RIVER FALLS, Wis. – Zach Vallafskey (Hortonville, WI/Hortonville) had two fourth-quarter interceptions, including one at his own four-yard line with one second remaining, as the 17th-ranked UW-Stevens Point football team escaped with a 17-14 win over UW-River Falls in its Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) opener at Ramer Field on Saturday afternoon.
Box Score
Vallafskey's second interception was part of a defensive effort that saw UW-Stevens Point (4-0, 1-0 WIAC) force four turnovers for the second straight game. The win was the fifth in the last six meetings for UWSP against UW-River Falls (1-3, 0-1 WIAC).
The Pointers trailed 14-10 entering the fourth quarter but Kyle Larson (Clayton, WI/Clayton) connected with Alex Wallace (Brodhead, WI/Brodhead) for a 26-yard touchdown with 8:03 remaining and the UWSP defense made the score stand up behind Vallafskey's two fourth-quarter interceptions. Vallafskey's first interception came with UW-River Falls at the UW-Stevens Point 45-yard line with 2:28 remaining.
UW-River Falls led 14-3 late in the second quarter after scoring two second-quarter touchdowns. Brad Beeskow capped a 12-play, 68-yard drive with a three-yard reception from Ryan Kusilek early in the quarter before Wade Malecha made it 14-3 with a two-yard run with 2:27 left till halftime.
Between the UWRF touchdowns, the Pointers defense forced a turnover deep in Falcons territory but both times UWSP turned the ball over on downs. The Falcons defense forced fourth-down stops after a Bo Seibel (Kewaskum, WI/Kewaskum) fumble recovery set UW-Stevens Point up at the UW-River Falls 23-yard line and after a fumble forced by Aaron Karlen (Edgar, WI/Edgar) was recovered by Jake Luedtke (Sussex, WI/Sussex-Hamilton) at the UWRF 29-yard line.
UW-Stevens Point cut into the UW-River Falls lead with 44 seconds remaining in the opening half, when Kyle Larson (Clayton, WI/Clayton) threw a 12-yard touchdown to Matt Sosinsky (Princeton, WI/Princeton). The strike completed a seven-play, 79-yard drive, as Sosinsky went over 100 yards and a touchdown for the fourth straight game. Sosinsky caught nine passes for 105 yards and the score.
The Pointers had chances to take the lead early in the third quarter when Karlen recovered a fumble at the UWRF 33-yard line shortly after the Falcons stopped UWSP on fourth and one. However, the UW-River Falls defense was again up to the task, stopping UW-Stevens Point on fourth and 11.
Following a fourth-down stop of its own late in the third quarter, UW-Stevens Point drove down to the two-yard line but the Falcons' Kyle Kittle intercepted a Kyle Larson (Clayton, WI/Clayton) pass in the end zone. The interception was the first of the year for Larson.
UW-Stevens Point was just 2-of-6 in the red zone and 1-for-6 on fourth down in the game.
Larson finished the game 22-of-46 for 244 yards and two touchdowns and the one interception. De'Juan Wright rushed for 77 yards on 12 rushes.
Kusilek was 20-for-36 for 191 yards and one touchdown and three interceptions in the contest. He also ran for 47 yards on 16 attempts. Jordan Christianson caught six passes for 68 yards for the Falcons.
In addition to the four takeaways, the UW-Stevens Point defense sacked Kusilek five times. Vallafskey led the defensive effort with nine tackles and two picks, while Matt Gaffney (Menasha, WI/Menasha) added an interception of his own. Karlen totaled two sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
UW-Stevens Point hosts UW-Eau Claire (0-4, 0-1 WIAC) on Saturday, Oct. 11 at 1 p.m. at Community Stadium at Goerke Park.
No. 17 UW-Stevens Point escapes River Falls with 17-14 win
/seasons/2014/boxscores/20141004_vhhe.xml
2014
UW-Stevens Point
17
UW-River Falls
14
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UW-Stevens Point (4-0) | 3 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
| UW-River Falls (1-3) | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
Oct 04, 2014