STEVENS POINT, Wis. – For the second time this season, the UW-Stevens Point football team travels to Michigan as the Pointers head to Hancock to take on Finlandia University on Saturday, Sept. 26 at 4 p.m. Eastern.

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LAST TIME OUT
UW-Stevens Point is coming off its first win of the season, a 34-31 victory over Coe in the team's Pink Game and Spud Bowl on Saturday, Sept. 19. The Kohawks cut a 31-10 deficit to three and had the ball with 32 seconds remaining but Blake Lehman (Edgar, WI/Edgar) forced a fumble and Mike Longmeyer (Manitowoc, WI/Lincoln) recovered at the UW-Stevens Point 44-yard line to seal the win.

The last-minute fumble was the third turnover the Pointers' defense forced in the game, which helped UW-Stevens Point overcome being outgained 506-407 in the game. Longmeyer added an interception on his own three-yard line in the fourth quarter and AJ Harris (St. Petersburg, FL/St. Petersburg) had an interception at the UWSP 22-yard line in the second quarter.

ABOUT UW-STEVENS POINT | Home | Roster | Schedule | Stats
With the win, UW-Stevens Point is 11-6 in its last 17 non-conference games, dating back to the start of the 2010 season. The Pointers are 7-4 against non-conference opposition under Tom Journell.

UW-Stevens Point is an even 24-24 on the road in the last 10 seasons.

Logan Taylor (Wausau, WI/Wausau East) and Matt Sosinsky (Princeton, WI/Princeton) are tied atop the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) leaderboard in receptions per game (7.0) and are tied for the lead in touchdowns (3). Sosinsky is leading all qualifiers in yards per reception (18.4) and Taylor's three touchdowns match his career total entering this season.

The Pointers also boast the top-two kick returners in the WIAC in Christian Almonte (Menomonee Falls, WI/Menomonee Falls) and Jerry Williams (Milwaukee, WI/Watertown). Almonte leads the way with an average of 27.7 yards a return, followed closely by Williams at 26.2. Almonte did not return a kick last week but had a long of 41 yards in the opener, while Williams busted a 54-yard return against Coe.

Jesse Vervelde (Oostburg, WI/Oostburg) leads all WIAC players with 20 points this season. The senior kicker has connected on 3-of-4 field goals and all 11 of his extra points. Vervelde's 170 career points are third all-time at UWSP and leave him 13 points behind Ryan Graboski and 16 behind Dave Schneider's all-time record of 186. The senior's 26 made field goals are tied for fifth among active NCAA Division-III kickers.

Junior linebacker John Kontowicz (Menomonee Falls, WI/Menomonee Falls) sits fourth in the WIAC in tackles per game (9.5). Aaron Karlen (Edgar, WI/Edgar), a Second Team D3football.com Preseason All-American, ranks sixth in the conference with 1.5 sacks.

UW-Stevens Point is one of 22 Division-III teams to have scored on each of its' red zone opportunities this season. The Pointers are one of five offenses to have at least 10 red zone attempts and have scored on each drive. UWSP has nine touchdowns and two field goals on 11 drives inside the 20.

ABOUT FINLANDIA | Home | Roster | Schedule | Stats
In its first year of football, Finlandia is 0-3 so far this season. The Lions hosted their first-ever football game on Sept. 5, falling 43-0 to Alma. Finlandia then took to the road to face nationally-ranked WIAC teams UW-Oshkosh (L, 86-0) and UW-Whitewater (L, 66-3).

Gabe Swanson's 20-yard field goal with eight seconds remaining in the first half against No. 1 UW-Whitewater accounted for the first points in Finlandia program history.

Finlandia has possessed the ball longer than each of its three opponents this season but has been outgained 1,546-337 and outscored 195-3.

Quarterback Ronald Brown has thrown for 231 yards and running back Jaavaid Love leads the Lions with 82 rushing yards this season. Jordan LaPlant and Trevor Burke have been Brown's favorite targets, as LaPlant leads Finlandia with 72 receiving yards on seven catches and Burke leads the way with nine receptions for 64 yards.

Mitch Messing is Finlandia's leading tackler with 27 tackles, followed closely by Justin Patterson with 26, including 20 solo stops. Jalyn Wade has a sack and the Lions' first-ever interception to his credit.

THE COACHES
Tom Journell is in his fourth season as the head coach at UW-Stevens Point and has a 15-17 career record at UWSP. His teams have steadily improved from 2-8 in 2012 to 5-5 in 2013 and 7-3 last season. In 2014, he led the Pointers to a 5-0 start that saw the team ranked No. 13 in the country, the team's highest ranking since early 2009. Prior to becoming the Pointers' head coach, Journell was the team's defensive coordinator for four seasons, helping UWSP to a 19-9 record. He was the head coach at Elmhurst from 2004-07 and compiled a record of 22-18 over the four seasons. Journell also spent 15 seasons at UW-River Falls as the Falcons' defensive coordinator and assistant head coach.

Tim Driscoll is the first head football coach for Finlandia University and came to Finlandia after serving as Michigan Tech's defensive coordinator. During his tenure at Michigan Tech, Driscoll's defenses allowed just 22.9 points per game, compared to an average of 32.7 the three years prior to his arrival. Prior to Michigan Tech, he spent time as the defensive coordinator at Minnesota Crookston and Northern Michigan.

UWSP-FINLANDIA SERIES NOTES
This is the first-ever meeting between UW-Stevens Point and Finlandia, as this is the first year of the Lions' program.

The Pointers are 8-8-2 all-time against teams from Michigan. The meeting with Finlandia will be the 10th game UWSP has played in the state of Michigan and the Pointers are 2-6-1 in the previous nine.

GROUND GAME GETS GOING
UW-Stevens Point's 248 rushing yards against Coe were the team's most in 20 games, dating back to Sept. 7, 2013, when the Pointers ran for 350 yards against Rockford.

Britton Vernon (Stillman Valley, IL/Stillman Valley) spearheaded the ground game, setting career-highs in rushes (19) and rushing yards (98) and scoring his first-career touchdown. In his first two seasons, Vernon had never had more than seven carries for 35 yards in a game.

The big rushing day came after UW-Stevens Point passed for 403 yards in its first game at Albion on Sept. 5. The Pointers' 947 yards of offense in two games this season are the team's most in back-to-back games since Oct. 26 – Nov. 2, 2013 when UWSP totaled 966 yards at UW-La Crosse and UW-Oshkosh.

UW-Stevens Point currently boasts three of the top-10 rushers in the WIAC. De'Juan Wright sits third at 80.0 yards per game, less than one yard per game behind UW-Oshkosh's Dylan Hecker who leads at 80.7 yards a game. Almonte ranks eighth (51.0 ypg) and Vernon is ninth (49.5) on the WIAC rushing leaderboard.