Oct. 18, 2008

Box Score

The Upper Iowa football team played host to the Vikings of Augustana College on Saturday afternoon in Fayette. Augustana entered the game as the #5 team in the NCAA's most recent SuperRegional poll. The Vikings dominated the Peacocks in all facets of the game. The visitors built a 33-0 lead at halftime and cruised to a 40-7 victory at Eischeid Stadium. With the victory, Augustana improved to 6-2 overall and 6-1 in the NSIC, while Upper Iowa fell to 1-7 overall and 1-6 in conference play.

Upper Iowa tried an onside kick to open the game, but failed to recover the ball setting the Vikings up with first and ten at the UIU 41-yard line. Upper Iowa's defense was able to hold and forced a turnover on downs when the Vikings' running back was stopped for no gain after being stopped by Justin Michaels and Nick Lepperd on fourth down. The stop was one of only two defensive stops for Upper Iowa in the first half. Augustana scored on six of their eight first half possessions to take a 33-0 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The Peacocks opened the second half with a 13-play, 73-yard drive that took 7:03 off the game clock. The drive was capped off by a beautiful throw from quarterback Craig Burns to wide receiver Jesse Hubbard, who ran a stop-and-go route to get behind the defense. The scoring strike came from 24 yards out. The drive would be the only scoring drive of the day as the home team turned the ball over four times, twice on downs and twice on fumbles, and punted seven times.

For the game, Augustana outgained Upper Iowa 429 to 161 in total offensive yards and held a 21 to 11 advantage in first downs. The Vikings' attack was very balanced as they rushed for 227 yards and threw for 202 yards.

Kyle Hosch led Upper Iowa on the day with returns, runs, and catches as he attempted to spark a rally in the home team. Hosch rushed for 36 yards on seven carries, caught 2 passes for 24 yards, and returned 7 kickoffs for 148 yards (21+ yards/return). Sam Epsteen carried the ball 17 times for 72 yards and Lawrence Hellams caught three passes for 13 yards. Craig Burns stepped in at quarterback in the second half and threw 6 completions in 9 attempts for 47 yards and a touchdown and rushed 7 times for 11 yards.

On defense, Upper Iowa's leading tacklers were Justin Michaels (2 solo, 5 assisted), Craig Henry (4 solo, 2 assisted), Nate Curran (4 solo, 2 assisted), Vernard Wilkins (4 solo, 1 assisted), Dominique Jackson (3 solo, 2 assisted), and Joe Nix (5 assisted). Scott Fader and DeJon Creeks both recoverd fumbles caused by the defense.

Next Saturday, Upper Iowa will travel to Concordia University, St. Paul. The NSIC South Division game is set to kickoff at 1 p.m. in St. Paul. The Peacocks and Golden Bears will both be looking for their first NSIC South Division victory of the season next week.