GAME SIX || SATURDAY, OCT. 7, 2017 || 5 PM
FAYETTE, IOWA || HARMS-EISCHEID STADIUM
UPPER IOWA PEACOCKS VS. CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL GOLDEN BEARS
THIS WEEKEND IN PEACOCK FOOTBALL... Upper Iowa will return home to Harms-Eischeid Stadium for Salute to Service Night as they host Concordia University, St. Paul. Both UIU and CSP are coming off of losses to top 25 teams last week, as the Peacocks fell on the road at #25 Winona State, 37-7. Concordia-St. Paul fell at the hands of #6 Minnesota State, 47-10 at Sea Foam Stadium. UIU enters week six witha 3-2 start, while CSP began the season with a victory before dropping four straight games. This week's game will have live stats, and can be seen online via a live webcast option or through the Stretch Internet app on Roku, Amazon Fire, Apple or Android TV. In eastern Iowa, you can listen to the game on AM 950 KOEL and watch on KCRG TV 9.3.
THE SERIES... Upper Iowa has posted wins in three of the last four meetings with Concordia University, St. Paul after the Golden Bears won the first seven games in the matchup. The Peacocks' 3-8 record includes a 28-24 win in 2013, a 52-20 victory in 2015 and last season's 41-21 win. The lone blemish over the last four seasons came in 2014 when the Golden Bears rallied for a 37-34 overtime victory at Seafoam Stadium in St. Paul. The Golden Bears tied the game with a 52-yard field goal and won the game with a 42-yard field goal in overtime. The series began in 2006 and the two teams have locked up in six games where the margin of victory was four points or less. The Peacocks lost 20-17 in 2007 and dropped a wild 57-56 double overtime game in Fayette in 2009. The 2011 contest marked another down-to-the-wire decision in the final quarter; Concordia claimed a come-from-behind, one-point win, 20-19, after scoring 13 points in the final four minutes of the game. In last year's game, Upper Iowa held a 21-0 lead in the second quarter, and never looked back. The story of the game can be told on the ground. Upper Iowa outrushed Concordia-St. Paul 227-30, including all four offensive touchdowns. UIU's defensive dominance limited the Golden Bears on the ground averaging less than 1 yard/carry on their 33 atempts. The defense added five sacks and 13 tackles for loss, as well as two turnovers.
PUT YOUR FOOT INTO IT... Senior kicker
Brady Beuschel leads the team in scoring with 29 points through the first five games. The Juda, Wis. product owns the career marks in both field goals (19) and extra-points (93). Senior punter
Nate Skare is also enjoying a great final campaign with the Peacocks. Skare is averaging 40.1 yards per punt, which ranks 30th in the nation and is first in the NSIC.
RUSH COMMITTEE... The Peacocks are averaging 223.4 yards/game after accumulating 273 rushing yards last week at #25 Winona State. The yards per game rank 22nd in the nation and 4th in the conference and are due to the work of four young men.
Ryan Parmely has rushed for 329 yards (8th NSIC) in four games, while
Antoine Conner has added 269 yards and quarterback
Brent Lammers has run for 254.
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 6.6, while Parmely averages 5.5 yards and Lammers is covering 4 yards per rush. All four runners are in the top-23 among rushing yards per game in the NSIC.
GETTING IN THE BACKFIELD... Upper Iowa has registered 37 tackles for a loss (41st NCAA/6th NSIC) of 155 yards led by a trio of Peacock tacklers.
Jojo Simpson has 5.5 tackles for loss including 3 sacks, while
Mitchel Siech has posted 5 tackles for loss including 2 sacks and
Jesse Hynek has 4.5 tackles for loss with a sack. The defense is averaging 2.8 sacks per game which ranks 33rd nationally and 3rd in the Northern Sun.
BLOCK PARTY... The Peacocks have blocked five kicks this season, which is tied for the most in all of NCAA Division II. The tally is fueled by three punt blocks by
Keith Schwickerath (also the top mark in all of NCAA Division II); all three punt blocks have resulted in Upper Iowa touchdowns including two at the University of Minnesota Crookston and one at Northern State University.
Austin Buck and
Jojo Simpson have also blocked kicks for UIU.
THE BROADCAST TEAM... Play-by-play announcer, and Upper Iowa alum, Joe Stasi is in his 15th consecutive season as the "Voice of the Peacocks" and 17th overall. This week he will be joined by Chris Shaw, who graduated from Upper Iowa with a Bachelor's degree in sports communication and a Master's degree in Higher Education Administration. He also worked in the UIU sports communication office for six years during his undergrad and graduate time in Fayette. The AM 950 KOEL pre-game show is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.
