The Winona State Warriors improved to 11-0 all-time against the Peacock football team with a 38-19 win in Fayette on Military Day. WSU took advantage of five UIU turnovers including three fumbles in the first half. Upper Iowa (5-2) has lost two straight, while Winona State (4-3) snapped a three-game slide with the victory.
The Peacocks donned one-of-a-kind camouflage uniforms, but the game did not start as planned for Upper Iowa. On the second play from scrimmage Winona State forced a fumble and two plays later, the Warriors were in the endzone for a 7-0 lead.
After the UIU defense forced a punt, the Peacocks took over at their own 47-yard line and found an answer to the Warriors quick score. Quarterback
Cole Jaeschke connected with
Trey MacTaggart on consecutive throws to cover 53 yards for a touchdown. The touchdown throw was from 13 yards away as MacTaggart made a diving catch over the goal line.
The Warriors picked up two more touchdowns to retake the lead and build a two-score advantage. The first score came on a 70-yard drive, while the second was only 25 yards after an interception set up WSU in great shape.
Down 21-7, Upper Iowa scored the only points in the second quarter with a pair of field goals from
Tim Rueb. The first kick came as the quarter opened from 43 yards, while the second came as time ran out in the first half from 32 yards.
UIU had climbed back into the game and trailed by one score, 21-13, at the break.
Winona State got a huge kickoff return to open the second half. The visitors used 10 plays to cover the 27 yards left to the endzone and capped off the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run by Direll Clark. WSU added another rushing touchdown, this time by their quarterback, and a 37-yard field goal to extend their advantage to 38-13.
Evan Dornink capped off the game's scoring with a two-yard touchdown run up the middle midway through the fourth quarter. The two-point conversion failed and neither team marked the scoreboard again.
Without the nation's second-leading rusher
Chris Smith, the UIU run game managed only 35 yards on 23 carries. Winona State picked up yards in bunches on the ground, on the other hand, recording 226 yards on 45 attempts. The Peacocks threw for 232 yards, while Winona State registered 123 yards in the air.
Jaeschke completed 23 of his 50 passes for 232 and one touchdown while tossing a pair of interceptions and being sacked twice.
Derek Giesking and
Lucas Hefty combined for 17 catches and 135 yards, while MacTaggart had three snares for 62 yards.
Cole Stephen recorded 9 tackles to lead the team, while
Alex Wahl had 8 stops including a sack.
Chayz Holt picked off another pass and now has six interceptions on the season.
Upper Iowa will take the short trip north to St. Paul, Minn. to challenge the Concordia University, St. Paul Golden Bears next Saturday, Oct. 25, 2014.
