RIVER FALLS, Wis. – The UW-Stevens Point football team built a 10-0 first quarter lead before the hosts UW-River Falls rattled off 34 unanswered points for a 34-16 win over the Pointers.

Senior quarterback Kyle Larson (Clayton, WI/Clayton) threw for 217 yards on 18 of 32 passing.  He recorded a pair of touchdown passes in his final game with the Pointers.

Fellow senior Jared Pankow (Mosinee, WI/D.C. Everest) caught a team-high six passes and one of UWSP's touchdowns.  He had 74 receiving yards, just nine yards shy of 900 for the year.

Britton Vernon (Stillman Valley, IL/Stillman Valley) led the UWSP rushing attack with 14 attempts, netting 26 yards on the day. 

Defensively, Blake Lehman (Edgar, WI/Edgar) had a team-high nine tackles.  Seniors Brad Birkhauser (Wisconsin Rapids, WI/Assumption) and John Kontowicz (Menomonee Falls, WI/Menomonee Falls) added seven and six, respectively.

The Pointers pinned UW-River Falls deep in its own territory with a three-and-out to open the game.  A short punt put the UWSP offense in possession in Falcons' territory.  Eight plays later, Kyle Hendzel (Lisle, IL/Lisle) converted a 48-yard field goal to give the Pointers an early 3-0 lead.

On the next UWSP possession, the Pointers began near midfield.  Larson completed four passes including a nine-yard strike to Pankow for a touchdown to put UWSP ahead 10-0.

UWRF marched down the field on the next possession to cut the Pointers' lead to 10-7 at the start of the second quarter.  Later in the quarter, the Falcons turned a short field into a go-ahead touchdown as the host took a 14-10 lead into the break.

Larson started the third quarter 4-for-4 in the first possession of the second half, but a UWSP penalty put a halt to the drive, forcing a punt after eight plays.

UWSP punter Alex Malueg (Green Bay, WI/Bay Port)'s punt landed inside the 10 and the Falcons began to next drive at their own six yard line.  The field position didn't matter to the home side as the Falcons marched 94 yards for another touchdown.

After a three-and-out by the Pointers, UWRF again put together a lengthy drive. The Falcons finished the drive in the end zone 13 plays later to build a 27-10 advantage.

UWSP was limited to just three plays on the next possession and on the ensuing punt, the Falcons' Robbie Flom scampered 63 yards for a touchdown.

Larson completed three passes on the next Pointers' drive including a 46-yard connection with Jerry Williams (Milwaukee, WI/Watertown) to pull within 34-16.  After a pair of UWRF penalties, the Pointers were unsuccessful on the two-point try.

The Pointers finish the year at 6-4, the second season above .500 under head coach Tom Journell.  Today's loss was the first this season against a team not ranked in the top-10 nationally.