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Point hopes to stick with 'Hawks

WHITEWATER — Can anyone even make it interesting this season against UW-Whitewater's football team?

The answer may come Saturday in Stevens Point.

The Pointers (5-2) are the last team to beat the Warhawks during the regular season, and the two teams are tied atop the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference at 4-0.

Stevens Point went on the road and beat Whitewater, 17-16, a year ago, but the Warhawks have been on cruise-control all season. Second-ranked Whitewater (7-0) is outscoring opponents 41-6.

"I think it's a credit to both programs that we're in this position," Whitewater coach Lance Leipold said of "Obviously, the winner of this game is going to be in the driver's seat with two games left.

"Our job is to stay focused and finish better than we did a year ago against Point. It's a tough task for us, especially going on the road."

Although the Warhawks' hopes of an undisputed conference title and an unbeaten regular season were dashed by the Pointers a year ago, Leipold does not believe revenge will come into play this time. He credits his coaching staff for keeping the players' thoughts on this year's game and not last year's disappointment.

"We haven't talked about it much," Leipold said of last year's loss to the Pointers. "And I'm not going to question my players intelligence, either. They know what happened last year and what's at stake Saturday.

"I learned a long time ago not to dwell on losses and to not get a hangover from victories. It's an important game, and we'll find out a little bit more about ourselves."

Stevens Point is coming off a 26-14 win over UW-La Crosse. The victory marked the first time in school history that Stevens Point had beaten La Crosse in back-to-back seasons.

The Pointers' perfect record in the WIAC is the result of a balanced offensive attack. Jared Beckwith starts at quarterback for Stevens Point and has thrown for 1,797 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Wide receiver Jared Jenkins is Beckwith's favorite target. Jenkins has caught 61 passes for 902 yards and 10 touchdowns on the season, including a 13-catch, 189-yard performance against La Crosse that earned him WIAC Offensive Player of the Week honors.

Leipold hopes his defense can remain stingy. The Warhawks have allowed only six points a game and are giving up just over 200 yards of total offense. That's quite a feat when you consider the Warhawks are averaging almost 500 yards a game on offense.

Junior cornerback Matt McCulloch is one reason the Warhawks continue to shut down opponents. The Janesville Parker High School graduate was named Whitewater's Defensive Player of the Week against UW-River Falls after finishing with one tackle, three assists and two passes broken up.

"It's great to see the maturation of a kid like Matt McCulloch," Leipold said. "He's been excelling for us, and we're going to need another big game from his Saturday.

"He was a very gifted athlete coming out of high school. We moved him from safety to cornerback because of his size and athleticism, and he's been a perfect fit."