Box Score
Records
Upper Iowa 2-1 | Northern State 1-2
Recap
Harry Houdini and David Blaine would be proud of the escape act that the Peacock football team performed in Aberdeen, S.D. on Saturday afternoon. It had a sense in the first half that Upper Iowa could cruise to victory, then the drama of something going wrong with the plan, and finally, the triumphant escape and success of the artist.
UIU overcame turnovers and a special teams touchdown allowed to earn a come-from-behind NSIC victory on the road over Northern State University. Trailing 17-16 with less than two minutes to play, Peacock linebacker
Ethan Douglas forced a fumble as the Wolves looked to run out the clock; linebacker
Alex Wahl jumped on the ball for Upper Iowa. A few plays later and with 35 seconds on the clock, Chris Smith scampered into the endzone from 11 yards away to give the Peacocks the lead. After a two-point conversion to Lucas Hefty, UIU had a 24-17 lead. The defense forced a turnover on downs to end the game and complete the successful escape act. Upper Iowa has now won its last three games against Northern State, altough the teams haven't met since 2009.
The game's first score came on a blocked punt by the Wolves. NSU's Paul Woodard blocked and returned a punt 26 yards giving the home team an early 7-0 lead less than three minutes into the game.
Upper Iowa answered on their third possession after a 13-play, 78-yard drive that followed an interception by
Chayz Holt as NSU neared the red zone. The drive was highlighted by two pass completions between
Cole Jaeschke and
Derek Giesking; both of which resulted in Peacock first downs. Smith capped off the drive with a 15-yard run across the goalline to tie the game at 7-7.
UIU's defense backed up the score by getting the Northern State offense off the field in a hurry allowing just eight yards on four plays before forcing a punt. The Peacocks drove the ball back down into the red zone quickly, but stalled out at the 17-yard line.
Gus Rocha came in and booted one through the uprights from 34 yards to give Upper Iowa a 10-7 just minutes into the second quarter.
After the Peacock punt team pinned NSU inside their own 20-yard line, the UIU defense came on and forced a punt attempt. Northern State botched the attempt though and the punter was tackled for a loss of seven; Upper Iowa took over at the 16-yard line. Smith ran the ball on the first play for 13 yards and gave the Peacocks a first and goal from the 3-yard line. The Northern State defense stiffened, but on fourth down Jaeschke found Hefty for a touchdown putting the Peacocks ahead 16-7 after the extra point missed.
In the third quarter, trouble began to brew for the Peacocks. Northern State took the opening kick and traveled 75 yards in 10 plays taking nearly four and a half minutes off the clock as quarterback Jared Jacobson rushed into the endzone from the 31-yard line pulling the Wolves within two, 16-14.
UIU drove to answer reaching the NSU 2-yard line in just 5 plays (64 yards). Smith opened the drive with a 35-yard run and added a 10-yard rush as well. From the two on third and goal, Jaeschke ran to paydirt, but Blaine Schmidt put his helmet on the ball and forced a fumble that Northern State recovered at the 1-yard line.
The Wolves ensuing drive carved over seven minutes off the game clock and resulted in a 29-yard field goal that gave the home team a 17-16 lead as the game neared the final quarter. In the third quarter, NSU owned an 11:43-3:17 advantage in time of possession.
The Peacocks once again looked to have the answer driving with ease over midfield, but as they neared the red zone, lightning struck again. On a completion to
Keaton Hosch, Matt Anderson forced a fumble at the NSU 21-yard line and Ryan Weybrecht returned the ball 20 yards to the 41-yard line.
The Peacock defense continued to stand up and forced a three-and-out and handing the ball back to the UIU offense.
With 7:45 to play in the game, Upper Iowa took over at their own 4-yard line after a 56-yard punt by the Wolves. The Peacocks methodically moved the ball down the field and in seven plays were on Northern State's side of the field thanks to 47 yards of passing from Jaeschke. Smith then got a carry and looked like he might take it down the sideline and into the endzone, but he was forced out at the eleven after a 27-yard rush. Two plays later, Jaeschke fired over the middle, but was picked off by Michael Albert.
Northern State would now look to run out the final 4:36 out and keep the Peacock offense on the sideline, but the blackshirts of UIU had something to say about that. Upper Iowa forced a long third down, but NSU was able to convert on a 21-yard pass play. With time winding down, it appeared that if Northern State could gain one more first down, then the game would be over.
After Terrelle Walker rushed for a yard on first down, the NSU running back took the ball again on second down, but UIU's two-time All-NSIC lineback Ethan Douglas was in the hole waiting. Douglas put his helmet on the ball and it popped out and layed on the ground for what seemed an eternity before Wahl jumped on it to turn possession over to the Peacocks at the NSU 35-yard line.
After a 9-yard pass to Hefty, the Peacocks turned to Smith to carry the team home. The junior from Brown Deer, Wis. carried the load on the last drive with runs of 7 and 9 yards to set up the Peacocks with second and one from the 10-yard line. After a one-yard loss, UIU faced third down from the eleven. Head Coach
Tom Shea called a timeout to get the right call. Smith took the ball and looked to be running up the middle, but the Wolves lost contain on the outside and Smith got bounced out of the hole and sprinted to the open corner of the endzone for the game winning score. The final points of the night came on a two-point conversion to Hefty setting the score at 24-17.
Inside the Team Stats
Total Offense: UIU 475 | NSU 263
First Downs: UIU 25 | NSU 15
Turnovers: UIU 3 (+1 Downs) | NSU 2 (+ 3 on Downs)
Time of Possession: UIU (26:38) | NSU (33:22)
UIU Standouts
Smith (35 carries for 202 yards and 2 touchdowns) | Hefty (8 catches for 82 yards and a touchdown) | Jaeschke (267 yards and a touchdown) |
Shay Gutman (8 catches for 66 yards) | Giesking (6 catches for 89 yards) | Hosch (5 catches for 30 yards, 2 punt returns for 58 yards) | Douglas (9 tackles, 3 for loss, 1 forced fumble) |
Tyler Fisher (7 tackles, 2 for loss) | Wahl (7 tackles, 1 fumble recovery) |
Jordan Andera (6 tackles) | Holt (2 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 Interception)
Next Up
The Peacocks will host the Marauders of the University of Mary at Harms-Eischeid Stadium this coming Saturday, Sept. 28. Kick off is set for noon.
