Upper Iowa fell at home to the Beavers of Bemidji State University at Harms-Eischeid Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The Peacocks held a 14-10 lead midway through the second quarter, but BSU scored 28 unanswered points and held the home team from scratching the scoreboard again until the opening minutes of the fourth quarter en route to a 48-22 decision.
Special teams played a large role in the contest as the Beavers hounded the Peacock punt team blocking three kicks and returning one block for a touchdown near the end of the third quarter to push their lead to 38-14 at the time.
The passing offense for both teams found success and frustration throughout the day. UIU's
Marcus Orr threw for 156 yards, three touchdowns and one interception, while BSU's Brandon Alt racked up 231 yards, four touchdowns, but also threw two interceptions.
Trevor Thompson grabbed one pass from Alt, while
Cody Cotton came up with the second one and returned it into enemy territory.
Brendan Beaulieu pulled in five catches for a game-high 100 yards and two scores for the Beavers, while
Jahani Wright led the home team with a game-high seven receptions and 49 yards with a two-point conversion grab.
Cole Ewald snagged five balls for 33 yards, while
Richard Kamara pulled in a pair of receptions for 17 yards and a score.
The big story on offense came in the rushing game. The visitors outgained their hosts 196 to 78 on the day led by Jalen Frye's 85 yards and Jarrett Gronski's 78. UIU picked up 53 yards on the ground on the feet of
Aboubacar Barry and 45 yards with
Desean Phillips. Barry had a long run of 44 yards, while Phillips got loose for a 22-yard scamper. Phillips added one touchdown catch for a score to get UIU on the board in the second quarter.
Cody Cotton was active from his corner position with nine tackles including eight solo stops and the interception.
Collin Jones added seven tackles, while
RJ Knaack (5) and
Trevor Thompson (4) combined for nine tackles.
Demetrius Walker made two big stops behind the line of scrimmage, while
Trey Baker added another hit to force a loss of yards.
Bemidji State turned the first punt block into a field goal after recovering the ball just ten yards from the end zone. UIU's defense did well to only allow the three points. Unfortunately, the second block came with just 1:20 to play in the first half. BSU recovered at the UIU 19-yard line and used four plays to score and take a 24-14 lead into the locker room at the break. The third and final punt block came in the final minutes of the third quarter and Tyler Shaver was able to scoop the ball up and score to push the visitor's advantage to 38-14.
After all the miscues, the Peacocks continued to fight and clawed back within two scores early in the fourth quarter. Upper Iowa launched a 75-yard, 13-play drive that was capped off with a touchdown pass from Orr to
Drake Kinney and a two-point conversion from Orr to Wright to make the score 38-22 with 13:20 to play in the game.
Upper Iowa is on the road next Saturday at Southwest Minnesota State University. The Peacocks and Mustangs are slated for a 5 p.m. kick in Marshall, Minn. UIU will return to Harms-Eischeid Stadium for Homecoming Weekend on Oct. 8 when they line up with Augustana University at 3 p.m.
