Blue Devil Football

October 6, 1997

IT'S HOMECOMING AND STOUT HOSTS UW-RIVER FALLS

UW-River Falls Falcons (3-1, 2-0) at UW-Stout Blue Devils (2-2, 1-1)
Saturday, October 11, 1 p.m.
Nelson Field, Menomonie, Wis.

LAST WEEK: Stout: The Blue Devils' played their second straight overtime contest, this time coming up short 45-38 at UW-Eau Claire. Stout scored on a 13-yard pass from Matt Bunyan (Jr, Janesville) to Ryan Patt (So, North Fond du Lac), then recovered the onside kick, which the Blue Devils eventually converted into a 23-yard Nolan Mosher (So, Janesville) field goal to tie the score. Eau Claire's Chad Hoiska scored on the Blugolds' second play in the overtime, and the Blue Devils could not get into the end zone. Bunyan completed 26-of-49 passes for 368 yard and five touchdowns. Five different receivers caught TDs and seven caught passes. Scott Wojcik (Sr, Marshfield) had six receptions for 146 yards. Eau Claire tallied 534 total yards, while Stout had 436.

River Falls: The Falcons also played overtime, but come out on top of UW-Platteville, 34-27, when Ben Kolstad (So, Green Bay) scored on a 1-yard run in overtime. The TD was Kolstad's third of the game. He opened up the scoring with a 73-yard punt return, then added another TD late in the first quarter. Platteville came within striking range to tighten the score at 14-13. Kolstad figured into the scoring again in the fourth quarter when he tossed a 13-yard TD pass to Michael Grant (So, Minneapolis, Minn) for a 24-13 lead. The Pioneers answered back with two touchdowns, but the Falcons' Jesse Egner (Sr, Rochester, Minn) tied the game with a 39-yard field goal with five seconds remaining in regulation. Platteville pulled together 415 yards, while River Falls had 335.

LAST YEAR: Both Stout and River Falls play in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) and are affiliated with the NCAA Division III. Stout was 4-6 overall, 1-6 in the conference last season and finished seventh. River Falls was 9-2, 6-1, good for second.

THE SERIES: The Falcons hold a 62-20 lead in the series that began in 1911 with a 13-11 River Falls win. Last year, the Falcons spanked Stout for a 45-2 win, holding Stout to 75 total yards, while racking up 483.

STOUT PLAYERS TO WATCH: QB Matt Bunyan (#19, 6-6, 230, Jr, Janesville) 160-82-3, 1239 yds, 13 TDs (approaching school record of 20 TDs); WR Scott Wojcik (#18, 6-3, 210, Sr, Marshfield) 21 rec, 495 yds, 23.6 yd/rec, 4 TDs; WR Jimmy Pillars (#80, 6-5, 220, So Chicago, Ill) 14 rec, 255 yds, 3 TDs; FB Ryan Patt (#42, 6-2, 210, So, North Fond du Lac) 257 yards, 50 carries, 5.1 yd/car; LB Sam Standard (#1, 6-1, 220, Indianapolis, Ind) 27 tackles, 16 solo, 7 tackles-for-losses of 40 yds, 1 sack for 10 yds, 2 fumble recoveries; Blue Devils avg 443.8 total ypg, 123 rushing, 320.8 passing; give up 338 total ypg, 165 rushing, 173 passing

RIVER FALLS PLAYERS TO WATCH: QB Randy Johnson (#3, 5-11, 200, Jr, Burnsville, Minn) 36-9-4, 182 yds, 3 TDs, 548 yds on 71 carries, 7.7 yd/car, 4 TD; FB Andrew Krueger ( #31, 5-10, 215, Fr, St. Peter, Minn) 295 yds, 46 car, 4TD; HB Michael Grant (#45, 5-7, 160, 160, So, Minneapolis, Minn) 270 yds, 37 car; HB Ben Kolstad (#7, 5-10, 170, So, Green Bay) 185 yds, 27 car, 6.9 yd/car, 3 TD; PK Jesse Egner (#2, 5-10, 190, Sr, Rochester, Minn) 19-19 PAT, 4-5 FG, 31 pts; LB Matt Norstad (#23, 6-1, 190, Fr, Cannon Falls, Minn) 25 solo tackles, 42 total; 8-tackles for losses of 36 yds, 2 sacks; LB Damon Clare (#15, 6-3, 230, Sr, Delano, Minn) 27 solo, 32 total, 5 tackles for losses of 29 yards, 2 sacks, 1 int; Eau Claire avg 558 yd/game, 286.3 rushing, 271.7 passing; gave up 306.7 ypg, 93.7 rushing, 213 passing.

