Pioneers end year with .500 mark

UW-Stevens Point beat visiting UW-Platteville 45-24, giving the Pioneers a .500 season, their first since a similar 5-5 finish in 2006.

Anthony Anker returned the opening kickoff 88 yards for a touchown, putting UW-Platteville in a 7-0 hole. Fullback Patrick O'Brien's 1-yard TD run tied the score at 7-7, but the Pointers scored the next 17 points.

UW-Platteville's Zach Litchfield kicked a 24-yard field goal on the last play of the first half, and Lee Vlasak brought the Pioneers within 24-17 with a 69-yard scoring run. UWSP's Keith Ingram answered Vlasak's burst with a 42-yard run, and Mike Griffith added an 11-yard rushing score for the 38-17 advantage.

Pioneer quarterback Nick Anderson scored from one yard out with 5:12 to play, but Peter Petersen returned an Anderson interception 21 yards for a TD with 3:25 left.

The Pointers, 7-3 overall,claimed second place in the WIAC with a 5-2 mark, while the Pioneers finished 3-4 in league play.

Vlasak rushed for more than 100 yards for the fifth time in six starts, gaining 114. Anderson completed 32 of 46 passes for 300 yards, while Brian Holtrop had a career game at receiver, catching 13 passes for 115 yards.

Ingram ran for 117 yards on just 11 carries, while Jake Swank threw for 114 and a score for the Pointers. UW-Platteville out-gained the hosts 449-328 but was hurt by five turnovers.