STEVENS POINT, Wis. – The UW-Stevens Point football team (0-1) battle back from an early deficit, but came up short in the end as visiting Mayville State (1-1) got the win, 31-24.
Brycen Cashin (Plover, Wis./Pacelli) highlighted the UWSP comeback with a pair of touchdowns. He had 20 yards on three rushes and an exhilarating 98-yard kickoff return to open the second half, the third-longest scoring play in UWSP history.
Reed Smith (Powell, Wyo./Powell) surpasses the century mark with 102 rushing yard and a touchdown on 11 carries.
Seth Forbes (Manawa, Wis./Little Wolf) carried the ball a team-high 12 times for 49 yards.
Trey Schroeder (DeForest, Wis./DeForest) completed eight passes for 53 yards. His leading target
Joe Aguilera (Dorchester, Wis./Abbotsford) had three catches for 26 yards.
Defensively,
Carson Van Ess (Two Rivers, Wis./Two Rivers) had a team-high seven tackles.
Reese Wiggins (Carpentersville, Ill./Harry D. Jacobs) and
Carter Borchardt (Stevens Point, Wis./SPASH) had six apiece.
The Comets drove the opening kickoff 66 yards in six plays to take a 7-0 lead.
The Pointers responded in their opening drive with Schroeder completing a 36-yard pass to Aguilera to get UWSP in MSU territory. Smith gained 33 yards on four rushes on the drive, but UWSP had to settle for a 47-yard field goal by
Victor Ponterio (Melrose, Wis./Melrose-Mindoro).
Late in the first quarter, the Comets took a UWSP turnover near midfield and drove 55 yards in eight plays for a 14-3 lead after one.
Mayville State forced a three-and out as the second quarter began. Six plays and 70 yards later, the Comet increased the lead to 21-3.
Forbes took the lion share of the handoffs on the next UWSP drive picking up 41 yards on six carries. Cashin rumbled the final 17 yards on two carries for the first UWSP touchdown of the year.
The UWSP defense forced a three-and-out and it took Smith just two carries to go 61 yards for a touchdown as UWSP got within 21-17 at the half.
The Pointers deferred at the coin toss and thus received the second half kickoff. Cashin torched the Comets' coverage team for a 98-yard touchdown return to give the Pointers a 24-21 lead.
On the ensuing drive, MSU drove to the six-yard line. The Pointers defense held tight and forced a game-tying field goal.
The game remained tied at 24-24 until late in the fourth quarter. A back-breaking 35-yard catch put the Comets deep in UWSP territory. Five plays later, the visitors retook the lead at 31-24.
The Pointers had one last chance to tie the game with the ball at 3:13 on the clock. Cashin converted a fourth down with less than two minutes to go to keep the drive going. A third-down run by Schroeder coupled with an MSU penalty put the Pointers in MSU territory. Another Comets penalty negated an interception and kept the drive alive. Then facing a fourth down with just five seconds left, Schroeder's pass to the end zone from 18 yards out was knocked away in the endzone.
UWSP heads to St. Norbert next Saturday (Sept. 10) for the only non-conference road game of the season. Kickoff in De Pere is slated for 1:00 p.m.