OFFENSIVE LOOK: River Falls: The Falcons run a wishbone Stout: The Blue Devils utilize a multi-pro set which incorporates a West Coast offense.

DEFENSIVE LOOK: River Falls 3-4 Stout: 4-3

COACHES: Stout's Ed Meierkort (15-29 career) is in his fifth year, while River Falls's John O'Grady (55-25-3) is in his eighth.

STOUT COACH ED MEIERKORT SAYS: "They (Eau Claire) got after us early, and when they got on a roll, we didn't bail ourselves our offensively. I thought we would play better defensively. We made a fundamental error on defense, and I felt I did a disservice to the kids by changing our points of attack. We made changes at halftime and played much better. We held Eau Claire to under their normal offense (statistically) and we feel horrible about how we played defensively. This was a great football game, with a great college football atmosphere. It was everything you wanted except the final outcome. We were disappointed, but we will have to turn the page. "I have never beaten a River Falls team and in order for us to do that, we will have to get on top of them early - we need to press them. We have to win the offensive side of the ball. We can't allow their fullback to dominate and we must slow their offense down. They are a master of field position, and we will have to give them a longer field. After three weeks on the road, we are anxious to play at home."

RADIO: WMEQ-AM, 880 radio, Menomonie, Jake Bostrom, Jay Fahl

October 4, 1997

IN OFFENSIVE BATTLE, BLUE DEVILS FALL, 45-38, IN OVERTIME TO BLUGOLDS

EAU CLAIRE- It's starting to become a habit. In the third time in five games and twice in the last two games, the UW-Stout football team was forced into an overtime contest. For the first time ever, the Blue Devils lost an overtime contest, falling 45-38 to arch-rival UW-Eau Claire at Carson Park, Saturday, Oct. 3 for the Blugolds' homecoming.

Down 38-28 with just a bit over three minutes remaining, the Blue Devils put on an offensive blitz to knot the score.

After Eau Claire's Chad Hoiska scored his third touchdown of the day, Stout drove 78 yards in five plays when quarterback Matt Bunyan (Jr, Janesville) found fullback Ryan Patt (So, North Fond du Lac) for a 13-yard touchdown strike. But it was big playmaker Scott Wojcik (Sr, Marshfield) who set up the score.

On third-and-six, Bunyan connected with Wojcik who weaved his way to the Eau Claire 13 for a 61-yard pick-up.

On the ensuing kickoff, Stout recovered the onside kick at their own 44, then drove to the Eau Claire 5 on four consecutive passes, including a 28-yarder by Jim Pillars (So, Chicago). Stout looked poised to score and record the win, but three incomplete passes forced Stout to go for the tie and Nolan Mosher (So, Janesville) booted a 23-yard field goal to knot the score with 41 seconds remaining.

Eau Claire threatened to score, but ran out of time after shifty quarterback Sean Hoolihan ran for 26 yards to the Stout 26.

Stout won the overtime coin toss and elected to give Eau Claire the ball first at the 25. It didn't take long for the Blugolds to score. After Sam Standard (Sr, Indianapolis, Ind) and Billy Busch (So, Dickeyville) stuffed Hoiska for a two-yard loss, Hoiska broke loose on the next play, eluding the grasp of Don Hagenbart (Sr, Dousman) to score.

On Stout's first play in overtime, Ryan Patt (So, North Fond du Lac) ran for nine yards, then Bunyan hit Jesse Diaz (So, Cottage Grove) for the first down with a one-yard pass. Bunyan found Patt for another one yard pass, then tossed an incompletion. His next pass went one-yard backwards to Patt and his final gasp was incomplete to Pillars.

