STEVENS POINT, Wisc. — Willamette University got off to a
slow start in its battle of nationally-ranked NCAA Division III
teams at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point on Saturday,
Sept. 4, but the Bearcats rallied for a 33-14 victory. The
season-opening win moved Willamette, ranked #18 in the
D3football.com Top 25 Preseason Poll, to 1-0, while UW-Stevens
Point, ranked #16, fell to 0-1.
Stevens Point scored on its first two drives and held Willamette
to limited offense on the Bearcats' first two possessions, as the
Pointers took a 14-0 lead. The Bearcats rebounded to take a 27-14
lead into the halftime break and added one more touchdown in the
second half to earn the final 33 points of the game.
A key drive for Willamette ate up the end of the first half and
resulted in a 16-yard touchdown pass from Brian Widing (So., QB) to
Jake Knecht (So., WR) with three seconds left in the second
quarter.
Stevens Point held control of the game for most of the first
quarter. The Pointers kicked off to start the game, then held
Willamette to just three plays and no yards.
Following a 25-yard punt into the wind, UWSP took over at the
Willamette 43-yard line and kept the ball for nine plays. Garrett
Medenwald completed the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run on a
fourth-down play, as the Pointers claimed a 7-0 lead at the 9:08
mark.
Willamette managed just three plays on its next possession and had
to punt back to the Pointers. Stevens Point drove the ball 55 yards
on six plays to extend its early lead. Mike Mullins hauled in a
14-yard touchdown pass from Casey Barnes with 4:35 left in the
first quarter.
WU's offense started to find success on its third try. The
Bearcats needed just four plays and 1:22 of clock time to drive 82
yards for a touchdown. Terrell Malley (So., TB) rushed for 18 yards
on the second play of the drive. Matt Williams (So., FL) followed
with a 59-yard carry that brought WU to the Stevens Point 5-yard
line.
After a substitution infraction moved the ball back five yards,
Aaron Cavette (Sr., FB) powered his way 10 yards to end zone. The
extra point attempt was blocked by Joe Mleziva of UWSP.
Ralph Pineda (Sr., ILB) of Willamette intercepted a pass by Barnes
five plays after the ensuing kickoff. Pineda grabbed the ball at
the WU 40 and returned it 44 yards to the Stevens Point 16.
Willamette was stopped on downs four plays later at the UWSP
20-yard line on the first play of the second quarter.
Willamette excelled over the remainder of the second period. The
Bearcats scored 21 points to pull into a 13-point halftime
lead.
First the defense held the Pointers to three plays, then the WU
offense drove 63-yards on a drive that lasted 6:46 to cut the lead
to a single point, 14-13. The Bearcats gained 54 of the yards on
the ground, including a 17-yard keeper by Widing and a 13-yard run
by Jamiere Abney (Jr., TB).
Abney recorded the touchdown on a 1-yard run. Mitchell Rowan (Jr.,
PK/P) kicked the PAT.
The WU defense got the ball back just two plays later, when Arlin
Taylor (Sr., S) intercepted Barnes at the UWSP 44 and returned the
ball 16 yards. Four plays after the turnover, Jose Green (Sr., TB)
scored on a 15-yard run. Rowan's extra point gave Willamette a
20-14 edge.
Stevens Point then drove to the Willamette 49, before Brandon
Matznick punted the ball into the end zone. After taking over at
the 20-yard line with 1:40 on the clock, the Bearcats drove 80
yards on seven plays.
On the second play, Abney rushed 32 yards as the ball moved across
midfield to the UWSP 48. Malley tacked on 10 yards, before Widing
completed 2 of 4 passes to bring the ball to the end zone.
The first completion went to Chad Pollard (Jr., FL) for 27 yards.
On 3rd-and-10 at the 16-yard line, Widing hit Knecht for a 16-yard
scoring strike with only three seconds left in the half.
Stevens Point opened the second half with a 17-play, 73 yard drive
that lasted 9:45, only to have the drive end when Jared Fohrman
missed wide left on a 30-yard field goal. Keith Ingram gained 48
yards on 10 carries during the drive.
Willamette started the fourth quarter with an 85-yard drive with
12 plays, but didn't score when Rowan's 23-yard field goal was
blocked by Mleziva. Although the Bearcats didn't score on the
drive, they left UW-Stevens Point with very poor field position. On
the second play, Henry Harrison (So., OLB) forced a fumble by
Ingram at the 2-yard line and Pineda recovered the ball at the
four.
Pollard crossed the goal line on the next play for the only score
of the second half. The extra point attempt failed, but
Willamette's lead was 33-14 with 7:33 remaining.
Stevens Point reached the WU 9-yard line before being stopped on
downs with 3:48 left and also moved deep into Bearcat territory in
the final two minutes. Jared Jenkins of UWSP, who led all receivers
with 11 catches for 96 yards, hauled in a 5-yard catch at the WU
15, but fumbled with 26 seconds left. Tyson Giza (Fr., CB)
recovered the ball for Willamette.
The Bearcats gained 344 total yards on 56 plays during the game,
compared to 309 yards on 69 plays for UW-Stevens Point. Willamette
rushed for 244 yards on 44 carries. Four runners each gained at
least 50 yards for the Bearcats, led by Williams, who ran for 65
yards on just two carries. Abney rushed for 59 yards on seven
carries.
As they did for most of last season, Widing and Kevin Ramay (So.,
QB) shared quarterbacking duties for the Bearcats, with Ramay
receiving his first start. Widing finished 6 of 9 for 67 yards. The
Bearcats committed no turnovers.
WU's defense held Stevens Point scoreless over the final 49:35.
Pineda led the way, finishing with a game-high 11 tackles (7 solo),
plus a fumble recovery and an interception. Taylor added six
tackles and intercepted one pass.
Overall, the Bearcats forced four turnovers, as the Pointers threw
two interceptions and lost two fumbles. Brandon Stremkowski topped
UWSP with nine tackles (7 solo).
Willamette will play its second consecutive road game against a
Top 25 team when the Bearcats take on Hardin-Simmons University
(Texas) on Saturday, Sept. 11. Game time in Abilene, Texas, against
the 15th-ranked Cowboys is set for 4 p.m. (Pacific)/6 p.m.
(Central). HSU defeated Whitworth University, 27-7, this
weekend.
Willamette 33, UW-Stevens Point 14
/seasons/2010/boxscores/20100904_skda.xml
2010
Willamette
33
UW-Stevens Point
14
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Willamette (1-0) | 6 | 21 | 0 | 6 | 33 |
| UW-Stevens Point (0-1) | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
Sep 04, 2010