For the week of November 3-November 9Back to Athletics Home Page | Back Issues Blue Devil FootballNovember 10, 1997BLUE DEVILS FINISH SECOND IN WIAC; STILL SEEKING PLAYOFF SPOT
UW-Stout Blue Devils (6-3, 5-2) vs. Moorhead State University Dragons (4-5, 3-3) ON THE LINE: The Blue Devils took their biggest step in the conference by finishing second in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference last week by downing UW-Platteville, 49-21, Stout's best conference finish since winning the conference title in 1965. Stout is now one of the bubble teams in acquiring a first-ever NCAA Division III playoff berth. Bids are due out Sunday, Nov. 16 at 11 a.m. Quarterback Matt Bunyan is only 46 yards short of matching the school single season passing record of 2956 yards. LAST WEEK: Stout Quarterback Matt Bunyan (Jr, Janesville) threw for five TDs, ran for another and completed 28-of-39 passes for 378 yards as Stout dismantled UW-Platteville, 49-21, Saturday. While the Blue Devils never trailed, Stout turned Platteville turnovers into three Bunyan TD passes within two minutes in the third quarter to put the game away. Stout played the entire fourth quarter with reserves.Jim Pillars (So, Chicago, Ill) pulled down eight catches for 110 yards and three TDs. Bunyan spread the wealth around with seven receivers catching two or more passes. Stout racked up 486 total yards, 108 on the ground, 378 through the air, while allowing 368 total yards, 130 rushing, 238 passing.Moorhead: After allowing UM-Morris a first quarter touchdown, the Dragons poured it on to their biggest scoring output of the season, downing Morris, 50-14, Saturday at Moorhead. Grover Moore (Jr, Mano, Tex) scored five consecutive touchdowns on runs of 20-, 10-, 80-, 71- and 29-yards. He finished the day with 305 yards rushing for a hefty 17.9 yd/carry average. With running like that, the Dragons did not have to throw, going 1-of-5 for 15 yards. On the day, Moorhead 498 total yards, 483 on the ground. THE YEAR: Stout plays in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) and are affiliated with the NCAA Division III. After finishing seventh last season, the Blue Devils finished in a tie with UW-La Crosse for second. Moorhead plays in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) and is affiliated with the NCAA Division II. The Dragons 3-3 conference record placed them in a tie for third with Southwest State University and Northern State University. THE SERIES: The Dragons lead the series, 4-2, which began in 1946 with a 15-12 Stout win. The two teams last met in 1988, with Stout taking a 31-29 win. Moorhead has wins in 1947 (7-0), 1985 (44-14), 1986 (9-7) and 1987 (23-21).
STOUT PLAYERS TO WATCH:
MOORHEAD PLAYERS TO WATCH: DEFENSIVE LOOK: Moorhead: 5-2Stout: 4-3 COACHES: Both Stout's Ed Meierkort (19-30 career) and Moorhead's Ralph Micheli (59-81-2, 30-18-2) are in their fifth seasons at their respective schools, but Micheli is in his 13th overall. STOUT COACH ED MEIERKORT SAYS: "This (finishing second in the WIAC) takes us one step closer to being No. 1, and ne we can say that without someone cracking a smile. We feel we are the second best team in the league, and there are a lot of good teams in this league. This is not only good for these kids that are a part of it, but for the future. To the victors go the spoils and now we are on the other side of it. I thought that third quarter outburst was as well as we played all year. And we played extremely well defensively. On their 75-yard drive, we held them to minus three yards rushing. "Now we have to get ready for the next game. That win (over Platteville) gave us a chance to get to seven wins, and that's huge for this program. Their offense is very similar to Platteville's and they have a big back (Grover Moore) to contend with who had a big day. This game is also important. It's (offensive coordinator) Duey Naatz's alma mater and Moorhead plays in my old league (Meierkort was an assistant at Southwest State). And we are playing another Division II team." November 8, 1997STOUT DOWNS PLATTEVILLE TO TIE FOR WIAC SECOND PLACEMENOMONIE UW-Stout's Matt Bunyan (Jr, Janesville) passed for five touchdowns, ran for another and completed 28-of-39 passes for 378 yards for a 49-21 win over UW-Platteville Saturday, Nov. 8, at Menomonie to finish in a tie for second place in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. By