RIVER FALLS, Wis. (uwrfsports.com) - UW-River Falls won a defensive battle on homecoming against UW-Stout, holding on for a 21-19 victory. The Falcons had an evenly-balanced offensive attack on Saturday at Ramer Field, with Ben Beckman throwing for 224 yards and two touchdowns and Sam Altena, Anthony Silva and Tyler Blum combining for 210 yards on the ground. Mitch Dienger recovered a fumble on a two-point conversion attempt by UW-Stout in the third quarter, a play that eventually was the difference in the tight WIAC battle.

UW-Stout got on the scoreboard first on their second drive by a 51-yard field goal from Drew Pearson to make it 3-0 in favor of the Blue Devils. The kick was Pearson's fourth kick of over 50 yards in his career. The Falcons fumbled on their next possession, but later responded with a five play, 76-yard drive that ended with a 63-yard touchdown pass from Beckman to Trenton Monson. Beckman found Monson behind the defense after scrambling out of the pocket, and Jacob Lytle's kick made it 7-3. 

Owen Schommer pinned the Blue Devils at their one yard line in the beginning of the second quarter, but UW-Stout bounced back with a 99-yard drive that only took about three minutes. Keyshawn Carpenter had a 24-yard run and Sean Borgerding completed a 32-yard pass to Tyler Seymour to set up first-and-goal for UW-Stout. Borgerding found Levy Hamer in the end zone on a slant route to give the Blue Devils their last lead of the game at 10-7. 

A key stop by the UWRF defense on 4th and 1 with about five minutes remaining in the first half sparked a 70-yard drive for the Falcons. Brett Wadman made a sideline catch to keep the drive alive on 3rd and 8, and Blum rushed for 33 yards, including a 13-yard run where he bounced off a Stout defender for a touchdown to go ahead 14-10. The Falcons had time for one more drive in the first half but stalled at the UW-Stout 36-yard line on 4th and 9 to enter halftime up four points. 

Pearson cut the lead to one after a 31-yard field goal midway through the third quarter, but the Falcons wouldn't let their lead slip away. A 15-yard pass to Alex Herink and 15-yard rush from Beckman set up a 24-yard touchdown pass to Wadman for his first receiving touchdown to build a 21-13 lead with four minutes remaining in the third quarter.

The Blue Devils responded with another long drive, this time a 10-play, 75-yard drive that saw Borgerding throw the ball seven times. Parker Fossum came down with a jump ball in the corner of the end zone to cut the lead to 21-19 and force the Falcons to stop the Blue Devils on the two-point conversion. Borgerding tried to run the option, but fumbled the ball and Dienger recovered to secure the two-point lead. 

Neither team was able to add to their total in the fourth quarter, and the Falcons came up with their biggest stop of the day on 4th and 6 with only 1:30 remaining in the fourth quarter. Beckman faked a handoff and ran for a 28-yard gain to seal the win for the Falcons on third down after UW-Stout had burned two of their timeouts trying to stop the clock. UWRF took the victory formation and won on homecoming for the third time in the last four years.

Altena was the leading rusher for the Falcons with 93 yards, and Monson had six receptions for 102 yards to go along with his touchdown. Antoin Kealoha was the leading tackler for UWRF with 10, while Dienger and Max Praschak were close behind with nine. Three sacks came at crucial times for the Falcons, and the defense held the Blue Devils to 0-3 on fourth downs and only 4-14 on third downs. Borgerding finished with 274 yards through the air and one interception, and four players had over 11 tackles for the Blue Devils, led by Jed Schlegal with 12 total. 

The Falcons improve to 2-4 overall and 1-2 in the WIAC with the win. They travel to play undefeated UW-Whitewater next Saturday on the road at 2 p.m.