at their own two yard line. The Pointers took advantage, recording a safety on an intentional grounding call that gave UWSP a12-0 lead.

The offense went right back to work on their next possession. Beckwith threw his second touchdown pass of the day when he hit Jared Jenkins (Milwaukee/Rufus King) (Milwaukee) for a 16 yard touchdown, extending the Pointer lead to 19-0.

The Blue Devils finally got on the board early in the fourth quarter when they recorded a safety of their own on a blocked Frisch punt that went out the back of the endzone.

Stout started the ensuing drive on the Point 38 yard line, when Kyle Provos hooked-up with Eric Cieslak for a long touchdown on the first play of the drive, cutting the Pointer lead to 10, 19-9, with 12:02 remaining in the game.

The Pointers punted on their next possession, giving the Blue Devils a chance to make it a one score game. But Stout's hopes were extinguished when Tyler Florczak (Chetek/Chetek) (Chetek) picked off a pass from Provos. The Pointers ran out the clock from there, sealing the 19-9 win.

Beckwith finished the day 25-for-36 for 244 yards and two touchdowns. Jenkins caught a game-high 10 passes for 82 yards and touchdown. Kalsow also had a big day, finishing with nine catches for 110 yards and a touchdown. Mike Ferron (Racine/Horlick) (Racine) was the leading rusher for the Pointers, finishing with 51 yards on 16 carries, including a 44 yard scamper.

Defensively for the Pointers, Florczak had a team high six solo tackles to go along with his interception and Brad Vickroy (Wisconsin Rapids/Lincoln) (Wisconsin Rapids) finished with three tackles for loss. Charlie Dercks (Little Chute/Little Chute) (Little Chute) and Brandon Stremkowski (Stevens Point/SPASH) (Stevens Point) each recorded a sack in the victory.

For Stout, Provos was 19-for-41 for 181 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Patrick Mengelkoch caught a team high four passes for 38 yards, and Craig Warminski led the way on the ground finishing with 29 yards on six carries.

Jake Poputis led the Blue Devils defense with 10 tackles, eight of which were solo. Andy Towner recorded four tackles for loss in the defeat.

In their next game, UWSP (5-1, 2-1) will travel to Whitewater to take on the defending NCAA Division III National Champion UW-Whitewater Warhawks on Saturday, Oct. 25 at 1:00 p.m.