GAME TWO || SATURDAY, SEPT. 14, 2019 || 6 PM
FAYETTE, IOWA || HARMS-EISCHEID STADIUM
UIU PEACOCKS VS. CSP GOLDEN BEARS
THIS WEEKEND IN PEACOCK FOOTBALL... Upper Iowa will celebrate Hall of Fame Weekend on Saturday in conjunction with Youth Day and Ag Day. Farm Bureau Financial are the game sponsor for Saturday's tilt against the Golden Bears of Concordia University, St. Paul. Kids admission is free on Saturday and Peacock coaches and student-athletes will be hosting activities near the North Ticket Booth from 3:30-5:30 p.m. The Peacocks (0-1) will look to bounce back from a week one loss on the road, while the Golden Bears (1-0) will work to keep the momentum from a week one victory.
LIVE OPTIONS... Fans that can't make it to the game can listen on AM 950 KOEL, follow the game online through live stats and a webcast at UIUPeacocks.com/Live, or stream the game live through the NSIC app on Roku, Amazon Fire, Apple or Android TV. This season, the Peacocks will play at Harms-Eischeid Stadium in Fayette six times.
THE SERIES... Upper Iowa has posted wins in four of the last six meetings with Concordia University, St. Paul after the Golden Bears won the first seven games in the matchup. The Peacocks' 4-9 record includes a 28-24 win in 2013, a 52-20 victory in 2015, a 41-21 win in 2016 and 2017's 34-29 victory. The first blemish over the last six seasons came in 2014 when the Golden Bears rallied for a 37-34 overtime victory at Sea Foam Stadium in St. Paul. The second loss came last season and snapped a three-game winning streak for UIU. The Golden Bears stifled the Peacock rushing attack and limited UIU to just three third-down conversions on the way to a 34-7 victory. Upper Iowa threw for 336 yards on 32 of 60 throwing, but the Peacocks only managed 17 rushing yards on 24 attempts. 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. Last year in Fayette, the Peacock football team held a two-score lead with nine minutes to play, but a late touchdown by the guests got them back in the game, 34-29. CSP then drove down the field late, only to be stopped on a fourth-down try, and UIU held on for a hard-fought, five-point victory.
CHECKING THE REARVIEW… Upper Iowa was shutout in their opener at Augustana, 52-0. The shutout marks the first time since Nov. 13, 2010 that UIU has been held without a point; oddly enough it was Augustana that season too. The Vikings took advantage of a miscue on a punt early in the first quarter to set up their first score and then controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball for the remainder of the game. The Peacock running game was held to 33 yards on 31 attempts, while the Viking rushing attack picked up 117 yards and 3 touchdowns on 36 carries. In total, the home team racked up 411 yards of total offense, while holding the visitors to 198 yards. Concordia-St. Paul claimed a huge win over Sioux Falls, 41-17, at home to kick off their season. While the Golden Bears were out-gained 385-315 in total offense, a 20-yard advantage in average starting field position continually put CSP in scoring position quickly. Both teams struggled on third downs, with CSP converted 5-of-13 to USF's 4-of-13. Concordia was 5-for-5 in the red zone with three touchdowns and a pair of field goals.
"TRE" BIEN… Junior wide receiver and kick returner
Tre'dious Thomas returned 6 kicks for 108 yards (18 yard/return) last week at Augustana which was the 4th most in the NSIC. He added 3 catches for 23 yards giving him 131 all-purpose yards, which ranks 8th in the Northern Sun after the first week.
STEEL TOE BOOT… Sophomore kicker Jonathon Argueta-Herrera had a great day punting for the Peacocks. Herrera punted 4 times for 173 yards and a 43.2-yard average, which ranks 17th in NCAA Division II and 3rd in the conference. He kicked off once in the game for a touchback (65 yards).
"SIECH" AND DESTROY… Senior linebacker
Mitchel Siech recorded nine tackles to lead the UIU defense against the Vikings. With the nine stops, Siech has tallied 202 tackles in his 33 games in Peacock blue and white. The Denver, Iowa product also surpassed the 100-yard mark in opponent yards lost thanks to 26 career tackles for a loss of 104 yards.
UIU ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME… The Peacock Athletics Department inducted their 2019 class in the Athletics Hall of Fame on Friday night. The inductees included Steve and Diane (Kinkead) Harms (both '73), Bill Neal ('72), Kevin Stahle ('97) and Dr. Angela (Baldrige) Thompson ('04). The Harmses are being inducted under the special recognition category for their philanthropy and longtime commitment to Upper Iowa University; their major gifts include the endowed cheer program, REC Center and academic building renovations and the transformation of Harms-Eischeid Stadium. Bill Neal served as a teacher, coach and athletics director for over 36 years at Williamsburg High School. Neal earned induction into the Iowa Association of Track Coaches Hall of Fame in 2017 and was previously named the Iowa Association of Track Coaches Girls Track Coach of the Year among numerous other accolades. Stahle was a four-year letter winner on the Peacock football team from 1993-96 and was named to the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Second Team as a defensive back three times. Dr. Thompson lettered for the women's basketball team from 2000-04 and led the team into their transition from NCAA Division III to Division II. Thompson was named to the All-Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Second Team as a junior and then had an even better senior campaign as the team made their transition out of the IIAC and up to Division II.
