Falcons Football prepare for final game of the regular season
November 7, 2018
The UW-River Falls Falcons football team will take on the UW-Stevens Point Pointers on Saturday, November 10th at 2 p.m. at David Smith Stadium at Ramer Field in River Falls, Wisconsin. Both the Falcons and the Pointers enter this season-ending Senior Day matchup with an overall record of 3-6 and WIAC conference record of 2-4.
Despite both teams being at the bottom of the WIAC standings, Falcons Head Coach Matt Walker expects this game to be exciting. “We like our matchup, we know we have to play well,” said Walker. “Our atmosphere and team mojo is in a good place and guys are hungry”.
Junior quarterback Ben Beckman, who started the first nine games of the season, is the expected starter for this matchup, despite being benched last week at La Crosse after receiving a personal foul penalty and getting benched in favor the freshman St. Cloud State transfer Kole Hinrichson. The Falcons would go on to lose that game to the Eagles 14-29.
Coach Walker believes that the 2018 season has been a long one for the Falcons, but that the team has been finding ways to cope with the pace and improve each player at an individual level. “Every day lets us attack one day at a time, lets us have the best Monday we can have, how can we have the best Tuesday”, Coach Walker said. “What can we do off the field watching film, lifting weights, and eating better, this is a good group that is ready to go”.
With a victory over UW-Stevens Point on Saturday, Coach Walker and the Falcons would finish 4-6 for the fourth consecutive season. WRFW’s football sideline reporter Jim Sturm shared his thoughts on 2018 saying, “It’s been interesting and inconsistent. This is a team that starts off the season with a promising 41-0 victory over Minnesota-Morris before going on a four-game losing streak. Even though they have had their troubles, it’s a young team that’s on the rise and they could take a step up next year”.
WRFW’s football color commentator Reagan Hoverman believes that senior wide receiver Alex Herink will be a critical player that the Falcons will need to rely on to defeat the Pointers. “Herink is the big name to watch in this game. He is looking to set a UWRF record for the most receiving touchdowns in a single season”, Hoverman said. “He is a threat on every offensive play of the game and one of the best overall receivers in the WIAC”.
UW-River Falls Director of Football Operations Noah Wing shares the same enthusiasm about Herink, saying, “He has received interest from the next level”.
Herink, 22, who is second in the WIAC in receiving touchdowns with eight, has recently been scouted by a Chicago Bears area scout at practice.