GAME EIGHT || SATURDAY, OCT. 21, 2017 || 1 PM
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. || KIRKEBY-OVER STADIUM
UPPER IOWA PEACOCKS AT AUGUSTANA VIKINGS
THIS WEEKEND IN PEACOCK FOOTBALL... Upper Iowa will head back out on the road this weekend after playing two straight games at Harms-Eischeid Stadium. The Peacocks will travel to Sioux Falls, S.D. to match up with the Vikings of Augustana University for a key game in the NSIC South. Augustana is coming off one of their best games of the season, after dominating Southwest Minnesota State, 30-8, at home last Saturday. UIU is coming off a lopsided loss to a top-5 opponent, as the No. 4 Minnesota State Mavericks picked up a 52-7 win in Fayette last Saturday night. The Peacocks are currently in fifth place in the division, while the Vikings are right behind is sixth place, with both teams sitting at 1-2 in the South division.
THE SERIES... Augustana won the first seven match ups with Upper Iowa after the series began in 2005. UIU put an end to that streak and earned their first win over the Vikings in 2014. The Peacocks found themselves trailing and in a familiar position with Augustana heading into the final quarter two seasons ago in Fayette, but this time Upper Iowa wrote a different ending to the story. The Peacocks scored 15 unanswered points in the final quarter to rally and pull ahead of Augie by six points. UIU's defense stood up on the Vikings' final drive coming up with an interception, their sixth of the day, in the end zone. The last two seasons, Augie claimed a 41-20 win in Sioux Falls and a 54-35 victory in Fayette to push their series advantage to 9-1.
FOUR HORSEMEN... The Peacocks are averaging 196.6 yards/game behind the running of four young men. Quarterback Brett Lammers leads the way with 446 yards, while
Ryan Parmely is close behind with 417 yards.
Antoine Conner has added 273 yards and
Jon Deprey has rushed for 199 yards on his 35 carries and holds the second-highest per carry average on the team at 5.7. Conner leads the backs in yards per carry at 6.1, while Parmely averages 4.5 yards and Lammers is covering 4.1 yards per rush. The four have combined for 13 touchdowns including 4 each by Lammers and Parmely, 3 by Connor and 2 by Deprey.
AIR ATTACK... Junior quarterback
Brent Lammers is completing 56% of his passes this season. The UIU signal caller has thrown for 1,339 yards and 9 touchdowns on his 109 completions. Lammers is averaging 191.3 passing yards per game.
GOOD HANDS TEAM... Senior wide receiver
Jarred Edmonds has pulled in 39 passes for 610 yards and 5 scores to lead UIU.
Brandyn Tulloch has 28 catches, while
Jesse Vizzini and
Skyler Lehman have grabbed 14 and 11, respectively.
RETURN TO SENDER... Jesse Vizzini has been putting the Peacocks in good field position to start their possessions following kicks. The Cedar Rapids native is averaging 11.3 yards on punt returns and has one for a touchdown and is picking up 19.9 yards on kick returns with a long of 45 yards this season.
GETTING IN THE BACKFIELD... Upper Iowa has registered 52 tackles for a loss of 208 yards led by a quartet of Peacock tacklers.
Jojo Simpson has 6.5 tackles for loss including 3 sacks, while
Mitchel Siech has posted 6 tackles for loss including 2 sacks,
Jesse Hynek has 5.5 tackles for loss with a pair of sacks and
Tate Thompson has 5 tackles for loss with 1.5 sacks in his final season with Upper Iowa. . The defense is averaging 3.0 sacks per game.
SOMETHING ABOUT THE NUMBER 3... Upper Iowa's top three tacklers this season all have a "3" in their uniform number.
Jordan Rommes (#13) leads the team with 45 tackles including 29 solo stops, while
Keith Schwickerath (#23) is just one tackle behind with 44 on the season.
Mitchel Siech (#37) is third on the team with 40 tackles.
