Box Score Box Score
WHITEWATER -
Jared Jenkins (Milwaukee/Rufus King) (Milwaukee) hauled in a 10-yard pass from
Jared Beckwith (Baraboo/Baraboo) (Baraboo) and then caught the two-point conversion attempt, again from Beckwith, with :15 remaining as the Pointers upset No. 2 ranked UW-Whitewater on Homecoming in Perkins Stadium, 17-16.
The win by the Pointers snaps a 25-game conference winning streak and a 29-game home winning streak for Whitewater, dating back to Nov. 13, 2004.
Whitewater scored first, off a 33-yard touchdown reception by Aaron Rusch but UWSP senior
Bryan Blum (Baraboo/Baraboo) (Baraboo) got a hand on the extra point, keeping the Warhawk advantage to 6-0 with 13:02 left in the opening quarter.
Stevens Point answered when
Ryan Graboski (Woodbury, Minn./Woodbury) (Woodbury, MN) capped a 10 play, 56-yard drive with a 20-yard field goal, getting the Pointers on the board and cutting the deficit to three, 6-3.
On the ensuing kickoff, UWSP's
Brandon Bruger (Spencer/Spencer) (Spencer) forced a fumble and recovered it at the Whitewater 31-yard line. After a Whitewater pass interference penalty, the Pointers had first-and-goal at the UWW 2-yard line.
Mike Ferron (Racine/Horlick) (Racine) got the call three times but was unable to punch it in, setting up a fourth-and-goal at the 1-yard line.
The Pointers decided to go for it, but Beckwith was stopped short on a sneak which gave the ball back to the Warhawks. Whitewater couldn't get anything going on offense and punted back to the Pointers who started the ensuing drive at the UWW 26-yard line. The Pointers capitalized on the great field position as Graboski nailed a 43-yard field goal to tie the game 6-6 at the end of the first quarter.
The teams traded punts to open the second quarter, but the Pointers seized momentum when
Luke Frisch (Nekoosa/Nekoosa) (Nekoosa) intercepted a Jeff Donovan pass in the endzone. But Beckwith was also intercepted on the following possession which gave Whitewater the ball back at the at the Point 49-yard line.
The Warhawks took advantage of the turnover when Levell Coppage broke off a 35-yard touchdown run to give Whitewater a 13-6 advantage which they took into halftime.
The third quarter was a defensive struggle, as neither team could muster up any offense. Whitewater threatened when they drove down to the Pointer 30-yard, but came away empty-handed when Jeff Schebler's field goal sailed wide left.
The Pointers went three-and-out on the following possession, giving the Warhawks the ball back at their own 33 yard-line. The Warhawks were looking to strike again, but the Pointers made another big play when Frisch forced a fumble which was recovered by Blum at the UWW 41.
The Pointers drove down to the UWW 22-yard line where they were faced with another tough fourth down decision. They elected to go for it, but Beckwith's pass intended for
David Hammer (Ashwaubenon/Ashwaubenon) (Ashwaubenon) was incomplete. That gave Whitewater the ball with score remaining 13-6 in favor of the Warhawks.
After a short drive, the Pointers drove the ball down to the UWW 5-yard line. The drive stalled out, and the Pointers settled for another Graboski field goal to make the score 13-9.
On the ensuing possession, the Warhawks took advantage of three Stevens Point penalties setting up a first-and-goal at the Pointer 7-yard line. The Pointer defense held tight, forcing Whitewater to settle for a field goal which gave the Warhawks a 16-9 lead with just 4:49 remaining in the game.
Each team traded punts after Whitewater score, and Point got the ball back at their own 16-yard line needing to score a touchdown with just 1:33 remaining on the clock. That's when things got exciting at Perkins Stadium.
After an incompletion, Beckwith hit Jenkins on a 12-yard pass. Then after a couple of incompletions and a Whitewater offside penalty, Beckwith hit Jenkins again on a 19-yard pass for another Point first down.
On the next series, Beckwith scrambled for ten yards to give the Pointers a first down at the UWW 38. Beckwith then went back to the well, hitting Jenkins for two 14-yard completions to give the Pointers a first-and-goal at the UWW 10-yard line with :20 remaining.
The Pointers capped off a 15 play, 79 yard drive against one of the nation's top defenses when Beckwith found Jenkins again on a 10-yard pass for a Pointer touchdown to make the score 16-15.
The Pointers decided to go for the win by attempting a two-point conversion. After a couple of timeouts, Beckwith once again found Jenkins for the conversion to give the Pointers a 17-16 lead with just :15 showing on the clock.
Whitewater started their next drive at their own 20-yard line, needing to score at least a field goal to win. After a couple of completions to get the ball to the 35-yard line, Donovan's pass intended for Jordan Wells fell incomplete to give the Pointers the 17-16 victory.
The victory moves the Pointers (6-1, 3-1) to within a half game of the leading Warhawks. With the loss, Whitewater (6-1, 4-1) remains in first place but loses control of the tiebreaker to the Pointers in case of a first place tie.
In their next match-up, the Pointers will host UW-Oshkosh at Goerke Field Saturday at 1 p.m.