GAME FOUR || Saturday, September 24 || 4:30 PM
Winona, Minn. || Verizon Wireless Stadium
Game Notes: Upper Iowa || Winona State
Upper Iowa at Winona State 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. Howie Thompson, UIU's Director of Sports Communication, will add color analysis to the broadcast.
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 win their third game of the season this Saturday evening at Winona State University. The Warriors and Peacocks will meet to open the teams’ Northern Sun Conference South Division schedule. Both teams enter the game having won last Saturday. Upper Iowa defeated MSU Moorhead, 45-31, while Winona State upset #9 St. Cloud State, 29-16.
The game will highlight two of the NSIC’s best rushers in the form of UIU’s Chris Smith and WSU’s Rayon Simmons.
Smith Tabbed NSIC’s Best…
The Northern Sun Conference handed out this week’s football awards and Chris Smith (Fr., RB, Brown Deer, Wis.) has been named the NSIC Offensive Player of the Week.
Smith had a second straight 100-yard rushing game for the Peacocks as he accounted for 158 yards and a pair of long touchdown runs on just 14 carries in a 45-31 win over MSU Moorhead. Smith led the NSIC last week with an 11.3 yard per carry average.
After three games this season, Smith has 315 yards on just 44 carries for an average of 7.16 yards per rush. He also has one reception for 11 yards. He is currently ranked 27th in the country and 3rd in the NSIC for rushing yards per game (105).
Let the Freshman Lead…
Redshirt freshman quarterback Cole Jaeschke is ranked 21st in the country and 3rd in the Northern Sun in passing efficiency. The Gowrie, Iowa native has posted a 153.8 rating through the first three weeks and is leading the Peacock offense that is ranked 44th in the country and 2nd in the NSIC in total offense (409.3 yards/game).
Jaeschke has completed 62.5% of his passes for 573 yards and 3 touchdowns in three games, while rushing for 43 yards on 16 carries.
Hubbard Heating Up…
Senior wideout Jessie Hubbard has been heating up over the first three weeks of the season. The two-time All-NSIC performer caught 4 balls for 52 yards week one, but has upped his production since. He snagged 5 passes for 90 yards and returned 5 kicks for 99 yards versus #1 Minnesota Duluth and added 3 receptions for 88 yards and a pair of touchdowns, as well as two kick returns for 43 yards, against MSU Moorhead. Hubbard ranks 6th in the NSIC in receving yards/game.
Gutman Adds to UIU Youth Movement…
Redshirt freshman Shay Gutman, who caught one pass for 27 yards week one, has pulled in a touchdown reception in each of the last two games. The Cedar Rapids, Iowa native caught 3 passes for 48 yards in Duluth and then snared five for 95 yards in UIU’s Homecoming win. The TD catch versus the Dragons came from Drew Kaluzny on a wide receiver end around and throw.
Sandoval... Just Kickin’ It…
Junior Steven Sandoval remains perfect in Peacock blue and white. Sandoval has hit all six field goal attempts and all eight extra point attemps this season. His 26 points rank him 50th in the country and 3rd in the NSIC in scoring, while he’s is tied for 4th nationally and 1st in the NSIC in field goals made/game (2.0).
Strong Up the Middle…
Junior Tony Leggett and sophomore Tom Nesvik are leading the defense through the first three games. Leggett has 33 tackles which ties him for 19th nationally and 3rd in the NSIC with 11 per game. Nesvik’s 29 tackles tie him for 47th nationally and 5th in the NSIC with 9.67 per game.
Leggett scored the game’s first touchdown last Saturday on the first play from scrimmage when he scooped up a fumble and returned it 26 yards. He now has three fumble recoveries this season.
Scouting the Warriors…
For the third consecutive season the Winona State football team claimed a victory over a team ranked ninth in the national rankings. After beating a ninth ranked Carson-Newman two years in a row, Winona State added a victory over No. 9 St. Cloud State Saturday in Winona.
The 29-16 Warrior victory moved the team to 2-0 in NSIC play during an especially wild weekend. All three teams from the league to make the NCAA playoffs a season ago – St. Cloud State, Augustana and defending national champion Minnesota Duluth – lost to conference foes.
