Box Score

The Falcon football team dropped its sixth straight game, losing at Stevens Point, 31-10, Saturday afternoon.  
 
Taylor Edwards (Janesville, WI, Parker) ran the ball 23 times for 97 yards in the losing effort. Edwards was the driving force behind the opening series with 10 carries for 57 yards. The drive concluded withB.J. Letourneau (Falcon Heights, MN, Roseville) hitting Edwards on a 4-yard pass – Edwards 19^th career touchdown, first time on a reception.
 
The touchdown gave the Falcons their first lead in three weeks, when they scored on the opening drive at Trine. The early 7-0 lead, the largest lead of the 2011 season, was short lived as the Pointers answered with a score on the ensuing drive.
 
"This game was a lot like the first five," said Falcon Coach Matt Walker. "We got off to a great start offensively and scored on our first drive. We moved the ball but had trouble in the red zone scoring. This was a game where we should have scored more points."
 
With the Pointers facing a fourth-and-six, punter Brandon Matznick ran the ball for 40 yards on a fake punt down to the six yard line. Matznick's first rush of his career set up the Cory Flisakowski touchdown to tie the game at 7-7.
 
Penalties halted the next drive for the Falcons after marching into Pointer territory. With a first-and-10 and the UWSP 38, the Falcons committed three penalties in the next five plays, forcing a punt.
 
The Falcon defense had one of its better statistical games in recent history. They held the Pointers to 351 yards – fewest allowed in 13 games.  It was also the first time in 10 games, the defense allowed less than 37 points.
 
 "Defensively it was the same type of thing as previous games - they had big plays on four to five plays. The Stevens Point quarterback made some big plays running the ball," mentioned Walker on the Pointers executing four rushes of more the 35 yards and scoring a touchdown on a 24-yard pass on fourth down.
 
After forcing a three-and-out in the second quarter, Matnick burned the Falcons again, this time with his leg. The Pointer punter pinned the ball down inside the one yard line, forcing the Falcons to start in the shadow of their own end zone. Three plays into the drive and two-time All-WIAC defensive back, Joe Mleziv,a picked off a Letourneau passed and returned it 18 yards for the score, doubling up the Falcons 14-7.
 
"Early in the first half we had momentum in a tied game and on a pass play our guy tipped the ball way up in the air that they intercept and return it for TD,” commented Walker on Letourneua's fourth career interception in 331 attempts, “That was basically a 14 points swing on one play."
 
The Pointers added the dagger with 11 seconds remaining in the half. Up `17-7, on fourth down, Mitch Beau found Marc Young for a 24-yard score, putting Stevens Point up 24-7 at the break.
 
"The message that is out there is that teams wait for us to implode; but we're not going to do that,” Walker continued, "We're going to lock arms and move forward together. We're going to stay hungry and focused."
 
Chad Blair (Oakdale, MN, Tartan) added the final three points in the opening drive of the second half, connecting on his sixth field goal of the season, from 38 yards out.
 
The Falcons had three drives of more than 12 plays and 50 yards in the second half, but only turned in three points. They had drives stalled at the UWSP 14 and 25 as they turned the ball over on downs twice deep in Pointer territory.
 
Matt Ainsworth (Maple Grove, MN, Osseo) has been all over the field for the Falcons defense thus far in 2011, nearly 40 tackles, a sack, and WIAC-best three interceptions. The senior added a blocked field goal in the fourth quarter when he deflected a 42-yard field goal attempt which was recovered by freshman Jacob Dick (Buffalo, MN, Buffalo) in the end zone.
 
Nate Smits (Hudson, WI, Hudson) and Jake Mandoza (New Brighton, MN, Irondale) grabbed eight more tackles each, including 1.5 behind the line for each linebacker. David Scaro (Elkhorn, WI, Elkhorn) also had 1.5 tackles-for-loss, with a total of seven stops. Ryan Bartsch (Cameron, WI, Cameron) added his first sack of 2011 in the fourth quarter.
 
Letourneau hit eight different receivers, throwing for 138 yards and a score. He found the WIAC's leading receiver, John Wahlstrom (Hastings, MN, Hastings), seven times for 62 yards to lead the way for the Falcons.
 
The Falcons have led for less than nine of the 300 minutes played this season as this loss drops them to 0-6 overall and 0-3 in the WIAC.  Meanwhile the Pointers pick up their first conference win as they improve to 3-3 overall and 1-2 in league play. The Falcons have lost 17 of their last 18 games overall, starting with the 2009 defeat at Stevens Point.
 
Up next, the Falcons host Platteville next Saturday at 1 p.m., at Ramer Field.  The Pioneers are 3-3 overall, losing three of their last four games. UWP lost a 24-3 decision to Oshkosh today. The Falcons have not lost to Platteville at home since 1981.

Box Score