FAYETTE, Iowa - The Upper Iowa football team (6-2, 4-1 GLVC) celebrates Halloween this weekend with a matchup against McKendree (Ill.) (4-4, 4-2 GLVC) on Saturday at 11 a.m. This begins back-to-back home weekends as the team aims to finish unbeaten at Harms-Eischeid Stadium.
LIVE OPTIONS
Fans unable to attend the game in Fayette this weekend can stay connected with a pair of live options available at UIUPeacocks.com/Live, featuring access to live stats and a pay-per-view webcast through GLVCSN. Fans can also refer to the links attached to this story for all live options.
In addition to GLVCSN.com, viewers can catch the Peacocks on the GLVCSN iOS and Android mobile app, as well as the GLVCSN app on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Android TV.
TICKET INFORMATION
New this year, tickets for all Peacock home events can be purchased digitally at tickets.uiu.edu. Single game tickets are now available online and at the ticket booth on gameday. If you want to pay in person, both Harms-Eischeid Stadium and Dorman Memorial Gymnasium are now accepting all major credit cards, checks and cash.
TICKET PRICES…
Upper Iowa Students … Free Admission after showing UIU Student ID
Upper Iowa Faculty/Staff … Free Admission after showing 24-25 Season Pass
Football General Admission Sales … Adults - $10, Youth (Grades K-12) - $5, Kids (Age 5 and under) - Free
DIGITAL GAMEDAY PROGRAMS
Fans can access the interactive and digital gameday program any time at UIUPeacocks.com/Programs. The digital programs are available to fans at our games and to those watching at home. QR Codes will be located around the stadium to scan with your cell phone's camera, which will link you directly to that game's specific digital gameday program.
LAST TIME OUT
Upper Iowa scored 21 unanswered points this past Saturday to down William Jewell, 28-10. Senior quarterback Darryl Overstreet Jr. was very efficient, throwing three touchdowns on 16-of-20 (80%) passing.
Lonny Melvin Jr. had two of the receiving touchdowns, marking a career-high in a game for the redshirt junior. He totaled 47 yards on four catches. Tight end Eddie Burgess was UIU's leading receiver with four catches for 54 yards and a touchdown.
Jayden Gordon was the top rusher for the Peacocks. The redshirt freshman had 86 yards on the ground and scored the final touchdown of the game.
On defense, Shaquille Roman totaled a career-high two sacks, including a strip sack in the fourth quarter. Linebacker Evan Dorn led the team in tackles with nine (seven solo). Brycen Hendrix had an interception in the fourth quarter.
The Peacocks held the Cardinals to 40 yards rushing, and UIU has held three out of its last four opponents to less than 50 yards on the ground. Upper Iowa totaled four sacks and eight tackles-for-loss, posting back-to-back weeks with four sacks.
GLVC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Roman earned his first career GLVC Defensive Player of the Week Award for his two-sack performance against the Cardinals. He became the fourth member of the team to earn GLVC honors this season.
McKendree swept the Offensive and Special Team Awards. Running back Eddie Clark won the offensive award after rushing for 147 yards and two touchdowns. Kicker Chase Reeves earned the special teams honor for making a 46-yard field goal and seven extra points.
NCAA SUPER REGION THREE RANKINGS
The Peacocks were featured in the NCAA's Super Region Three Rankings on Monday. This marked the first time that UIU has received an NCAA Regional Ranking in football.
The poll featured three teams from the GLVC, three teams from the G-MAC and three teams from the NSIC. No. 1 Ferris State (Mich.) (8-0) was the only GLIAC team to make the poll. No. 12 UIndy (7-1, 5-0 GLVC) and Truman State (5-3, 4-1 GLVC) were the other two GLVC representatives.
STATISTICS SUMMARY
Overstreet Jr. bumped his completion percentage up to 74.3%, which leads Division II nationally. UIndy's Gavin Sukup has the second-highest at 73.1%. Overstreet Jr. has a 162.9 passing efficiency rating, ranking second in the GLVC and 17th nationally.
The senior quarterback has totaled 1,761 passing yards and 15 passing touchdowns. In the GLVC, he ranks fifth in passing touchdowns and sixth in passing yards.
Senior receiver Mante Morrow has 640 receiving yards, ranking second in the GLVC. His eight receiving touchdowns rank second in the conference and 11th in the nation. Morrow is averaging 91.4 receiving yards per game, ranking 10th nationally.
Damon Head Jr. leads the Peacocks in rushing with 415 yards and six touchdowns. He ranks eighth in the GLVC in rushing yards and second in rushing touchdowns. Gordon has 348 rushing yards, placing 11th in the conference.
The top three tackling leaders on defense are Trevor Thompson with 55 (28 solo), Dorn with 51 (27 solo) and Tade Parsons with 50 (32 solo). In the GLVC, Thompson ranks ninth in total tackles and Parsons ranks sixth in solo tackles.
Junior defensive lineman Demontay Mack leads the Peacocks in tackles-for-loss (9.5) and sacks (6.0). Roman is now up to 4.5 sacks and seven tackles-for-loss. They rank fourth and eighth, respectively, in the GLVC in sacks.