The victory was WSU head coach Tom Sawyer’s eighth win over a ranked opponent and fourth in the last three seasons.
The Warriors will look to defend their NSIC South Division title won last season. The Warriors went 5-1 in division play a season ago and shared the title with Augustana.
WSU knocked off a top-ten team for the third consecutive season, beating No. 9 St. Cloud State, 29-16, in Winona. Rayon Simmons led the Warrior offensive charge with 150 rushing yards and two scores while the defense forced turnovers on five of SCSU’s seven second half possessions. Winona State is now 8-14 under Tom Sawyer in games against ranked opponents.
Winona State has gotten the offense going in the last two weekends, rolling off 502 yards against MSU Moorhead and adding 421 yards the next week against St. Cloud State.
The rushing offense rolled up 298 yards on the ground against the Dragons and followed it up with 222 the next week. Rayon Simmons had gained 287 yards and five touchdowns in those two games.
WSU opened its season with a 23-6 loss to Michigan Tech. In a game delayed 15 minutes at the start because of a massive storm that rolled through Winona, the Warriors committed four turnovers and struggled to move the football. Rayon Simmons led the team with 30 yards on the ground and also had a 46-yard catch and run. The Warrior run defense played well allowing just 2.9 yards per carry.
Winona State has a stable of running backs that are the envy of the rest of the NSIC. The NSIC’s leading rusher, Rayon Simmons, returns after a 1,000 yard season.
Theo Burkett was second on the team in rushing yards and averaged better than six
yards a carry. Curtis Dewberry is a homerun threat each time he touches the football.
Chichi Ojika and Mike Houts are back to add additional depth while redshirt freshmen Taylor Hauser and Anthony Resnick will also be in the mix for carries.
Simmons led the NSIC in rushing yards with 1,252 in 2010. He was 16th nationally in rushing as well. Simmons recorded five 100-yard games, including a 196-yard five touchdown showing against Southwest Minnesota State.
In just over two years with the Warriors, Simmons has cemented himself as one of the top rushers in school history. His 2,463 yards are the seventh most by any Warrior. The 1,252 yards he collected last season were the fourth most in a single season by a Warrior. His 894 yards as a freshman in 2009 are the 13th best single-season total in school history as well.
The Series…
Winona State has beaten Upper Iowa in each of the seven meetings between the schools. The teams have played five times since Upper Iowa joined the NSIC. Winona State claimed a 42-14 victory a season ago in Fayette.
Last Meeting…
The Peacocks put together a great first half on offense and defense as the game went to halftime tied at 14-14, but it was all Warriors in the second half as they outscored the home team 28-0.
The Peacocks wasted no time putting their mark on the scoreboard in Fayette with a touchdown less than two minutes into the game. The drive was highlighted by a 39-yard hookup between Ben Curran and La’Mont Williams and was capped off by an 11-yard rush by Jordan Otdoerfer.
Both teams were unsuccessful in field goal attempts in the first quarter; Winona State missed a 29-yarder wide right and Upper Iowa’s 43-yard try was blocked. The Warriors converted the blocked field goal into a 50-yard touchdown drive to tie the game and then took their first possession of the second quarter 87 yards for their second touchdown and a 14-7 lead.
A Craig Henry interception midway through the second quarter set up the Peacock offense at Winona’s 39-yard line. Five plays later, Otdoerfer rushed off the left tackle from 24 yards away to tie the game 14-14.
Winona State outgained Upper Iowa in total offensive yards 235 to 186, but the Peacocks held the advantage in takeaways with two interceptions in the opening 30 minutes.
The Warriors owned the second half scoring 28 unanswered points thanks to four touchdown receptions; one by Alex Jensen, a pair by Derrick Engel and one by Tyler Speer. The first three passes came from Evan Aber, while the final score came out of the hand of Bryan Bradshaw.
Winona State outgained Upper Iowa 501-274 in total offensive yards and limited the Peacock offense to just one conversion in 14 attempts on third down.
