FAYETTE, Iowa - The Upper Iowa (7-2, 5-1 GLVC) offense totaled a season-high 565 yards to defeat McKendree (Ill.) (4-5, 4-3 GLVC), 57-7 on Saturday. Senior quarterback Darryl Overstreet Jr. was magnificent, throwing 23-of-29 (79.3%) with three passing touchdowns while adding 54 rushing yards and a touchdown.
That marked the second-most passing yards for the senior quarterback this season. Wide receiver Mante Morrow caught seven passes for 126 yards and three touchdowns. He is now in double digits in receiving touchdowns this season with 11.
On defense, Shaquille Roman followed up last week's two sack performance with 2.5 sacks, seven total tackles and an interception. Evan Dorn led the Peacocks in tackles with 18 (four solo), a tackle-for-loss and a forced fumble.
The Peacocks held McKendree to 132 passing yards, a season-low for the Bearcats. McKendree was held to 279 yards, which also marked its lowest of the season. The seven points were the fewest in a game for the Bearcats.
Upper Iowa got its first score on a safety after a Bearcat holding penalty, six minutes into the first quarter. A few drives later, Overstreet Jr. found Morrow for a 12-yard touchdown to lead 9-0 after the opening quarter.
On UIU's first drive of the second quarter, Overstreet Jr. hit Morrow again in stride for a 41-yard touchdown. After that, McKendree started to get some momentum on offense, but was shut down on a fourth-and-1 stop by the Peacock defensive line.
The Peacocks took control of the game on the next drive, going 94 yards in 12 plays, taking up 6:41 on the clock. Overstreet Jr. found the endzone on a one-yard rushing touchdown on fourth and goal. Nathan Behne was able to add a 40-yard field goal as time expired for the 26-0 halftime lead.
Overstreet Jr. found Morrow for a 19-yard touchdown on the opening drive of the third quarter in the front left corner of the endzone. Later in the quarter, Roman intercepted McKendree quarterback Colt Michael, setting up a one-yard Jayden Gordon rushing touchdown. Behne added another field goal from 38 yards out to take a 43-0 third-quarter lead.
After McKendree scored in the fourth quarter, the Peacocks got two more touchdowns. Angelo Butts made some nifty moves to get free on a screen pass for an 85-yard score. On the final drive, Darius Willis-Newell busted a 61-yard run open and then scored on a 6-yard rushing touchdown.
Willis-Newell led the team in rushing with five attempts for 81 yards (16.2 per rush). Calvin Swinney had two rushes for 28 yards, Gordon had eight carries for 21 yards and Damon Head Jr. had three carries for 22 yards.
Backup quarterback Clark Coleman completed the one pass to Butts for 85 yards and a touchdown. Butts finished with three catches for 92 yards. Eddie Burgess added five catches for 83 yards.
Linebacker Trevor Thompson totaled 10 tackles (three solo). Yashua Pettis-Taylor had eight tackles with a team-high five solo tackles. Eddy Latanauskas had six tackles with half a tackle-for-loss.
Cornerbacks Darrell Matchem and Brycen Hendrix each had two breakups. Braden Powers had a breakup on the defensive line. Demontay Mack added a sack.
The 345 passing yards by the Peacocks mark the second-most for the team this season. Upper Iowa totaled 220 yards on the ground, posting its third-straight game with 200 rushing yards.
Upper Iowa has now won seven games in back-to-back seasons for the first time in program history. UIU's 14 wins tie its second most in back-to-back seasons (1963-64). This is the earliest that the program has won seven games since 1964, when the team finished 8-1.
Upper Iowa will aim to continue its three-game winning streak at home next weekend against Quincy (Ill.) (5-4, 3-3 GLVC) on Senior Day. A win would mark an undefeated season in Harms-Eischeid Stadium for the Peacocks.
