GAME THREE || Saturday, September 17 || 1 PM
Fayette, Iowa || Eb Eischeid Stadium
Game Notes: Upper Iowa || MSU Moorhead
Upper Iowa vs. Texas A&M-Commerce Live Options
Radio: AM 950 KOEL - "The Voice" of UIU Football, Joe Stasi, will bring you all the action live on northeast Iowa's largest AM radio station.
Live Webcast (provided by New Media Television) || Live Stats || Online Audio Only (provided by Stretch Internet)
This Week in Peacock Football...
The Upper Iowa Football team will look to add to the Homecoming Celebration on Saturday when they host the Dragons of Minnesota State University Moorhead. The game will be UIU’s first Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference home game of the year. The Peacocks will look to continue their success at home after an opening day win at home on September 3. UIU defeated Texas A&M-Commerce 15-14 before losing to #1 Minnesota Duluth last Saturday on the road, 49-22.
The Series…
The Dragons lead the series 2-1. The two teams met in 2006 (UIU 36-13), 2007 (MSUM 31-28), and 2010 (MSUM 28-24). The home team has won all three contests.
Peacock Youth on Display…
The Peacock offense is in some pretty young hands these days. Last week as the Upper Iowa put up 458 yards of total offense at #1 Minnesota Duluth... three young men came to the forefront in just their second collegiate game. True freshman Chris Smith ran for 133 yards and caught one pass for 11 yards. For the season, the young man from Brown Deer, Wis. has rushed for 157 yards on 30 carries for a 5.2 yard average.
A pair of redshirt freshman are catching the eye of opposing coaches. Quarterback Cole Jaeschke has completed 28 of his 46 passes (60.9%) for 364 yards and one touchdown, while rushing 12 times for 42 yards. Shay Gutman caught Jaeschke’s touchdown pass last week at Duluth and now has four receptions for 75 yards. Gutman has also taken over punt return duties for the Peacocks.
Sandoval Brings Boot to Work…
Junior newcomer Steven Sandoval remains perfect in Peacock blue and white. Sandoval has hit all five field goal attempts and both extra point attemps this season.
Last Meeting…
The difference in last year’s game was simple… turnovers and penalties. UIU turned the ball over four times, while only taking one fumble.
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.
However, it was a Kevin Koch to Tyrone Small quick slant that resulted in an 88-yard touchdown and a blocked punt in the endzone that resulted in another seven points and led to the Peacocks’ demise.
Drew Kaluzny threw for 246 yards despite three interceptions and added 106 yards and 2 touchdowns on 24 carries. Jordan Otdoerfer added 96 yards on the ground, while Hubbard pulled down 12 catches for 114 yards.
Scouting the Dragons…
New Head Coach Steve Laqua joined the Dragons last spring following a marvelous run at Fargo Shanley High School where he fashioned a 20-game winning streak and guided the Deacons to back-to-back North Dakota State High School Championships.
Laqua and his new staff were greeted by 15 seniors for the opening of fall camp, including noseguard Ben Condon, cornerback Travis Davidson, center/offensive guard Tommy Gochis, wide receiver Kendall Hendon, tight end Phil Herkenhoff, linebacker Tyler Hewson, quarterback Kevin Koch, runningback E’boni Lucious-West, wide receiver Alex Pearson, holder Bryson Pluta, noseguard Max Pryor, linebacker Jeff Schuette, runningback Brandon Thompson, offensive tackle Zack Tourangeau and safety Logan Werlinger. Koch, Pryor, Schuette and Thompson have been elected captains for 2011.
While some rebuilding is certainly necessary, the Dragons retain several offensive weapons. Koch completed 160 of 316 passes for 1,760 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2010 while Thompson caught 47 passes for 436 yards and one touchdown. Lucious-West rushed for a club high 557 yards on 162 carries with three touchdowns while Schuette was third on the club defensive chart with 55 tackles.
The Dragons, 2-9 overall and 2-8 in the NSIC a year ago, fell at Missouri Southern 30-0 on opening day. MSUM defeated Valley City State 16-6 on opening day in 2009 at Alex Nemzek Stadium.
