CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – Freshman Christian Almonte (Menomonee Falls, WI/Menomonee Falls) ran for three touchdowns as the UW-Stevens Point football team outscored host Coe 20-0 in the second half of a 37-21 victory on Saturday afternoon at Clark Field.
 
Box Score
 
Almonte ran for the three scores and 113 yards on just five carries for UW-Stevens Point (2-0). Coe (1-2) led 21-17 at the break after scoring three second-quarter touchdowns but the Pointers defense held the Kohawks scoreless after the break.
 
UW-Stevens Point is 2-0 for the second year in a row. Prior to 2013, the Pointers had not been 2-0 since they opened 3-0 in 2008. The last time UW-Stevens Point scored at least 35 points in back-to-back games was the final two games of the 2010 season.
 
UW-Stevens Point took the lead on its first possession of the third quarter when Kyle Larson (Clayton, WI/Clayton) hit Matt Sosinsky (Princeton, WI/Princeton) deep over the middle for an 80-yard touchdown on the Pointers' first play of the half. Sosinsky recorded the second 100-yard performance in as many games this season by hauling in five passes for 127 yards.
 
After scoring on a 14-yard run to give the Pointers a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter, Almonte also accounted for the final two UWSP touchdowns. The freshman scored on a 29-yard run with 3:35 remaining in the third quarter before outrunning the Coe defense on a 58-yard score early in the fourth quarter.
 
A Jake Menzel (Oostburg, WI/Oostburg) 10-yard run opened the scoring at 6:35 of the first quarter but the Kohawks responded with a trio of second-quarter scores of their own. Josh Rekers connected with Colin Ferring and Nicholas Lenstra for scores of four and 28 yards, leaving the score tied at 14 at the 10:01 mark of the second quarter.
 
The Kohawks went ahead 21-14 on a two-yard run by Sam Lahr two and a half minutes later but Jesse Vervelde (Oostburg, WI/Oostburg) drilled a 47-yard field goal, the longest of his career, to bring the Pointers within 21-17 at halftime.
 
Rekers finished 22-of-38 for 273 yards and two scores and one interception. Lahr ran for an even 100 yards on 21 carries.
 
Menzel carried 21 times for 75 yards and a score for UW-Stevens Point. Larson completed 16-of-28 passes for 240 yards and one touchdown and no interceptions.
 
John Kontowicz (Menomonee Falls, WI/Menomonee Falls) led the UW-Stevens Point defense with a career-high 12 tackles, including a sack. Zach Vallafskey (Hortonville, WI/Hortonville) also made 12 stops for the Pointers, while Deion Jones (Racine, WI/Horlick) recorded the first interception of his collegiate career.
 
UW-Stevens Point outgained Coe 422-384 in the game thanks to a 182-92 advantage on the ground. The Pointers averaged 5.9 yards per rush and held the Kohawks to 2.4 yards a rush.
 
UW-Stevens Point hosts No. 5 North Central (Ill.) on Saturday, Sept. 27 at 2 p.m. The game is both Homecoming and the team's annual Pink Game.