http://cslab.uwlax.edu/~ander_rj/foot/SP.html (Internet on a CD, 07/1998)In sideline talk, it's called a gut check. The Eagles hiccuped a time or two, but passed the test.
Saturday, UW-Stevens Point was being hyped as a team which would not only test UW-L, but end a 20-year drought against the Eagles at the same time. This was the year, many around the WSUC were saying, that the mighty Pointers got even.
The year that Pointers coach John Miech erased the zero from his 0-for-9 head-to-head record against UW-L coach Roger Harring. UW-L wasn't the all-powerful, all-ending WSUC kingpin it had been, or so many believed.
Cancel that thought.
UW-L, with an incredible defensive performance from start to finish, dominated Stevens Point more than the 29-10 final score indicated. If not for five lost fumbles and more than 100 yards in penalties, this so-called showdown would have been a massacre.
``People thought we might be primed for an upset after the emotional game we had last week,'' said UW-L linebacker Andy Alvis. ``We're just showing people we haven't peaked yet.''
That's a scary thought.
In addition to taking over sole possession of the WSUC lead at 4-0, thanks to River Falls' 21-20 upset of Whitewater, UW-L extended the nation's longest college football winning streak to 20 games. UW-L is 6-0 this season after going 14-0 in 1995.
Oh, just for a little extra icing on an already impressive performance, UW-L's Harring won his 238th game, tying him with legendary Ohio State coach Woody Hayes for 12th on the all-time career victory list.
``Our defense really came to play today,'' Harring said. ``The last couple of games, we have really shut people down. And look at the quality of those teams. That says something about our defense.''
How dominating was the Eagles' defense?
-- Stevens Point ran 29 plays in the first half, and gained 19 yards. That's no typo, folks.
-- The Pointers, who entered the game averaging 280 yards per game rushing, managed just five yards on 15 attempts in the first 30 minutes, and just 29 on 31 attempts for the game. That's 251 below their average.
-- Stevens Point managed just two first downs in the first half, and 10 for the game.
-- The Pointers entered the game averaging 501 yards of offense and 44 points per game. They left Goerke Field with 156 total yards, 10 points, and a whole lot of aches and pains. Some physical, some emotional.
``We wanted to make a statement,'' said UW-L defensive tackle Mike Ivey, who finished with a sack and two tackles behind the line of scrimmage.
``We read something in their paper that we were 10-point underdogs. That put a little gasoline on the fire.''
UW-L, despite its defensive dominance, didn't burn the Pointers early because of one big problem: It couldn't hold onto the football.
UW-L, playing without starting running backs John Barrett and Beau Coulter, had great field position at its own 49 yard line with 2 minutes, 9 seconds left in the first quarter, but Toby Krause fumbled.
With 10:34 left in the first half, Mike Bechtel ripped off a 44-yard punt return to the Pointers' 9 yard line, but fumbled when he appeared to run into the Stevens Point punter, Erik Berendsen.
After the Eagles' defense held ð again ð UW-L drove from its 49 to Pointers' 13, where it didn't fumble, but was stopped on a 4th-and-one situation.
``We were not going to give up and let things like that get us down,'' UW-L quarterback Jeff Baker said. ``The defense played a huge part. They kept getting us the ball back. Our defense came up huge.''
Between its miscues on offense, the Eagles did manage to put the ball in the end zone once for a 7-0 halftime lead when Baker found Erick Jenkins on a 25-yard scoring strike. With starting receiver Jeremy Earp on the sideline with a hamstring pull, Jenkins came up big with three catches for 72 yards.
``With Earp being hurt, myself and Brandon Hall knew we had to step up,'' Jenkins said. ``I attribute that to the structure of coach Harring's program. He builds character in the players.''
Despite its dominance, UW-L found itself locked in a 10-10 tie with 14:48 remaining when Tom Fitzgerald hit 6-foot-7 tight end Craig Drummy with a 4-yard scoring pass.
``It was two tough teams swinging away at each other,'' UW-Stevens Point defensive tackle Shane Konop said. ``We knew we had some bumps to work out on offense, but we were more confidence at halftime that we could beat them than we were before the game.''
That confidence was severely shaken over the next five minutes.
UW-L answered with an eight-play, 80-yard drive that was sparked by Brandon Hall's spectacular 43-yard reception that left the ball at the Pointers' 1 yard line. Hall made an over-the-shoulder catch despite being mugged by two Pointer defensive backs.
Stevens Point was flagged for interference, and UW-L kept the catch. On the next play, Brian Steines bowled over from 1-yard out.
Travis DeFlorian then partially blocked a Pointer punt that went 15 yards, and three plays later Jenkins was dancing in the end zone with his second TD catch of the day, this one from 37 yards out. Jenkins' catch put the Eagles on top 23-10 with 9:19 remaining.
``I don't know if they've got a horse shoe for each one of them or an extra large one over their garage doors,'' Konop said. ``I don't know what it is. La Crosse is La Crosse.''
Stevens Point appeared to answer with a 20-yard scoring pass from Fitzgerald to Bill Ott, but Ott was called for offensive interference in the end zone, and UW-L refused to give the Pointers another shot.
``I believe deficit builds character,'' Jenkins said. ``Last week was a big game when we had to come from behind. It built character. I think we have a lot of character on this team.''