The Peacock football team headed into Moorhead, Minnesota today looking for win number one in 2010 against the Dragons of MSU Moorhead. Both Upper Iowa and their hosts came into the game with 0-2 records. The Northern Sun Conference shootout ended with a Dragon touchdown with four minutes on the clock and sent the Peacocks home with an 0-3 record.
Upper Iowa took their first drive of the second quarter 60 yards in five plays to put the first points on the scoreboard. The drive was capped off by a 7-yard rush by quarterback Drew Kaluzny and was highlighted by a hard 15-yard run by Jordan Otdoerfer and a 26-yard connection between Kaluzny and John Baldwin.
MSU Moorhead answered right back with a 13-play, 60-yard drive that tied the game thanks to a 4-yard touchdown rush by the Dragons’ Eboni Lucious-West.
The Peacocks wouldn’t let the momentum turn though as the offense drove the ball 79 yards in 16 plays to retake a 14-7 lead thanks to a Kinon O’Neal one-yard touchdown run. The Upper Iowa offense tallied five first downs on the drive and were aided by a 15-yard personal foul that kept the drive alive on 3rd and 10.
The teams headed to the locker rooms with UIU holding a 14-7 lead. The Peacocks outgained the Dragons 247-116 in total offensive yards and doubled their hosts in time of possession (20:45 to 9:15). Leading the Peacocks in the first half was Kaluzny, who threw for 137 yards on 15 of 21 throwing and ran for 53 yards and a touchdown. Jessie Hubbard led the receivers with 7 catches for 79 yards. The UIU defense was spearheaded by Ethan Douglas who recorded 3.5 tackles including two tackles for loss.
The Dragons, who had been held in check on their first three second half possessions, scored the tying touchdown on an 82-yard quick slant to Tyrone Small.
Otdoerfer took a handoff on UIU’s ensuing possession and rushed off left tackle for 62 yards to the MSUM 5- yard line. The Peacocks weren’t able to punch it into the endzone, but took a three-point lead when Tyler Parmenter converted a 18-yard field goal.
Upper Iowa’s defense came up with a huge stop when they forced and recovered a fumble at their own 2-yard line. Unfortunately, the Dragons’ defense came up with a big play of their own when they blocked and recovered a punt in the endzone to take a 21-17 lead less than a minute into the fourth quarter.
The Peacocks reclaimed the lead after another MSUM three and out. Upper Iowa took a 24-21 lead when a 6-play, 51-yard drive was capped off when Kaluzny sprinted across the goal line for the second time from 7 yards away. The big play on the drive was a 16-yard completion to Hubbard.
Upper Iowa looked as if they had the game salted away when Jordan Andera intercepted a pass on fourth down and returned it over 80 yards for a touchdown, but the play was nullified by a defensive holding call. With the first down, MSU Moorhead pushed the ball into the endzone with just over four minutes to play. The UIU offense was unable to muster any offense over the final minutes and went down in defeat, 28-24.
The tale of the game came down to two categories… turnovers and penalties. Upper Iowa turned the ball over three times on interceptions and once on downs, while only taking the ball once on a fumble recovery. The Peacocks also committed 19 penalties for 142 yards, while the Dragons got flagged 12 times for 169 yards.
UIU outgained MSUM in total offense 486 to 263 and controlled the ball for over 37 minutes.
Kaluzny threw for 246 yards on 26 completions, but did throw 3 interceptions. The redshirt freshman signal caller also ran for 106 yards and 2 touchdowns on 24 carries. Otdoerfer added 96 yards on the ground, while Hubbard pulled down 12 catches for 114 yards. Douglas had a team-high 4.5 tackles and Craig Henry added 3.5 tackles.
Upper Iowa will return to the friendly confines of Eb Eischeid Stadium as they welcome the #17 Warriors of Winona State next Saturday, Sept. 25, at 1:00 p.m.
