STEVENS POINT, Wis. – On Senior Day, it was indeed the UW-Stevens Point football team's seniors that were at the center of a 35-28 victory over UW-Stout on Saturday.  Seniors Kyle Larson (Clayton, WI/Clayton), Logan Taylor (Wausau, WI/East) and Jared Pankow (Mosinee, WI/D.C. Everest) accounted for all four UWSP touchdowns.

Larson set a career-high with 456 passing yards completing 29 of 45 passing attempts.  He threw for four touchdowns on the day, his fourth multi-touchdown game of the year.

Taylor also had career-highs racking up 169 receiving yards and three touchdown catches while tying a career-high with 10 receptions.  Pankow had eight catches, including a touchdown reception, and totaled 140 yards.

Senior Britton Vernon (Stillman Valley, IL/Stillman Valley) led the rushing attack for the Pointers (6-3, 3-3).  He had 93 yards on 22 rushing attempts.

Defensively, senior Adam Wachowiak (Stevens Point, WI/SPASH) led UWSP with seven total tackles and had the Pointers' lone sack on the day.

Larson connected with sophomore Steve Herra (Rockford, IL/Boylan) for a 29-yard completion as the Pointers drove 45 yards on eight plays in the first offensive possession of the game.  Junior kicker Kyle Hendzel (Lisle, IL/Lisle) made the 43-yard field goal to put UWSP up 3-0.

On the next UWSP possession, Larson and Pankow connected for 45 yards on the first play to flip the field.  Larson hit Pankow three more times on the drive including the nine-yard touchdown pass to put UWSP ahead 10-0.

UW-Stout (3-6, 1-5) answered next possession with a nine-play, 75-yard drive to close within 10-7.  After a UWSP turnover, the Blue Devils converted another nine-play drive into a touchdown for a 14-10 lead.

The Pointers answered just before halftime. Larson completed five of six passes and hit Taylor on a 14-yard strike to give UWSP a 17-14 halftime lead.

Junior Kevin Sanchez (Jefferson, WI/Jefferson) picked of UW-Stout quarterback Jay Alston on the first Blue Devils' possession of the second half and returned the interception 61 yards.  Larson hooked up with Taylor from 19 yards on the next play to increase the UWSP lead to 24-14.

However, on the ensuing kickoff, UW-Stout's Taylor Puhl returned it 63 yards for the touchdown. 

Larson and the Pointers got back to work on the next possession.  Larson completed five passes and Vernon ran the ball three times for move UWSP within field goal range.  Hendzel kicked his second field goal of the game to push the advantage to 27-21. 

The Blue Devils took the next possession 71 yards with the aid of a UWSP penalty for a go-ahead touchdown to give the visitors a 28-27 edge.

Early in the fourth quarter, UWSP's seniors stepped up again.  Vernon ran three-straight times to open the drive.  Then on fourth and seven, Larson found Jerry Williams (Milwaukee, WI/Watertown) for a 13-yard completion to keep the drive alive.  Three plays later, Larson hit Taylor on a 26-yard connection for the touchdown.  Larson also completed a pass on the successful two-point attempt for the 35-28 lead.

UWSP stopped the Blue Devils on the next possession including the drive-ending fourth-and-26.  The Pointers kept possession of the ball the remainder of the game to pull off the win.

The Pointers head to River Falls next Saturday to face the Falcons in the season finale.  UWSP and UWRF kick off at 2:00 p.m. at Smith Stadium.