THIS WEEK IN PEACOCK FOOTBALL 
Upper Iowa travels to South Dakota Mines this Saturday, Sep. 14, for a 1 p.m. matchup in Rapid City, S.D. The Peacocks head into the weekend with a 1-1 record, while the Hardrockers sit at 0-2. 
 
LIVE OPTIONS
Fans unable to make it to the game in South Dakota this weekend for Saturday's game can stay connected with a pair of live options at UIUPeacocks.com/Live, with access to live stats and a webcast. Fans can also refer to the links attached to this story for all live options. 
 
DEFENSIVE DYNAMIC
Upper Iowa football was successful in its quest to conquer Concordia, St. Paul in their home opener at Harms-Eischeid Stadium last weekend by a score of 33-7. The Peacock defense put on a show as they nabbed two pick-sixes and had an additional interception. Zacarius Murray swiped a 22-yard interception return for a touchdown in the third quarter to put the home team up 26-7. Ben Kamara grabbed his 72-yard interception return in the fourth quarter, marking his second interception. 
 
The last time the football program saw an interception returned for a touchdown was in 2019 when defensive back CJ Scott returned a 45-yard interception to seal UIU's 23-13 win over Minnesota Duluth. 
 
In addition to the team's pick-sixes, defensive lineman Eddy Latanauskas rejected CSP's second-quarter field goal attempt to keep them from scoring until the second half. 
 
THE OPPOSITION
South Dakota Mines went 5-6 last season and 4-5 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, tying for seventh. They played GLVC member Truman State early in their 2023 schedule and fell 28-24. 
 
The Hardrockers are currently on a two-game losing streak after falling to CSU Pueblo 35-6 in game one and, most recently, Michigan Tech 50-52 after four overtime sessions. 
 
Quarterback Jake Martinelli has taken all of the snaps for South Dakota Mines this season, completing 59-108 (54.63%) attempts and throwing five touchdowns. Mason Gallbreath leads the team in receiving yards with 169 for an average of 15.36 yards per reception. Will Lester paces the squad in tackles with 13, placing him in a tie for third in the RMAC. 
 
AROUND THE GLVC
Eight of nine GLVC football programs were in action last weekend, with three making their way into the win column. Outside of Upper Iowa's success on Saturday, Indianapolis trumped Hillsdale 42-16, and Quincy defeated Lincoln, the league newcomer, by a score of 46-5. The remaining competitors dropped their contests; Truman State fell to the University of Findlay 37-21, Missouri S&T succumbed to Delta State 55-18, Southwest Baptist came up short against Black Hills Stats in a 24-14 final and McKendree dropped to No. 12 West Florida 38-6. 
 
NOTABLE DATES 
Below are some notable upcoming dates associated with Peacock football.

• Sep. 21- First conference game versus Southwest Baptist at 1 p.m. (Bolivar, Mo.)
• Oct. 5- First home conference contest versus Truman State, Ag Day-Sponsored by Beck's Hybrids
• Oct. 12- Homecoming Game versus William Jewell/Hall of Fame weekend

UP NEXT
Peacock football is on the road again next weekend with their first conference matchup. They head to Bolivar, Mo. to take on Southwest Baptist on Saturday, Sep. 21 at 1 p.m.