virtue of UW-LaCrosse's 32-17 loss to UW-Whitewater, the Blue Devils (6-3, 5-2) finish tied with the Eagles for second behind Whitewater. This is the best finish for a Blue Devil football team since winning the conference title in 1965. Stout downed the Eagles, 28-21, on Sept. 27 and with the win over Platteville, keep their NCAA Division III playoff hopes alive. Bunyan, who threw three touchdown passes to Jim Pillars (So, Chicago), is 46 yards short of the school passing yardage record of 2956 yards, set by Tim Peterson in 1987. Bunyan also upped his season touchdown output to 30 touchdown passes. Pillars caught eight passes for 110 yards, while Jesse Witcraft (Jr, New Lisbon) had six catches for 91 yards and a TD. Tight end Pete Speigel (Sr, West Bend) scored a touchdown and caught three passes for 50 yards. Stout took an early 14-0 lead, with Bunyan scoring from 1-yard out at 3:33 in the first quarter, and Ryan Patt (So, North Fond du Lac) scored with 12:26 remaining in the second quarter. The Pioneers (1-9, 0-7) struck quickly, with John Weaver grabbing a 68-yard touchdown pass from Forrest Paul. Bunyan answered back with two touchdown passes to Pillars, the first a seven yard grab at 7:20, and the second a 24-yard leaping catch in the corner of the end zone with 1:30 remaining in half. The Pioneers scored again midway through the third, with Chad Nate putting the finishing touches on a 16-play, 78-yard drive, from one yard out. The Blue Devils put the Pioneers away within two minutes of the third. Taking advantages of Pioneer turnovers, Pillars scored on a 40-yard pass play at 3:43, then following a Pioneer fumble, Bunyan found Witcraft at 3:24 from 35-yards out. Bunyan capped off the Blue Devils' scoring efforts with a 14-yard bullet to Speigel with 2:08 remaining. The Pioneers added a consolation score on sustained drive when Eric Newton scored on a nine-yard pass play. Stout racked up 486 total yards of offense, with Bunyan recording all of the passing yardage. Stout finished with 108 yards on the ground, with Patt picking up 50 yards in 13 carries. The Pioneers racked up 368 total yards, 130 yards on the ground, 238 through the air. Turnovers played a big part in the game, with Platteville turning over five fumbles and two interceptions, while the Blue Devils were picked off three times. Stout closes the regular season Sunday, Nov. 16 when they travel to the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome for a 2 p.m. meeting with Moorhead State. The bids for the NCAA Division playoffs come out at 11 a.m. that same day. Blue Devil VolleyballNovember 7, 1997UW-STOUT'S CYRUS, STODDARD NAMED ALL-CONFERENCE VOLLEYBALLSTEVENS POINT Stacy Stoddard (Jr, St. Paul, Minn) set a new school record for most kills in a single season with 444, averaging 4.39 per game. Stoddard, ranked 11th nationally in kills/game, also attacked at a .339 hitting percentage, one of the best percentages in school history. Earlier in the season Stoddard had set a single match record for hitting percentage, hitting .800, but that record was later tipped by a teammate. Stoddard also holds the team career record in solo blocks, blocking 156 attacks in her three year career. Her 444 kills in 1997 far eclipses her previous two years attack total of 380. Monica Cyrus (Jr, Farmington, Minn) led the team in digs for the second consecutive year, this year getting 395. Cyrus was also the Blue Devils' second leading attacker, putting down 312 kills for 3.09 kills/game. Cyrus hit at a .303 clip. She was tied for third on the team in service aces with 28. The Blue Devils finished the season at 17-14 overall, 2-6 in the WIAC and in seventh place. November 7, 1997STOUT ENDS VOLLEYBALL SEASON AT CONFERENCE MEETSTEVENS POINT - The longer the UW-Stout volleyball team played, the stronger they got, but unfortunately it wasn't long enough as the Blue Devils completed their season with a three game loss to nationally ranked UW-Whitewater at the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships Friday, Nov. 7 at Stevens Point. The Blue Devils (17-14) came out flat against the No. 6 ranked team in the country, falling 15-5. Stout battled back, but could never get over the hump, falling 15-11, 15-13. Tori Feit (So, Rushmore, Minn) led the Blue Devil attack with 14 kills, while Stacy Stoddard (Jr, St. Paul, Minn) had 10. Heather Cassell (Fr, Lake Geneva) and Monica Cyrus (Jr, Farmington, Minn) each had eight kills. Jenny Kraczek (So, Blaine, Minn) tallied 41 assists, while Kathy Jahnke (Jr, West Allis) had 15 digs. Blue Devil Cross CountryNovember 10, 1997BLUE DEVILS THINCLADS TO COMPETE AT MIDWEST REGIONALMENOMONIE- Both the men's and women's cross country teams will compete at the NCAA Division III Midwest Regionals, Saturday, Nov. 15 at Oshkosh. The Blue Devil women are coming off their best ever conference finish, tieing for third place at the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athetic Conference (WIAC) Championships Nov. 1 at UW-La Crosse. In the Nov. 4, NCAA Division III poll, the Blue Devils were ranked 19th. The Blue Devil men are coming off a sixth place conference finish. Blue Devil HockeyNovember 8, 1997BLUE DEVILS DO ABOUTFACE WITH POINTERSMENOMONIE - Home was sweet to the UW-Stout hockey team, but not quite sweet enough. After being downed 5-0 by UW-Stevens Point the night before, the Blue Devil defense allowed only one goal Saturday, Nov. 8 at the Dunn County Ice Arena. Unfortunately for the Blue Devils, they could not get a puck into the net and dropped a 1-0 decision to the Pointers. Stout (0-6, 0-6) and Stevens Pointer (4-2, 4-2) played scoreless until midway through the third period when the Pointers' Forrest Gore slipped a shot between the pipes and the Pointers made the goal stand up. Todd Sether (Jr, International Falls, Minn) stopped 27 Pointer shots, but the Pointers Bobby Gorman finished perfect on the weekend, stopping 24 Blue Devil shots. After six straight conference games to open the season, the Blue Devils will take a break from Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) action this weekend when they travel to Gustavus Adolphus Friday, Nov. 14, and to St. Thomas, Saturday, Nov. 15. November 7, 1997POINTERS PUT STOUT AWAY IN THIRD PERIODSTEVENS POINT - In a span of less than three minutes, the UW-Stevens Point hockey squad took a close game and walked away with a 5-0 win over UW-Stout Friday, Nov. 7 at Stevens Point in a Northern Collegiate Hockey Association contest. Holding onto a 2-0 lead heading into the third, the Pointers scored three quick goals to lead off the period. The Pointers got a goal for Jason Zurawik at the 4:44 mark, then notched another a minute later from Nathan Shasby, and Forest Gore put the icing on the cake with a power play goal at 6:48. The Blue Devils managed 19 shots on goal, while the Pointers pelted Devil goalie Todd Sether (Jr, International Falls, Minn) with 30 shots. Women's BasketballNovember 6, 1997LITHUANIAN WOMEN RUN PAST STOUTMENOMONIE - Very few teams can run with the UW-Stout women's basketball team and stay with them the entire game. But the Blue Devils found out that an international opponent in the Lithuanian National Team not only could stay with them, but outrun them as Lithuania downed Stout, 102-65, Thursday, Nov. 6 at Johnson Fieldhouse. The Lithuanians, who reportedly have several players to be included on the Olympic team, jumped out to a 56-30 halftime lead and coasted the rest of the way. Stout was forced into 41 turnovers and was held to 30 percent shooting. Transfer Bree Mahone (So, Racine) had a big night for Stout, pulling down 11 rebounds and scoring 13 points. Vaida Zagurskyte led all scorers with 15 points, while Ela Briedyte chipped in 14 points. Stout opens their regular season when they travel to the Buffalo, N.Y., State Tournament, Nov. 22-23. Men's BasketballNovember 6, 1997BLUE DEVIL MEN HANG TOUGH WITH LITHUANIAN TEAMMENOMONIE- A young UW-Stout men's basketball team faced a veteran team from Lithuania and held up to the test, falling 70-62, Thursday, Nov. 6 at Johnson Fieldhouse in an exhibition opener. The Lithuanian team, which included at least one former Olympian, reportedly has downed several NCAA Division I programs this season. Jeremy Preston (Jr, Madison), a transfer from Edgewood College, led the Blue Devils with 17 points, connecting on four 3-pointers and five free throws. The Lithuanians took as much as a 15 point lead in the second half, but Stout closed the gap to six late in the game. Arunas Seferis led all scorers with 18 points. The Lithuanians held a 51-32 lead on the boards. Stout opens the regular season Friday, Nov. 21 when they host the two-day Best Western/Holiday Manor Tip-Off Classic. Updated: November 11, 1997 |