Sports
Photo by Dan Neckar
Quarterback Jared Beckwith fires a pass against UW-Whitewater.
Football can’t stop Warhawks, drop first WIAC game
The Pointer
dneck184@uwsp.edu
Last Saturday, the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point football team suffered a crushing 41-12 loss against the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater at Community Stadium at Goerke Field.
Both teams entered the game with a 4-0 record in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, but it was the Pointers who lost their undefeated status and gave the Warhawks a huge victory on the road.
After being defeated by the Pointers in their homecoming game last year and having to share the WIAC title with them as co-champions, UW-Whitewater was able to avenge the loss and display their dominance in the conference this year.
The trouble began for UWSP when quarterback Jared Beckwith was intercepted on the first drive, allowing the Warhawks to quickly capitalize with a touchdown.
The Pointer offense continued to struggle against UW-Whitewater, staying scoreless as the Warhawks scored three unanswered touchdowns.
As the second quarter carried on, the Pointers appeared to be seizing some opportunities of their own. A 93-yard touchdown pass from Beckwith to wide receiver Jared Jenkins put the excitement at a game high. A missed extra point attempt made the score 21-6, UW-Whitewater.
The Pointers were able to hold off the Warhawks for the rest of the first half. Knocking on the door of the Pointers’ goal line, it appeared that UW-Whitewater would score one more time until defensive back Joe Mleziva intercepted a pass in the end zone, causing a major momentum shift.
But the third quarter proved to be disastrous for the Pointers as they were buried by the Warhawks’ assault. Two touchdowns compiled with a blocked punt that led to a field goal set the score at 38-6, making quick work against any chance for a comeback.
A fourth quarter touchdown with another missed extra point would not be enough for the Pointers. The Warhawks kicked one last field goal for a final score of 41-12.
Running back Garrett Medenwald had a personal aspect added to the game being a transfer student from UW-Whitewater. Mendenwald ran against the Pointers last year but transferred schools because of personal problems within the football program.
Mendenwald compared his situation with Brett Favre playing against his former team, but had nothing negative to say about UW-Whitewater.
“They definitely brought the high intensity of the game. They did nothing that we didn’t expect them to do,” Mendenwald said.
Quarterback Jared Beckwith also noted the Warhawks’ ability to control the momentum.
“That whole game was definitely about momentum, and it was on their side for most of the game,” Beckwith said.
Beckwith expressed some doubts over this year’s team’s performance in comparison to last year.
“I think last year was behind us, but going into this game, I think we knew we weren’t the same team this year,” Beckwith said. “You hate talking about last year but I think we’re just a different team and we do things differently.”
Beckwith said that the team’s ability to execute has been less evident.
“We’re successful some weeks and in other weeks you can see it shows that we struggle a little bit,” Beckwith said.
Both players look forward to a demanding game this week against UW-River Falls, the team that beat them in their first conference game last year.
At 1-4 in the WIAC, the Falcons don’t seem to be much of a threat, but three of those games were pushed into overtime, including their game against UW-La Crosse, which went into triple overtime.
“They are really in every game they play. That is one thing we need to be aware of, that they play every team hard and every game is close,” said Beckwith.
Mendenwald said that apart from being another WIAC test, the game would provide Pointer seniors their last chance to play a home game on Senior Day.
“You want to get all these kids a last win on the home field,” Mendenwald said.
Kickoff for Senior Day against UW-River Falls is set for 1 p.m. this Saturday, Nov. 7, at Goerke Field.
