ST. CHARLES, Mo. – The UW-Stevens Point football team (0-1) suffered a 77-9 setback at Division I Lindenwood (1-0) in the season opener on Thursday night in Missouri.
Freshmen
Stephen Schreiter (Fond du Lac, Wis./Fond du Lac) and
Rocky Wagoner (Minocqua, Wis./Lakeland Union) connected for a late touchdown highlighting UWSP's offense. Schreiter was the third UWSP quarterback to play in the game after
Jacob Leair (Cedarburg, Wis./Cedarburg) and
Charlie Smith (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead). The trio completed 18 passes on the night.
Reed Smith (Powell, Wyo./Powell) led the rushing attack with four carries for 29 yards.
Seth Forbes (Manawa, Wis./Little Wolf) and Leair combined for 11 rushes. Wagoner and
Evan Loduha (Three Lakes, Wis./Three Lakes) had three catches each for 55 combined receiving yards.
Defensively,
RJ Miner (Algonquin, Ill./Marian Central Catholic) led the way with seven tackles.
Dakota Carriveau (Oconto Falls, Wis./Oconto Falls),
Caleb DeJong (Merrill, Wis./Merrill) and
Michael Bird (Madison, Wis./East) added four tackles each.
Miles Gallagher (Racine, Wis./William Horlick) had five kickoff returns for 91 yards. Loduha and
Jeffery Williams (Brodhead, Wis./Brodhead) returned three kicks for a combined 51 yards.
UWSP fell into an early 7-0 hole less than four minutes into the game. After an offensive three-and-out, the Lions needed just six plays to go 63 yards for the opening touchdown.
The Pointers' second drive was more successful. Leair completed his first two passes at UWSP and scampered for 12 yards as the Pointers drove to the Lindenwood's 27 yard line. But freshman kicker
Aleks Sauer-Milli's (Whitefish Bay, Wis./Whitefish Bay) 44-yard field goal attempt was no good.
Five plays later, the deficit was 14-0 as the Lions drove 73 yards on three completed passes and a rush.
UWSP's next two drives resulted in blocked punts. One returned for a touchdown and the other recovered inside the UWSP 10. The Pointers were held without a first down in the second quarter and Lindenwood scored on all four possessions as the halftime deficit stood at 56-0.
The Pointers got on the board after a defensive stand to open the second half with a safety. Lindenwood scored one touchdown in the third quarter and two more to begin the fourth.
With 3:27 remaining, Schreiter entered under center. He completed his first career pass to Loduha for 22 yards to convert a third down. He completed four more passes on the drive hitting Wagoner three times, including a seven-yard connection for the first UWSP touchdown of the season.
The Pointers return to Wisconsin for the home opener on Sept. 9 against St. Norbert. The 1:00 p.m. kickoff at Goerke Park is the annual Spud Bowl. Tickets can be purchased at the gate on game day.
