Pointers Spoil Titans' Homecoming Party
Jared Jenkins had two spectacular one-handed grabs among his 13 catches for 189 yards to help UW-Stevens Point knock off the UW-Oshkosh football team, 24-17, on Saturday (Oct. 17) at J.J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium.
A 61-yard snatch and run by Jenkins converted a third down and put the game away in the final five minutes. UW-Oshkosh (3-3/1-2 WIAC) had a chance late, but Nate Wara's (Fr. • Oshkosh) pass was intercepted by Joe Mleziva with 1:46 to play.
The Pointers' (4-2/3-0 WIAC) Jared Beckwith threw for 306 yards on 25-of-37 attempts, while Garrett Medenwald ran for 130 yards on 28 carries. Medenwald had a 14-yard run to set up Beckwith, who rushed in from three yards out for a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.
UW-Oshkosh came right back with a nine-play drive to tie its Homecoming game. After Nate Wara connected with Juston Wara (Jr. • Oshkosh) for 20 yards, Paul Coburn (Jr. • Sussex) hauled in a 25-yard touchdown over the middle on the opening play of the second quarter.
Medenwald carried four times on the ensuing UW-Stevens Point drive. He also caught a pass for 10 yards to reach the red zone. The Pointers went up, 10-7, on a 25-yard field goal by Andrew Clohan.
The next three possessions resulted in punts before Jenkins posted gains of 10 and 26 yards. The 73-yard march, which included a 21-yard Keith Ingram run, ended with a one-yard touchdown rush from Joe Francar. The tally with 3:41 to play gave UW-Stevens Point a 17-7 halftime advantage.
The Titans had a field goal attempt blocked late in the second quarter before both offenses struggled in the third. UW-Oshkosh got a key defensive stop when Jack Breese (So. • Kewaskum) recovered a Jenkins fumble at his own four-yard line.
Jamie Braasch (Fr. • Oshkosh) converted 3rd-and-14 with a 21-yard reception to get something going. Charlie Weissman (So. • Colgate) followed with a pair of runs for 24 yards before Steve Levonowich (Sr. • Kenosha) took a pass for 29 more. The 81-yard drive concluded when Coburn won a jump ball for a nine-yard touchdown. The Titans pulled within 17-14 with 21 seconds remaining in the third period.
Beckwith locked on to Jenkins and Aaron Leonhardt during the middle of the final quarter. Leonhardt made four catches during the Pointers' 18-play drive that covered 80 yards. Jenkins' sixth grab of the possession came on 4th-and-2 from the four-yard line. He hauled in the pass on an out route and fought into the end zone for the 24-14 lead with 7:13 to play.
Juston Wara stretched the defense for a 50-yard reception when UW-Oshkosh got it back. The play put the Titans at the one-yard line, but they couldn't cash it in. Andy Lindsay (So. • Howard) booted a 22-yard field goal with 5:18 remaining to count the final points.
UW-Oshkosh totaled 96 yards on the ground, led by 71 on nine carries from Weissman. Nate Wara connected on 17-of-24 passes for 190 yards, while Juston Wara pulled in five receptions for 113 yards.
James Taraboi (Sr. • Grafton) added to his conference-leading tackle total with 16 stops, including two for a loss, one sack and a forced fumble. The Titans also got nine tackles and two fumble recoveries by Breese. John Jones recorded nine stops to lead UW-Stevens Point.
The Pointers owned the time of possession with a 37:37-22:23 disparity. They outgained UW-Oshkosh, 487-328, while converting nine of their 16 third downs. UW-Stevens Point upped its advantage to 60-40-8 in the all-times series, which is the 14th longest in NCAA Division III history.