The game was an offensive explosion with the Blugolds tallying 534 total yards and Stout piling up 436 - the majority coming on the pass. Bunyan completed 26-of-49 passes for five touchdowns and 368 yards. He was intercepted once. The Stout rushing game, without injured tailback Shawn Lund (So, Ashland), was virtually stagnant, as the Blue Devils gained 68 yards on the ground, with Patt getting 61.

The Blugolds balanced their attack well, getting 300 yards on the ground, led by Hoiska's 164 yards on 32 attempts. BJ Jones finished with 50 yards and Hoolihan, despite being sacked three times, racked up 49 rushing yards. In the air, Hoolihan went 16-for-27 for 234 yards.

Stout used seven different receivers, with Wojcik pulling down six passes for 146 yards. Diaz had his best receiving day as a Blue Devil, hauling in eight grabs for 76 yards. Wojcik, Patt, Jesse Witcraft (Jr, New Lisbon), Pillars and Pete Spiegel (Sr, West Bend) each had a touchdown reception.

Hoolihan spread his passes around as well, using seven different receivers, with Hoiska leading the way with six catches for 114 yards.

Eau Claire controlled the first quarter with Hoiska picking up his first two TDs. What may have proved to be the winning point came on the Blugolds' first conversion when kicker Jeremy Braun ran for a two-point conversion.

Stout struck early in the second quarter when Bunyan hooked up with Witcraft for a 41-yard scoring play. Hoolihan padded the lead with two scores before Bunyan unleashed a pass to Wojcik, who took the ball 55-yards to pay dirt, and Stout trailed 28-14 at halftime.

Stout opened up the scoring halfway through the third quarter when Standard recovered a fumble at the Eau Claire 6. Three plays later, Bunyan threw six yards to Spiegel.

The Blue Devils tied the score at 28-28 when Bunyan and Pillars worked together on a 30-yard pass play.

A Braun field goal and a Hoiska score put the 'Golds up by 10 before Stout roared back.

After three straight road games, Stout returns home Saturday, Oct. 11 when they host UW-River Falls at 1 p.m. at Nelson Field for homecoming.

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Blue Devil Volleyball

October 4, 1997

BLUE DEVILS WIN FIRST CONFERENCE VOLLEYBALL MATCH

MENOMONIE- The UW-Stout volleyball team overcame a 7-3 deficit in the third game to sweep past UW-Stevens Point, 15-9, 15-6, 15-9, and win their season first Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) match Saturday, Oct. 4 at Johnson Fieldhouse.

Heather Cassell (Fr, Lake Geneva) and Tori Feit (So, Rushmore, Minn) provided the muscle for the Blue Devils (11-8, 1-4) in the third game, hammering down four kills each.

Stout's Stacy Stoddard (St. Paul, Minn) led all scorers with 14 kills, while Cassell finished with 13. Stevens Point's Sarah Kuhl had 13 kills.
Stout hit a healthy .241, while Stevens Point (13-6, 0-3) struggled with a .056 hitting percentage.

The Blue Devils return to conference action Wednesday, Oct. 8 when they travel to UW-Superior. Stout hosts the UW-Stout Volleyball Invitational Oct. 10-11.

October 3, 1997

WHITEWATER VOLLEYBALL LOCKS UP STOUT IN THREE GAMES

MENOMONIE - UW-Whitewater came back from a 9-3 deficit in the third game to sweep UW-Stout in three games in a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) contest Friday, Oct. 3.

The Warhawks (16-3, 4-1), ranked No. 8 nationally, won the match 15-8, 15-9, 16-14.

Whitewater's Amy Tranel led the way in the attack, picking up six kills in the third game., finishing the night with 10 kills. Gustie Schneider had five attacks in the third game.

Stout's Stacy Stoddard (Jr, St. Paul, Minn.) led all scorers with 20 kills on 40 attacks. Monica Cyrus (Jr, Farmington, Minn.) had 17 digs on the evening.

October 1, 1997

IN THE BATTLE OF THE BLUES, BLUGOLDS TOP BLUE DEVILS

MENOMONIE - The UW-Stout volleyball team took nationally ranked UW-Eau Claire a long way in the first game Wednesday, Oct. 1, but the Blugolds still swept Stout, 15-12, 15-8, 15-9 in a conference contest at Johnson Fieldhouse.