Parsons leads the Peacocks in interceptions with two while adding five pass breakups. Cornerback Darrell Matchem has six pass breakups, while Hendrix has five.
Nathan Behne is four-of-six this season on field goals with a long of 51. He leads the conference in punting yards per game, averaging 44.3.
The Peacocks are averaging 30.6 points per game while giving up 20.6 points per game. That ranks third offensively and second defensively in the GLVC. UIU is averaging 390.8 yards per game, ranking fourth in the conference, while giving up 343 yards per game, ranking second in the conference.
This season, UIU has a 49.5% conversion rating on third downs, ranking 11th in the nation. Upper Iowa is giving up 105.3 rushing yards per game, ranking 27th. Nationally, the Peacocks are second in completion percentage, sixth in tackles-for-loss allowed, 21st in net punting and 24th in team passing efficiency.
AROUND THE GLVC
UIndy had a bye week this past weekend, but moved up one spot in the AFCA Coaches' Poll to No. 12. Upper Iowa received one vote in this week's national poll.
Truman State remains tied for second place in the conference standings with the Peacocks. The Bulldogs defeated Southwest Baptist (3-5, 2-4 GLVC), 27-16, this past Saturday. McKendree is in fourth with a 4-2 GLVC record, and Quincy (Ill.) (5-3, 3-2 GLVC) is in fifth place.
The Greyhounds continue to lead the GLVC in scoring, averaging 46.4 points per game while allowing 20.1 points per game. UIndy leads the conference with 495.1 yards per game while allowing 307.4 yards per game.
ABOUT THE BEARCATS
McKendree defeated Lincoln (Mo.) (2-6, 0-5 GLVC) this past Saturday in a 54-48 shootout. The Bearcats led 54-34 early in the fourth, and gave up two late touchdowns but still fended off the Lincoln comeback.
The Bearcats' two conference losses are to UIndy and Missouri S&T (4-5, 2-4 GLVC). McKendree has wins over William Jewell, Quincy and Southwest Baptist.
It's a high-octane passing offense for the Bearcats, averaging 294.9 yards per game for the second-most in the GLVC. The offense is led by graduate quarterback Ty Michael, passing for 2,264 yards (283 per game), 15 touchdowns and five interceptions. Michael leads the GLVC in passing yards.
Senior Jaylen Ford is the top receiver for the Bearcats, totaling 499 yards and two touchdowns. Daryle Jones Jr. has 480 yards and four touchdowns, while Brylan Apholone has 441 yards and three touchdowns.
Despite being the seventh-best rushing yardage team in the GLVC, Clark is the conference's leading rusher with 648 yards on 148 carries (4.4 per carry). He's averaging 81 yards per game and has totaled five touchdowns.
On defense, senior linebacker Logan Turbyfill leads the team with 61 tackles (33 solo), which include eight tackles-for-loss and two sacks. He also has two interceptions and two pass breakups. Junior linebacker Nick Bova has 51 tackles (31 solo), eight tackles-for-loss and 2.5 sacks. Turbyfill is fifth in the GLVC in total tackles and fourth in solo tackles.
Senior defensive lineman Dameion Hatten has been a monster in the backfield with 15 tackles-for-loss and 5.5 sacks. He ranks second in the nation in tackles-for-loss and 19th in sacks. Redshirt freshman defensive back Cyris Davis leads the Bearcats in interceptions with three and in pass breakups with five.
Reeves is 12-of-16 kicking this season with a long of 50 yards. He's made all eight of his field goals inside of 40 yards.
McKendree is averaging 26.8 points per game while giving up 32 points per game, both marks ranking seventh in the conference. The Bearcats lead the conference in sacks and in tackles-for-loss.
Jason Rejfek removed his interim tag from last season to enter his second season as the head coach for the Bearcats. He served as an assistant coach for the Bearcats from 2018-23. He has a 9-10 overall record with the Bearcats as a head coach.
LAST SEASON'S MATCHUP WITH THE BEARCATS
Overstreet Jr. scored a two-yard rushing touchdown with 21 seconds left to win in Lebanon, Illinois, 28-24. The Peacocks scored 21 points in the fourth quarter after trailing 17-7 at the start of it.
Clark ran in a one-yard touchdown for McKendree with 1:57 left. Koda Gates-Briedges returned the ensuing kickoff 63 yards to set up the Peacocks at the McKendree 31-yard line. UIU scored in five plays from there to win.
Overstreet Jr. finished 24-of-33 with 231 yards, three passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown. Gates-Bridges was the leading receiver with five catches for 54 yards. Jayden Mitchell totaled 69 yards on the ground.
Michael was 24-of-35 with 262 yards and two touchdowns. Thompson picked him off in the fourth quarter for the game's lone interception. Clark totaled 101 yards on the ground with a touchdown.
UP NEXT
The Peacocks stay in Fayette at Harms-Eischeid Stadium for Senior Day against Quincy on Nov. 8 at 1 p.m.
