MENOMONIE (November 8, 2013) - With four seconds to go in the first half and UW-Stout trailing UW-River Falls 23-7 with the ball on River Falls 38 yard line, things were not looking good for the Blue Devils. But that all changed in a hurry, as quarterback Garrett Peterson's (So, Menasha) last-second heave towards the end zone came down in the hands of Aaron Jenny (Sr, Spicer, Minn.) to cut the deficit to 23-14. It was all Stout the rest of the way, as the Blue Devils rolled off 27 unanswered points on Senior Day at Don and Nona Williams Stadium Saturday afternoon.
Peterson finished the game 26-of-39 for 324 yards and four touchdowns, with three of them going to Jenny. His 324 yards were the most by a Stout quarterback since Nick Ohman threw for 347 against UW-La Crosse on Oct. 30, 2004. Peterson's four touchdowns were the most by a Stout signal caller since Keldric Stokes threw four against Upper Iowa University on Sep. 3, 2005. Jenny finished with four grabs for 113 yards, including three catches of 20+ yards.
In the final home game of the season for Stout (2-7, 1-5 WIAC), seniors Tanner Kuehn (Fairchild), Jenny, Cody Rosemeyer (Gilman), and Luke Bakkum (Oconomowoc) all turned in huge days as the Blue Devils captured their first WIAC win of the season. Kuehn ran for a career-high 114 yards on 27 carries while Rosemeyer caught a career-high 13 passes for 73 yards.
Bakkum turned in one of his finest days as a Blue Devil, recording 18 tackles, including seven solo, to go with four tackles for loss, two sacks, and an interception.
Things didnt start off so well for Stout though. After holding River Falls (3-6, 2-4 WIAC) to a field goal on the game's opening drive, the Blue Devil's first two drives netted only 42 total yards and ended in punts.
On the team's third drive, the offense showed some sign of life. Starting on their own 43 yard line, a pass interference call on the first play against River Falls put Stout in Falcons territory on the 42 yard line. Peterson then found Rosemeyer on back-to-back screen plays, picking up 13 yards in the process. On first and 10 at the River Falls 29, Kuehn took the hand-off and found some space, rumbling for 27 yards to set up first and goal from the two yard line.
After getting stuffed twice on first and second down, the Blue Devils went to the air on third down and Jenny caught a fade in the corner for what appeared to be a touchdown. Unfortunately, the play was called back due to offensive pass interference, putting the Blue Devils at the 16 yard line facing third and goal. Peterson went right back to Jenny, finding him again for the score. This time, the play stood, giving Stout a 7-3 lead.
The lead would prove to be short-lived however, as River Falls quarterback Ryan Kusilek quickly led his team 53 yards for the score, capping off the drive with a 38-yard touchdown pass to Wade Smethers. The extra point was blocked by Stout lineman Iyen Ogbomoh (Fr, Olympia Fields, Ill.), but the Falcons regained the lead, 9-7.
On Stout's ensuing drive, Peterson was intercepted by Falcon's linebacker Zach Loos, who nearly took it all the way back for a score, but fumbled on Stout's 13 yard line. After the ball took a few bounces, River Falls lineman Derek Tarter scooped it up at the four yard line and took it the rest of the way himself, giving River Falls a 16-7 advantage with just under six minutes left in the half.
The teams traded punts on each of their next drives and Stout took over on their own 20 with 1:09 to go in the first half. A completion to Rosemeyer followed by an incompletion set up Stout with a third down. Peterson dropped back to pass and had a man over the middle, but the ball was deflected and River Falls defensive back Charles Register came down with the ball at Stout's 44 and returned it to the 19 yard line, giving the Falcons great field position with just 47 seconds to go.
On River Falls first play, Kusilek found Smethers again for the touchdown, stretching the lead to 23-7. On the kick-off, River Falls attempted an on-side kick that was recovered by Stout, giving them the ball at their own 45. After a pass interference call against River Falls followed by a holding call against Stout put the ball on the 50, Peterson completed passes of eight and four yards, setting up Stout with a third down at River Falls 38 with just four ticks left on the clock.
Peterson dropped back and lofted a high pass toward the end zone and in the direction of a group of Stout receivers and River Falls defenders. Jenny went up high and came down with the ball, falling into the end zone for his second touchdown of the day to cut the Falcons' lead to nine going into the break.
In the second half, Stout's defense kept the pressure on the Falcons. After giving up 123 yards, two touchdowns and a field goal in the first half, the Blue Devils - led by Bakkum - gave up just 74 yards and zero points in the second. Bakkum's acrobatic interception in the third quarter led to a Taylor Pahl (Fr, Hortonville) field goal that would cut the Falcons lead to 23-17.
Overall, the Blue Devil defense recorded four sacks on the afternoon, as Jamie Rohrig (Sr, Owatonna, Minn.) had 1.5 sacks and Alec Zoern (Sr, Germantown) chipped in a half sack. Each player also had two tackles for loss in the victory.
Stout would reclaim the lead near the beginning of the fourth quarter, as Peterson led the team on a eight play, 80 yard drive that ended with a 25-yard touchdown pass to Matt Small (Sr, Atwater, Calif.). Small finished the day with three catches for 65 yards, including a 37-yarder on a key third down conversion that helped to set up Pahl's second field goal of the game late in the fourth quarter.
After another punt by the Falcons, Peterson led Stout on another long drive, going 68 yards in seven plays, capping it off with a 39-yard touchdown to Jenny, his third of the day. It was Jenny's second game this season with three touchdown receptions after he accomplished the feat in Stout's win over Loras College on Sep. 13.
The defense forced another punt on River Falls next possession and the Blue Devils sealed the victory with Pahl's 42-yard field goal with just 1:40 to go in the game. Rohrig capped off the afternoon with a sack of Kusilek on third down before Peterson took a knee twice to run out the clock.
On the day, Stout racked up 438 total yard of offense, 324 passing and 114 rushing. Defensively, the Blue Devils gave up just 197 yards, 36 rushing and 161 passing.
The Blue Devils will close out the season next week when they travel to UW-Stevens Point on Saturday, Nov. 15. The game is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.
Seniors shine, Stout scores 27 unanswered points in 34-23 win over Falcons
/seasons/2014/boxscores/20141108_s6ds.xml
2014
UW-River Falls
23
UW-Stout
34
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UW-River Falls (3-6) | 3 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 23 |
| UW-Stout (2-7) | 0 | 14 | 3 | 17 | 34 |
Nov 08, 2014