Stout had the lead for much of the first game, but Eau Claire came back with a rally late in the contest to serve four unanswered points for the win.

The match-up featured two of the top 20 ranked kills leaders in NCAA Division III in Stout's Stacy Stoddard (Jr, St. Paul, Minn) and Eau Claire's Maria Jensen. Stoddard finished with 11 kills, to Jensen's eight.

Monica Cyrus (Jr, Farmington, Minn) led Stout with 12 kills. Eau Claire's Holley Stemig and Dana Peterson each had 14 kills and Marnie Blau had 12.

The Blugolds, which were statistically ranked No. 1 in the country in team kills with 15.8 per game, matched that with 16.7. Stout, ranked ninth at 14.1, had 13.7.

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Blue Devil Soccer

October 4, 1997

STOUT SOCCER TEAM FINALLY DENTS STEVENS POINTS' ARMOUR

MENOMONIE - The UW-Stout soccer team may have lost, 5-1, to UW-Stevens Point Saturday, Oct. 4, at Phelan Park but that one goal is one more than the Blue Devils have ever scored against the Pointers.

The Pointers, who have won all of the conference women's championships except last seasons', got off to a quick start when Jenny Lushine scored five minutes into the first half.

Two minutes later, Stout's Jessica Unterweger (So, Nashotah) took a pass from Shannon Camp (Fr, Blaine, Minn) to knot the score.

From there on, it was all Stevens Point, as they scored four unanswered goals. The Pointers (5-4-1, 3-0) outshot Stout (6-5, 1-4), 28-5 and held Stout to one shot - Unterweger's goal - in the first half.

Goalkeeper Nikki Bezak (So, Coon Rapids, Minn) did yeoman's work, stopping 15 shots.

The Blue Devils are off until Friday, Oct. 10 when they host Carleton College at 4 p.m. and UW-Platteville Saturday, Oct. 11 at 3:30 p.m.

October 1, 1997

STOUT SOCCER TAKES A HARD LOSS TO RIVER FALLS

RIVER FALLS - The UW-Stout soccer team got off to a fast start scoring the first goal against UW-River Falls Wednesday, but the Falcons came back for a 2-1 win over the Blue Devils at River Falls.

Jessica Unterweger (So, Nashotah) opened the game with a goal off a pass from the opposite sideline from Shannon Camp (Fr, Blaine, Minn.) about halfway into the first half.

Scoring for River Falls was Leah Woulf and Kate Pelinka, who scored the game winning goal in the second half.

The Falcons outshot the Blue Devils 27-7. The Blue Devils goalkeeper Nikki Bezak (So, Coon Rapids, Minn.) recorded 12 saves.

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Blue Devil Women's Cross Country

October 3, 1997

ERNSTER 14TH AT EAU CLAIRE CROSS COUNTRY MEET

COLFAX- While the rest of the UW-Stout women's cross country team had the week off, the Blue Devils' Nicole Ernster (Jr, Rochester, Minn) placed 14th at the UW-Eau Claire Invitational Friday, Oct. 3 at the Whitetail Golf Club.

Ernster, who had not competed for two weeks, ran a 20:29.

Both the men's and women's cross country teams will be back in action Friday, Oct. 10 when they return to Colfax for another UW-Eau Claire Invitational. The women's race will begin at 4:30 p.m., while the men's gun is scheduled to go off at 5:30 p.m.

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Blue Devil Tennis

October 5, 1997

AMY JAMIESON FINISHES AS CONSOLATION RUNNER-UP AT ROLEX REGIONAL

DECORAH, Iowa- UW-Stout's Amy Jamieson (Sr, Dayton, Minn) was a busy lady at the ITA Rolex Regional in Decorah, Iowa, last weekend.

The Blue Devil's No. 1 singles player lost her first match of the tournament, then came back through the consolation bracket to finish as the consolation runner-up and accomplished the same feat with doubles partner Lauren Mader (So, Neenah).

Jamieson lost to Janell Ziwisky of St. Benedict, 7-5, 6-0 in singles consolation finals. Jamieson and Mader lost in the doubles consolation champion to a Gustavus Adolphus team, 6-1, 7-5.

