?The Peacocks trailed only once on the night and the four-point deficit only lasted 44 seconds. A 74-yard hookup between Brent Lammers and Keagan Pinter put the Peacocks ahead 10-7 with eight and a half minutes to play in the first quarter and UIU never looked back. Upper Iowa used a strong game from junior quarterback Brent Lammers and a stifling defense spearheaded by middle linebacker Tate Thompson to subdue the Marauders of the University of Mary. Upper Iowa claimed the 58-14 victory in the NSIC Thursday Night Game of the Week to improve to 3-1.
Lammers led the Peacock offense to 548 yards of total offense including 288 through the air. The junior completed 15 of his 22 passes and did have one interception, but also threw three touchdowns. The scoring throws included the slant to Pinter, a broken-play, deep-ball down the sideline to Jarred Edmonds after avoiding a sack and the final touchdown throw came on a go route down the sideline to Edmonds. The three touchdown throws accounted for 157 yards.
While Lammers was moving the Peacocks through the air, the offensive line was opening holes for both he and the running backs. Lammers ran for 37 yards and two touchdowns, but the bulk of the running came from Ryan Parmely, who gained 121 yards and scored a touchdown on 18 carries, and Jon Deprey, who rushed for 82 yards and a score on 13 carries. UIU averaged 5.8 yards a carry in the game while posting 260 yards and four touchdowns on the ground as a group.
With the offense in full gear, the Peacock defense also got into the act. Tate Thompson and Mitchel Siech bottled up the middle of the field from their linebacker positions combining for 17 tackles. Siech's 8 stops included a half sack. UMary entered the game without giving up a quarterback sack, but UIU logged 3 sacks in the game. Upper Iowa also recovered 3 fumbles thanks to the good hands of Tristan Beyer, Isaac Freese and Beau Sorensen. Sorensen made the most of his recovery returning it 52 yards for a touchdown which put the home team ahead 58-7 in the fourth quarter. Christian Ruff made an impact on the defensive line as well with 6 tackles including a pair of tackles for loss. Jordan Wymer and Jordan Rommes also picked off a Marauder pass to put the UIU offense back on the field.
Upper Iowa made the most of their 23 minutes of possession and kept the chains moving when they needed to by converting 9 of their 14 third downs. Punter Nate Skare had a quiet night with only 2 punts, but he averaged 44.5 yards for the night thanks to a 52-yard boot late in the game. Brady Beuschel also got in the scoring column with 10 points thanks to a 21-yard field goal to open the scoring and seven extra points.
The Peacocks took their 10-7 lead into the second quarter and then scored 21 in the second quarter and 20 in the third to push their lead to 51-7 heading into the final quarter. Sorensen's fumble return was the home team's final score of the night, but Devin Hope ran in from 12 yards out to score the Marauders second touchdown and set the final score at 58-14.
Upper Iowa wrapped up another successful NSIC cross-division run with a 3-1 record this season. The team is 16-8 against the NSIC North Division since the conference was split into two divisions prior to the 2012 season when the University of Sioux Falls and Minot State University joined the league. UIU has gone 3-1 three times and 4-0 once in 2014.
UIU's next game will be in Winona, Minn. on Sept. 30. The Peacocks will face the Warriors of Winona State University at 1 p.m. on Maxwell Field to begin play against the NSIC South Division.
