Portage County Gazette

By John Kemmeter

Coming off a win in its home opener, the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UWSP) football team fell on the road against NAIA Dakota State University in Madison, S.D., Saturday, Sept. 21.

The Pointers (1-2) fell behind 17-7 in the first half and 31-7 in the third quarter, as senior running back Brodie Frederiksen rushed for 233 yards and four touchdowns to lead Dakota State (2-1) to a 38-21 win in a nonconference game in Madison, S.D.

Last season UWSP won at home over Dakota State in the Spud Bowl, when the Pointers used three fourth-quarter touchdowns to break open a 31-28 game and win 51-28.

In its Homecoming Game Saturday afternoon, Dakota State intercepted a pass from UWSP senior quarterback Matt Urmanski on the opening series of the game at the UWSP 37-yard line to set up a three-yard touchdown run from Frederiksen with 13:11 left in the first quarter to take a 7-0 lead.

Frederiksen scored on a 68-yard touchdown run on the next possession to give Dakota State a 14-0 with 6:59 to go in the first quarter, while the Pointers followed with an 11-play, 75-yard drive that was capped by an 11-yard touchdown run from Urmanski to pull UWSP within 14-7 with 1:55 remaining in the first quarter.

Dakota Sate kicked a 26-yard field goal with 29 seconds to play in the second quarter to take a 17-7 lead into halftime, then Frederiksen had a 16-yard touchdown run with 5:48 left in the third quarter and a one-yard touchdown run with 1:41 to go in the third quarter to extend its lead to 31-7.

Dakota State intercepted four passes in the second half before Urmanski threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Ernie LaSpisa on fourth-and-goal with 9:01 remaining in the fourth quarter to pull UWSP within 31-14, while Dakota State scored on a three-yard touchdown run with 2:45 to go, and Jason Ivey had a two-yard touchdown for the Pointers with 57 seconds left to provide the final margin in its 38-21 loss.

Urmanski threw six interceptions in the loss, including five in the second half, and was 22-of-44 for 269 yards with one touchdown. ShamaJ Williams rushed for 38 yards on 19 carries to lead UWSP, which finished with 44 yards rushing on 39 carries, while LaSpisa had four catches for 49 yards and one touchdown.

Frederiksen rushed for 233 yards and four touchdowns on 23 carries, and freshman quarterback Torren Devericks completed 8-of-21 passes for 135 yards, with zero touchdowns and zero interceptions, as Dakota State finished with 407 yards of total offense, compared to 313 total yards for UWSP.

The Pointers have bye this week, before they return home to open the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) season against UW-River Falls (1-2) for Family Day at Community Stadium at Goerke Field at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5.