In singles, Mader also went into the consolation bracket, eventually bowing out in the semi-finals to Zwisky, 1-6, 7-6, 6-3.

Carrie Kish (Sr, Anoka) was the only Blue Devil to open the tournament with a win, downing Kyla Crandell of Principia College, 6-2, 6-3. Kish was eliminated in the next round by Kristin Lindbloom of St. Norbert, 6-2, 6-1.

Stout returns to action Saturday, Oct. 11 when they host St. Norbert at 9 a.m.

ITA Rolex Invitational Individual Results
Amy Jamieson lost to Julie Calhoon (University of Chicago) 4-6, 7-5, 6-3; def. Andrea Schmaetzle (St. Thomas) 6-3, 6-1; def. Tania Fisher (LaCrosse), 4-6, 6-2, 6-4; def. Jodi Reeder (Buena Vista) 6-1, 6-2; def. Hanna Weiers (Luther) by default; lost to Janell Ziwisky (St. Benedict) 7-5, 6-0.
Lauren Mader lost to Katie Erdmann (St. Olaf) 6-3, 7-3; def. Kathy Weber (Nebraska Wesleyan) 7-6 (8-6), 6-2; def. Liz Kavanagh (Augstana) 6-3, 6-4; def. Heather Johnson (St. Thomas) by defaut; lost to Janell Zwisky (St. Benedict) 1-6, 7-6, 6-3;
Carrie Kish def. Kyla Crandell (Principia) 6-2, 6-3; lost to Kristin Lindbloom (St. Norbert) 6-3, 6-2;
Amy Jamieson/Lauren Mader lost to Janell Zwisky/Liz Keifenheim (St. Benedict) 6-4. 6-1; def. Headlee/Reeder (Buena Vista) 6-4, 6-1; def. Debelak/Graf (St. Scholastica) by default; def. Erdmann/Kielthau (St. Olaf) by default; lost to James/Donley (Gustavus Adolphus) 6-1, 7-5

September 30, 1997

EAU CLAIRE SWEEPS PAST STOUT TENNIS IN CONFERENCE MATCH-UP

MENOMONIE- UW-Eau Claire showed who was king of the hill on the tennis courts, blanking the UW-Stout tennis team, 9-0, Tuesday, Sept. 30 at the Menomonie High School courts.

The Blue Devils put up a fight in the first two doubles matches of the breezy afternoon, but collapsed the rest of the way.

Amy Jamieson (Sr, Dayton, Minn) and Lauren Mader (So, Neenah) took the first set 6-2 over Coralie Lockner and Angie Johnson at No. 1 doubles, but were swept 6-1, 6-4 in the final two.

At No. 2 doubles, Carrie Kish (Sr, Anoka, Minn) and Jessica Pfeiffer (Sr, Woodbury, Minn) battled back from a 6-3 opening set loss to capture the second set, 6-4. But Eau Claire's Molly Cope and Andrea Muellner won the final set, 6-2.

Mader lost her first singles match of the season, falling to Lockner, 6-4, 6-2 at No. 2 singles.

The loss moved Stout to 4-2 overall, 1-1 in the WIAC.

UW-Eau Claire 9, UW-Stout 0
Singles:No. 1: Molly Cope (EC) def. Amy Jamieson, 6-4, 6-0;No. 2: Coralie Lockner (EC) def. Lauren Mader, 6-4, 6-2;No. 3: Andrea Muellner (EC) def. Carrie Kish, 6-4, 6-0;No. 4: Sarah Schmidt (EC) def. Ann Jackson, 6-1, 6-2;No. 5: Kathy Nelson (EC) def. Jessica Pfeiffer, 6-3, 6-0; No. 6: Suzie Hickman (EC) def. Shannon Seppela, 6-1, 6-1;
Doubles: No. 1: Lockner/Angie Johnson (EC) def. Jamieson/Mader, 2-6, 6-1, 6-4;No. 2: Cope/ Muellner (EC) def. Kish/Pfeiffer, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2;No. 3: Jill Graving/Jackie Dutot (EC) def. Jackson/Seppela, 6-1, 6-1.

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