By GENE KEMMETER
of The Gazette
The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point will face St. John's University in the second round of the NCAA Division III playoffs Saturday, Nov. 24, after the Pointers knocked off Bethel (Minn.) on Saturday, Nov. 17.
Saturday's game begins at noon in Collegeville, Minn., and is a rematch of a 1999 first-round game won by the Johnnies, 23-10. St. John's finished as runner-up in last year's NCAA playoffs and is aiming for its fifth trip to the NCAA quarterfinals in six years. St. John's has a 9-2 record, compared to the Pointers' 8-2.
The game will be broadcast live on WIZD (99.9 FM) radio with Scott Krueger calling the play-by-play and Ken Kulick providing the analysis. The game will also be available on the Internet through the St. John's football Web site at: http://www.csbsju.edu/sjusports/fball.html.
The teams have two common opponents, UW-Eau Claire and Bethel. St. John's lost to UW-EC, 25-10, in the first game of the season and defeated Bethel, 34-0, on Oct. 20. The Pointers beat UW-EC, 30-27, in overtime on Nov. 10.
Sixteen teams remain in the NCAA Division III playoff field, which had 12 teams eliminated in last week's first round. The winner of Saturday's game faces the winner of a contest between sixth-seeded Pacific Lutheran (Wash.) and West Region top seed Central (Iowa). If Central wins, it will host the third-round game. If Pacific Lutheran wins, the game will be at either St. John's or UW-SP.
UW-SP is coming off its first-ever NCAA playoff win, the victory over Bethel, which tied St. John's for the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title
.The Pointers spotted Bethel a quick 14-0 lead, then battled back with a fumble and interception for touchdowns en route to the victory.
The game started wildly and continued at a frantic pace in the early going. The teams combined for 847 yards of total offense in the contest.
Bethel returned the opening kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown and the Royals added a two-point conversion for a quick 8-0 lead. After a missed Pointer field goal, Bethel drove eight plays in 80 yards and took a 14-0 lead on a two-yard run.
UW-SP's Heath Novitzke blocked the extra point and teammate Matt Stoehr picked up the loose ball, returning it for two points for the Pointers.
On the Pointers' next possession, quarterback Scott Krause broke free for a 53-yard touchdown run and then Bethel fumbled on the ensuing kickoff, with UW-SP's Jonah Roth recovering the ball and returning it eight yards for a touchdown.
With 2:30 still left in the first quarter, Bethel took a 20-15 lead on a two-yard run by Mike Johnson who had 90 yards on seven carries in the first quarter, but just 28 yards on his final 13 carries to finish with 118 yards.
The Pointers took a 24-20 lead into halftime on a four-yard touchdown run by Lance Gast early in the second quarter and a 28-yard field goal by Ricardo Vega with 18 seconds left in the half.
The third quarter was scoreless, and then the Pointers increased their lead to 30-20 on a one-yard quarterback sneak by Krause that capped a 13-play, 54-yard drive.
With 7:55 left in the game, Novitzke intercepted a Royals' pass and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown to give the Pointers a 37-20 lead.
Bethel added a late touchdown, but UW-SP ran out the clock for the victory.
The Pointers rushed for 245 yards, which was easily the most allowed by Bethel this season after the Royals entered the game with the nation's second-best rushing defense. UW-SP's 37 points was also the most given up by Bethel this year.
Jason VanderVelden rushed for 94 yards on 20 carries and Krause had 79 yards rushing, becoming the first players to rush for more than 70 yards against the Bethel defense this season. Joel Olson had nine catches for 84 yards for Bethel.