Upper Iowa stormed out to an early 24-0 lead in their home opener against Augustana University on Saturday, but the Vikings rallied and held off the Peacocks in the final minutes to hand UIU a 48-45 loss. The teams lined up under the lights at Harms-Eischeid Stadium in Fayette for the season opener.
Midway through the third quarter, Upper Iowa tied the game at 38-38 when
Brent Lammers found Alex Stevens streaking down the left side of the field. The 64-yard pass and catch was the quarterbacks fourth scoring pass of the game and looked to give the momentum back to the home team.
Two plays into the Vikings' ensuing drive,
Daniel Ruffin Jr. intercepted an Augustana pass and returned it 34 yards to the AU 27-yard line. The Peacocks looked poised to strike again, but an interception and 48-yard return on the first play swung momentum back to the visitors. Luis Guarita's second field goal of the game with just over six minutes to play in the third quarter put the Vikings ahead 41-38.
UIU's offense was forced into a pair of punts before Augie was able to put together an 11-play, 70-yard drive capped off by a 15 yard pass from Kyle Saddler to Nickel Meyers.
The Peacocks didn't let their guests get away. Upper Iowa put together a 14-play, 60-yard drive to cut the gap back to three points, 48-45, with six and a half minutes to play in the game.
Antoine Conner finished off the drive with a one yard dive over the goal line. UIU picked up 38 yards on the ground during the drive.
Upper Iowa gave themselves one last shot after
Garrett Johnston got a hand on a Guarita field goal attempt with just under three minutes to play. Unfortunately, the Peacocks couldn't move the chains on their final possession and fell by the three-point margin.
In the first quarter, the Peacocks used a
Jonathan Argueta-Herrera 29-yard field goal, a 30-yard pass and catch from Lammers to D.J. Emsweller, a 20-yard
Christian Ruff fumble return, and an 8-yard pass from Lammers to
Brandyn Tulloch to jump out to a 24-0 lead after just 10 minutes of game time.
The biggest difference between the team stats of Upper Iowa and Augustana was in kick return yards. The Vikings registered 248 yards on 8 kicks, while the Peacocks only accounted for 133 yards on 7 kicks. Augie's average starting position was their own 45-yard line, while the Peacocks started at their own 33-yard line.
Lammers threw for 325 yards and 4 touchdowns on 20 completions and ran for 62 yards. Conner added 44 yards on the ground. Emsweller grabbed 9 passes for 144 yards and a pair of scores, while
Alexander Stevens pulled in 5 passes for 107 yards and a touchdown.
Nicholas Corley (13) and
Jordan Rommes (11) combined for 24 tackles, while
Mitchel Siech and
Nic Patterson each added 8 kills.
Upper Iowa will visit Concordia University, St. Paul next Saturday, Sept. 8 in St. Paul, Minn. The two NSIC South Division foes will kick off at 12 p.m.
