Box Score Records

Upper Iowa (6-4, 3-3 NSIC South) | Wayne State (2-8, 1-5 NSIC South)

Recap

Thanks to a come-from-behind victory on the road at Wayne State College, the Peacock football team has secured their first winning season as an NCAA Division II institution. In fact, Saturday's 24-21 win over the Wildcats guarantees the first winning season for the program since 1999 and is only the fifth campaign to end with more wins than losses since the 1966 season that ended with an 8-2 record.

The three-point victory was no surprise given the track record when these two teams get together. Over the last two years, Wayne State claimed a three-point victory in each of the meetings; in 2010, Upper Iowa won a 21-20 decision on senior day in Fayette.

It was also appropriate that the Wildcats and Wayne, Neb. be involved in this historic win. After all, Upper Iowa went to Wayne State in August of 2006 and won their first game as a member of the Northern Sun Conference over WSC, 24-14.

Upper Iowa got off to a slow start on Saturday afternoon and the host Wildcats took advantage moving out to an early two-possession lead. Wayne State's Charlie Davidson scored on a 10-yard run midway through the first quarter and crossed the goal line again in the second quarter from 2 yards out giving the home team a 13-0 lead. On the extra point attempt, the snap was mishandled and an attempt at a pass took place which Peacock safety Jordan Andera snagged and then galloped the length of the field for a rare, defensive point after to give UIU their first two points of the day.

The play was a spark for UIU, who had moved the ball successfully but stalled out in enemy territory to that point. After a Peacock punt stuck the Wildcats inside their own 20-yard line, Upper Iowa forced a fumble by Davidson that was recovered by Cole Stephen at the 15-yard line setting up the Peacock offense in the redzone. Three plays later, UIU's running back Chris Smith pushed into the endzone for a touchdown from two yards away. A failed two-point conversion left the score, 13-8, heading into the halftime break.

The Peacock defense made a great stop on 4^th and 3 from their own 34-yard line as Alex Wahl and Weston Neuendorf combined for a sack of the Wildcat quarterback for the turnover on downs. On their ensuing possession, Upper Iowa used a 10-play, 64-yard move ahead by one point, 14-13. The drive was highlighted by four complete passes from quarterback Cole Jaeschke and was capped off when Jaeschke found Drew Kaluzny for a 26-yard scoring strike. The two-point attempt was unsuccessful.

After the defenses tried to gain control of the pace in the third quarter, UIU took over with the ball at midfield with just under three minutes to play in the quarter. Head Coach Tom Shea and Offensive Coordinator Brian Frana turned to their tailback to extend the Peacock lead. Smith carried the ball four times and picked up 44 yards and scampered over the goal line from 16 yards out. Tim Rueb kicked the extra point to put Upper Iowa ahead 21-13 with less than a minute to play in the third.

Rueb and the Peacocks added a 26-yard field goal to cap off a 13-play drive that covered 42 yards but consumed over 7 minutes off the clock. Smith rushed eight times for 19 yards on the drive to shorten the clock on the Wildcat offense.

UIU had an opportunity to move ahead by 14 points a possession later, but missed a 29-yard field goal to the left after a fumble forced by Andera and recovered by Alex Wahl set up the Peacocks with the ball in Wayne State territory. The miss gave WSC the ball at their 20-yard line with 3:12 to play in the game.

Wayne State's quarterback Zach Osborn maneuvered the Wildcats down the field taking what the UIU defense gave him. Osborn only hit 5 of his 12 pass attempts on the drive, but three were for more than ten yards including the last two of 13 and 18. Osborn's 18-yard dart found Nate Rogers in the endzone and after a successful two-point conversion, the Wildcats were within three points, 24-21.

The Peacocks recovered the ensuing kickoff and ran out the clock with three kneel-downs to preserve the victory and claim the team's first winning season ending a drought that lasted 13 seasons.

Sounding Off
Head Coach Tom Shea after the victory…

On the win… "I'm just so proud of the guys. They've come so far. You know, today we started out slow, but our guys came out in the second half and really stepped up. We forced some turnovers and we were able to take advantage of some things. I'm just really proud of them."

On the rally from the team in the second half… "I just think we came out a little sluggish in the first half. We've never played for anything before. It took our guys a little bit to get going. But we talked at halftime and cleaned up some things. We really came out with some fire and energy in the second half. We played for something. It was really special."

On the team's regular season finale at home with #1 Minnesota State… "Hey we are going to go out and give it all we've got next week. Our seniors are a part of something special. It's a great feeling. We get to go play the #1 team in the country (Minnesota State) next week at our place. It doesn't get much better than that."

UIU Standouts

Offense: Smith… 155 yards and 2 TDs on 39 carries | Jaeschke… 164 yards passing and 1 TD, 35 yards rushing | Lucas Hefty... 7 catches for 58 yards | Keaton Hosch... 6 catches for 38 yards | Kaluzny.. 4 catches for 47 yards and 1 TD

Defense: Keaton Martin... 11 tackles (6 solo) | Ethan Douglas... 7 tackles (6 solo, 1 for loss) | Andera… 4 tackles, 1 fumble forced | Chayz Holt... 4 tackles (3 solo)

Game Notes

Chris Smith is just 3 yards shy of the all-time career rushing mark at Upper Iowa. He trails T.C. Hicks (3,178 yards from 2004-07) by two. Smith has now 16 touchdowns on the season.

Cole Jaeschke reset the completions in a season record at UIU with his 21 on Saturday. He now has 226 on the year. He needs 196 yards and 37 attempts to rewrite a pair of single-season records from a year ago in his final regular season start of 2013 versus Minnesota State.

The UIU offense surpassed their total offensive output of a year ago to reestablish a new single-season record with a game to go. The Peacocks have racked up 4,915 yards of total offense surpassing the old high mark from 2012 by 241 yards.

Wayne State now leads the series 5-3 with UIU's three wins coming in 2006 (24-14), 2010 (21-20) and 2013 (24-21).

Next Up

The Peacocks will wrap up their regular season with a 12 p.m. start next Saturday, Nov. 16. Upper Iowa will recognize their seniors prior to their matchup with the #1 team in all of NCAA Division II. Minnesota State University, Mankato boasts the only undefeated record in the Northern Sun Conference at 10-0 overall and 6-0 in the NSIC South.