Sept. 27, 2008
Final Stats
The Peacock football team traveled to St. Cloud State University for their fifth game of the season on Saturday. In their first four games, the Peacocks held a 1-3 record but their losses came by four points at Drake, three points to U-Mary, and seven points to Southwest Minnesota State. On Saturday, Upper Iowa was not able to stay with their hosts as they fell to the Huskies of St. Cloud State, 54-28.
St. Cloud State jumped out to a 20-0 lead midway through the second quarter thanks to a pair of field goals from Brian Cristan (36, 40) and a pair of Brandon Geiss touchdowns. Geiss' touchdowns came on a 1 yard run and a 65 yard reception from Mitch Watkins.
The Peacocks made their mark on the scoreboard as the first half wound down. Zay Shepherd capped off a long, 14-play drive that covered 85 yards and 8:31 off the game clock. Shepherd scored on a one-yard run to cut the deficit to 20-7. The drive was highlighted by a 35-yard hook up between Craig Burns and Lawrence Hellams. The Huskies jumped offside after forcing a Peacock field goal attempt which gave Upper Iowa a second chance with a first and goal from the 3-yard line.
St. Cloud State was able to pull away in the third quarter as they scored 27 unanswered points to lead Upper Iowa 47-7 heading to the fourth quarter. The Huskies took advantage of a fumble and an interception of the Peacocks first two possessions of the quarter. St. Cloud State got scores on one touchdown pass and three touchdown runs including Geiss' third touchdown of the day.
Upper Iowa rallied in the fourth quarter outscoring their hosts 21-7 in the final fifteen minutes. Shepherd added two more touchdowns on the ground for the Peacocks. The junior scored on runs from 2 and 12 yards. The two scores by Shepherd sandwiched an exciting wide receiver reverse by La'Mont Williams that covered 62 yards. Upper Iowa's rally came too late in the ballgame as the Peacocks fell 54-28.
St. Cloud State finished the game with 457 yards of total offense, while Upper Iowa came away with 368 yards. Upper Iowa was led by Shepherd and his three touchdowns runs. Junior running back Sam Epsteen had nine carries for 68 yards. Starting quarterback Ben Curran was knocked out of the game in the first half and junior Craig Burns completed 17 of 24 passes for 138 yards. Linebacker Shane McComb had a game-high nine tackles for the Peacocks.
With the loss, Upper Iowa's record fell to 1-4 overall and 1-3 in the NSIC, while St. Cloud State improved to 3-2 overall and 3-1 in the NSIC. Upper Iowa will return to the friendly confines of Eischeid Stadium next Saturday, Oct. 4, as UIU celebrates their Homecoming. The Peacocks will welcome the Wildcats of Wayne State College with kickoff scheduled for 1:00 p.m. A full Homecoming schedule will be available on Upper Iowa's main webpage www.uiu.edu.
