UWSP senior quarterback Matt Urmanski completed 24-of-35 passes for 329 yards and three touchdowns in the Pointers’ 31-28 win over Wabash (Ind.) at Community Stadium at Goerke Field Saturday, Sept. 14. (UWSP Athletics – Kylie Bridenhagen photo)

Portage County Gazette

By John Kemmeter

The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UWSP) football team used a late touchdown to rally for an upset victory over 21st-ranked Wabash (Ind.) in the 10th annual Pink Game for Cancer at Community Stadium at Goerke Field Saturday, Sept. 14.

After Wabash (0-1) took a 28-24 lead on a touchdown run with 2:34 left in the game, senior quarterback Matt Urmanski threw a seven-yard touchdown pass to sophomore tight end Devin Baldridge with 1:23 to play, and the Pointers (1-1) held on for a 31-28 victory.

Coming off a 21-7 loss at 14th-ranked John Carroll (Ohio) in its season opener Sept. 7, UWSP took on a ranked nonconference opponent for the second week in a row, as it hosted Wabash in its home opener Saturday afternoon.

The Pointers struck on the opening drive of the game, as Urmanski hit freshman wide receiver Joe Aguilera on a 64-yard touchdown pass to give the team a 7-0 lead with 12:14 left in the first quarter after the extra-point kick from sophomore Victor Ponterio.

Wabash answered with a 22-yard down run on its first possession to tie the game at 7-7 with 6:51 to go in the first quarter, while junior linebacker Jacob Morgan forced a fumble on Wabash’s next possession that junior linebacker Michael Stephenson recovered at the Wabash 28-yard line.

Two plays later, junior running back Jahi Stigall scored on an 18-yard touchdown run to give the Pointers a 14-7 lead with 4:18 remaining in the first quarter, while Urmanski threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Jonte Webb with 7:31 to play in the second quarter, and UWSP went into halftime with a 21-7 lead.

Wabash scored on a three-yard touchdown run on the opening possession of the second half to make it 21-14 with 11:13 left in the third quarter, and after a 46-yard field goal attempt from Ponterio was short at the end of a 12-play drive, Wabash capped a 16-play, 71-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 21-21 with 13:49 to go in the fourth quarter.

Urmanski used an 11-yard run on fourth down and four from the Wabash 32-yard line on the ensuing possession to keep the drive alive, and Ponterio went on to kick a 29-yard field goal to give UWSP a 24-21 lead.

After both teams traded punts, Wabash completed a 21-yard pass to convert third down and 13 from its own five-yard line, and went on to score on a 41-yard touchdown run to take a 28-24 advantage with 2:34 remaining in the game.

Looking to regain the lead late, the Pointers converted a third down and four from their own 31-yard line with a 19-yard pass from Urmanski to Baldridge to the 50-yard line, and Urmanski followed with a 17-yard completion to junior running back ShamaJ Williams, a 15-yard pass to Webb and an 11-yard pass to Baldridge to give UWSP the ball at the Wabash 18-yard line with 1:29 to go.

On the next play, Urmanski hit Baldridge in the front of the end zone for a seven-yard touchdown pass with 1:23 left, as Urmanski completed 6-of-7 passes for 75 yards on the drive to give the Pointers a 31-28 lead.

Wabash reached its own 43-yard line on the ensuing drive, but its pass on fourth down and two fell incomplete with 39 seconds to play, and UWSP ran out the rest of the clock to seal its 31-28 win.

Urmanski completed 24-of-35 passes for 329 yards, with three touchdowns and zero interceptions, and wasn’t sacked after John Carroll recorded eight sacks a week earlier.

Baldridge caught six passes for 86 yards and one touchdown, Aguilera had two catches for 74 yards and one touchdown, and Webb caught three passes for 72 yards and one touchdown, while Stigall rushed for 90 yards and one touchdown on 13 carries, and Williams had 45 yards rushing on 11 carries, as UWSP finished with 471 yards of total offense in the win.

Junior linebacker Kameron Kryzanski finished with eight tackles, and sophomore defensive back Felix King, junior defensive back James Fay and sophomore defensive lineman Berkely Corvino each had six tackles to lead the Pointers’ defense in the Pink Game for Cancer, which raised $44,239.51.

UWSP, which received votes in this week’s D3football.com Top 25, will close out its nonconference schedule when it travels to Madison, South Dakota, to take on NAIA Dakota State University (1-1) at 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21.