Pointers hold down Arrows but lose 12-7

By Matthew Goninen    

In a back and forth battle last Friday night  the Lancaster Flying Arrows took down the Mineral Point Pointers 12-7. 

The game, played at Ron Murphy Field in Mineral Point, was the season opener for both teams.

Both sides would struggle to move the ball early in the first half. Lancaster would get an early opportunity, however, as they recovered a bad snap to Mineral Point Punter Reid Acherman on the Pointer eight-yard line. The Flying Arrows would run the ball into the endzone on the third play of the drive but would fail to score on the two-point conversion.

Early in the second quarter, Lancaster would gain significant momentum on a deep throw to Wide Receiver Taylor Williams. On fourth down later in the drive, Quarterback Nolan Wolf would again turn to Williams, who would bring down an impressive catch and dive over the goal line for another Lancaster touchdown. The Flying Arrows would attempt another two-point conversion and fail to score.

With just over one minute before halftime, Mineral Point Junior Roen Carey would slither past the Flying Arrow offensive line and bring down Nolan Wolf in the backfield on fourth down. This would be Carey’s second sack of the half. 

“We played very physically with four new starters on defense, three of which are linebackers,” said Pointer Head Coach Justin Leonard. “I was overly impressed with their effort.”

The Pointer coaching staff would elect to run the clock out and head into the locker room down 12-0.

Coming out of the locker room, Mineral Point would receive the ball to begin the second half. After struggling to move the ball down the field for the entire first half, the Mineral Point offense would start to build momentum. They would go on a long drive, headlined by Gibson Sporle’s running ability and pass accuracy. 

“He did what we asked,” Coach Leonard added. “He’s been a great leader the whole offseason into this season. Things are going to get better with his hard work and his effort as long as he continues with that great mentality.” 

Senior Landon Thousand would catch the touchdown pass for the Pointers, and Bryce Vamstad would score the PAT.

Peyton Alvarado would shoulder the load for the Flying Arrows for the remainder of the game. Lancaster would convert fourth down after fourth down. Their early first quarter punt would be their only punt of the game.

Mineral Point would gain possession of the ball to begin the fourth quarter following a turnover on downs. Things looked good for Mineral Point after Sporle found Kennicker open across the middle of the field for a 44-yard reception. However, Mineral Point would throw four straight incompletions, turning the ball over on downs. They would leave over 11 minutes on the clock and still possessed all three timeouts.

Lancaster would hold onto the ball for the remainder of the game, running the ball up the middle and gaining just enough yardage to move the chains. Mineral Point would use all three of their timeouts in the final minutes of the game to no avail.

Next week, Mineral Point will travel to Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville for a battle with the Platteville Hillmen. 

When asked what the Pointers will need to do to prepare for the Hillmen, Coach Leonard said that “[Watching film] will be our main focus. We want to know them better than they know themselves.” 

Both teams will be looking to pick up their first win of the young season.