RIVER FALLS, Wis. (uwrfsports.com) - The Falcons closed out their season on a snowy and cold afternoon at Ramer Field by losing to UW-Stevens Point 39-25 on Senior Day. Freshman quarterback Max Herro had 410 yards of total offense for the Pointers to lead them out of last place in the WIAC. UW-River Falls finished the season tied for sixth place in the WIAC with a 2-5 record, including a 3-7 overall record.

Trenton Monson became UWRF's all-time receiving leader in the first quarter when he caught a 24-yard pass from Ben Beckman. Monson finished the day with four catches for 60 yards and a touchdown, and he had 775 yards on 54 receptions this season. His 2,083 career yards passes the record Michael Zweifel set in 2007-08. Monson also holds the record for receiving yards in a game with 235 yards against UW-Eau Claire in 2016. 

Alex Herink tied a UWRF record for receiving touchdowns in a season when he hauled in his ninth touchdown of the season near the end of the fourth quarter. This ties Craig Boen in 1995 and Zweifel in 2007. Herink recorded 36 catches for 692 yards for an impressive 19.2 yard per catch average this year. Herink had the sixth-highest single-season receiving total in his only year with the Falcons, while Monson finished with the third-most yardage in a season.

The Pointers pounced on the Falcons early in their Saturday afternoon matchup. Herro ran for 20 yards on the second play from scrimmage before throwing a 49-yard touchdown pass to Christian Almonte two plays later to go up 7-0. Both teams struggled to maintain drives for a majority of the first quarter, but the Pointers responded in the closing minutes of the quarter. Herro completed a 45-yard pass to Jonte Webb on 4th and 5, and Herro ran the ball in from 3 yards out to make the score 14-0. 

UWRF responded with a 10-play, 80-yard drive that took almost five minutes off the clock. A 35-yard pass to Herink and a mixture of runs and receptions from Sam Altena helped the Falcons move down into Pointers' territory. A pass from Beckman to a wide-open Evan Verhota moved the Falcons to the 2-yard line, and Beckman ran the ball in on fourth-and-goal to cut the lead to 14-7. 

Senior Mitch Dienger swung the momentum of the game three plays later when he returned an interception from Herro untouched to the end zone to narrow the deficit to 14-13. Jacob Lytle's extra point was blocked to keep the Falcons trailing.

Jahi Stigall couldn't pick the ball up for the Pointers on the ensuing kickoff, and Bailey Germain hopped on the ball at the Stevens Point 8-yard line. The Falcons attempted a fake field goal at the 6-yard line on 4th-and-goal, but Tony Denn was brought down at the 1-yard line to keep the score 14-13. The Pointers narrowly missed earning a safety and punted the ball away to give UWRF the ball back with great field position at the Stevens Point 36-yard line. 

Beckman found Monson in the back of the end zone on 2nd-and-goal from the 18-yard line to take their first lead of the game at 19-13. Lytle's extra point was blocked by Boyd Delebreau and returned for a defensive PAT by Sam Shafer. Stevens Point got the ball back with 3:32 remaining in the first half and put together another scoring drive, this time capped off by an Almonte touchdown reception from 32 yards out to go up 23-19 at the half.

The Falcons were held to a three-and-out on their first series of the third quarter, and the Pointers kicked off their offense with a trick play 24-yard pass to Herro. Point was forced to settle for a 28-yard field goal that Victor Ponterio kicked through the uprights to go up 26-19 early in the third quarter. Omarri Johnson picked off a pass from Beckman on the next play, and the Pointers drove down before Herro found Steve Herra for an 11-yard touchdown. Max Praschak blocked the extra point to keep the score at 32-19. The Pointers forced another Falcons' punt before Herro found Webb for the quarterback's fourth touchdown of the day to produce their final touchdown and lead 39-19. Herink caught his record-tying touchdown with only a few minutes remaining, but a failed onside kick attempt kept the final score at 39-25.

Beckman finished the day 20-46 with 270 yards. He threw for 2,155 yards this season, only 8 yards short of Storm Harmon's record set in 2007. Beckman completed 52 percent of his passes and had 13 touchdowns and 13 interceptions this year.

Freshman Sam Altena was the leader on the ground with 55 yards on Saturday, and he finished the season with 734 yards and 9 touchdowns. Herink finished with 137 yards receiving against the Pointers, and Praschak was the leading tackler with 8 total tackles. Praschak was the leader in the WIAC with 65 solo tackles and 11.9 tackles per game. Punter Owen Schommer also finished his season tied for first in the WIAC with a 39.6 yard average, which ranks second all-time for UWRF behind Jovin Kroll in 2006. 

The teams both had 21 first downs, but the Pointers finished with almost 150 yards more of total offense. Beckman was sacked four times on Saturday, while Herro never was taken down in the backfield. UWRF also only managed to convert on two of their six fourth-down conversions.