RIVER FALLS, Wis. – Freshman quarterback Max Herro (Dousman, Wis./Kettle Moraine) threw four touchdown passes and ran for another as the UW-Stevens Point football team (4-6, 3-4) won the season finale, 39-25, at UW-River Falls (3-7, 2-5) on Saturday.
 
Herro completed 16 passes for 295 yards on the day.  He also rushed 18 times for a team-high 115 yards.
 
Senior Christian Almonte (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls) caught two touchdown passes in his final game as a Pointer.  He made seven catches in all for 127 yards.  Fellow senior Steve Herra (Rockford, Ill./Boylan) hauled in a touchdown as well in his final game.
 
Sam Shafer (Prescott, Wis./River Falls) and Ryan Strick (Naperville, Ill./Waubonsie Valley) had 12 tackles each to lead the Pointers' defense.  Shafer forced a fumble and returned a blocked extra point 98 yards.  Strick pounced on a fumble for UWSP.
 
It took Herro just three plays to get UWSP on the board.  He ran for 20 yards on the first play of offense.  After a short completion, he hit Almonte for a 49-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead.
 
Later in the quarter, Herro started another sustained drive.  Three-consecutive completions, including a 29-yard gain to Herra, got the Pointers to midfield.  Two plays later, Herro hit Jonte Webb (Marinette, Wis./Marinette) for 42 yards to set up first-and-goal at the three.  Herro finished the drive on the next play with a three-yard rushing touchdown.
 
The Falcons went 80 yards on 10 plays on the next drive to cut the lead to 14-7 early in the second quarter.  UWRF returned an interception 28 yards for a touchdown three plays later, but Boyd Delebreau (Chilton, Wis./Chilton) blocked the extra point as UWSP maintained a 14-13 lead.
 
UWRF kept the momentum by recovering a fumble on the ensuing kickoff.  The Pointers' defense flexed its muscle with a goal line stand as UWRF went for fourth-and-goal.  Michael Singer (Amherst, Wis./Amherst) made the touchdown-saving tackle as UWSP took over on downs.
 
After a three-and-out, the Falcons punched in on a short field with a six-play, 36-yard drive to take a 19-14 lead.  Again, Delebreau blocked the extra point and Shafer returned it 98 yards to get the Pointers within 19-16.
 
The momentum swayed in the Pointers' favor and Herro took advantage.  He drove UWSP 75 yards on seven plays, including a 32-yard completion to Almonte for the second touchdown hookup between the duo.  The Pointers took a 23-19 lead to halftime.
 
The second half began with the Pointers recovering a fumble on the third play.  The very next play, Herra passing to Herro for 24 yards to put UWSP at the UWRF 18.  The drive stalled three plays later at the 11 and Victor Ponterio (Melrose, Wis./Melrose-Mindoro) extended the lead with a 28-yard field goal to make it 26-19.
 
Omarri Johnson (Milwaukee, Wis./Riverside) picked off his league-leading sixth pass of the year on the first play of the next drive.  Herro completed three passes in a nine-play, 52-yard drive culminating with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Herra for a 32-19 lead.
 
The UWSP defense forced a punt and Herro went back to work at his own 10 yard line.  Herro ran for 43 yards on the first play of the drive.  Later in the drive, he hit Webb for a 32-yard touchdown to up the lead to 39-19.
 
The Falcons scored once in the fourth quarter, but the Pointers were not threatened in the final stanza.
 
The Pointers end the season with two wins in the final three games.