Nov. 8, 2008

Final Stats

The Upper Iowa football team closed out the 2008 campaign with a thrilling win at home on Senior Day in Fayette. The Peacocks fell behind the Golden Eagles of Minnesota, Crookston 22-3 less than six minutes into the game's action. Upper Iowa caught its collective breath and was able to 20 unanswered points to take a 23-22 lead with 2:04 to play in the third quarter. Minnesota, Crookston retook the lead early in the fourth quarter, 30-23, but the Peacocks stormed back once again just 55 seconds later to tie the game at 30-30. Neither team could get the winning score in regulation so the game moved to overtime.

In overtime, the Peacocks missed a field goal on their first possession, but picked off a Golden Eagle pass to send the contest into double overtime. The Golden Eagles scored a touchdown with just two plays, but missed the extra point to take a 36-30 lead. Upper Iowa faced a 4th and 7 on their final possession, but a pass interference call gave the home team new life with a fresh set of downs. UIU scored the tying touchdown and added an extra point to take the victory 37-36.

Both teams, in some part due to the weather, emphasized running the ball. Minnesota, Crookston rushed for 191 yards, fueled by Calvin McMullen's 169 yards and three touchdowns. On any other day, that would seem like a lot of yards, but on this day in Fayette it could not compare to what the Peacock offense produced on the ground. UIU rushed for 425 yards and 5 touchdowns. Senior Kyle Hosch, who also caught 2 passes for 41 yards, carried the ball 22 times and gained 199 yards scoring three touchdowns to lead the Peacock comeback. Hosch also had help from Zay Shepherd, who rushed 19 times for 77 yards, and Sam Epsteen, who carried 17 times for 75 yards. Quarterback Ben Curran rushed 7 times for 59 yards and a touchdown and La'Mont Williams carried the ball 3 times for 15 yards and the touchdown in overtime.

The Upper Iowa defense was led by a group of seniors. Mike Slaughter tallied 13 tackles (5 solo) in the game. He accounted for 4.5 tackles for loss and 1 sack. Andrew Teeter recorded 7 tackles. Doug Akins picked up 5 tackles including 1.5 for loss. Scott Fader made 3 tackles including 1.5 for loss and 1 sack. Juniors Dominique Jackson and Justin Michaels picked off Golden Eagle passes to end UMC drives.

Upper Iowa honored 9 seniors prior to the ball game. They were Kyle Hosch, Mike Slaughter, Andrew Teeter, Dan Hernandez, Joe Warren, Jerad Jandrain, Lawrence Hellams, Scott Fader, Doug Akins. The Peacocks finished the year with a 2-9 record overall and a 2-8 record in NSIC games. After beginning the season as the #14 pick in the preseason poll, Upper Iowa finished in a tie for 11th place with MSU Moorhead in the conference.