INDIANAPOLIS - The Peacock football team (8-3, 6-2 GLVC) battled hard with the GLVC Championship at stake against No. 10 UIndy (10-1, 8-0 GLVC) on Saturday, but fell late, 28-21. Senior quarterback Darryl Overstreet Jr. totaled 406 yards of offense with three passing touchdowns in the defeat. 

Trailing 21-14 in the fourth quarter, the Peacocks had a 3rd-and-17 from the UIndy 37-yard line. Overstreet Jr. found senior tight end Eddie Burgess, who lunged and came up half a yard short of the first down. Overstreet Jr. converted on the next play with a quarterback sneak. Later in the drive, Burgess caught a pass over the middle from eight yards out to tie the game at 21-21. 

The Greyhounds responded with a kickoff return out to their own 40-yard line. Harlon Hill candidate quarterback Gavin Sukup found Kaleb Carver for a 28-yard gain to get down to the red zone. On 3rd-and-goal from the 4-yard line, Sukup scrambled around in the pocket and found Cole Bennett amid the craziness for the go-ahead touchdown with 3:47 left in the game.

The Peacocks drove down the field with Overstreet Jr. completing five of his first six passes. This brought up a 4th-and-1 where Overstreet Jr. bounced a quarterback sneak around the outside of the tackles for a 3-yard gain. 

Two plays later, Overstreet Jr. was intercepted going for Mante Morrow in the endzone by UIndy's Alvin Contreras. The Greyhound defensive back was all over the field during the game with seven tackles, four pass breakups and the interception. 

UIndy won its fourth straight GLVC Championship after finishing 8-0 in GLVC play. The Greyhounds have earned the automatic bid into the NCAA Division II Playoffs. 

The Greyhounds started the game hot, scoring on their opening two drives. Sukup found tight end Callen Okerson 12 yards out to cap off a six-play 75-yard drive. On the next possession, the Greyhounds converted a 4th-and-six with a 34-yard touchdown to Alonzo Derrick, capping off a 99-yard touchdown drive. UIndy led 14-0 after the opening 15 minutes of play. 

Eddy Latanauskas got the stop the Peacocks needed to get a spark, sacking Sukup on 4th-and-2 at the UIU 37-yard line. On the next play, Overstreet Jr. completed a 55-yard bomb to Angelo Butts. That set up a 5-yard play-action touchdown pass to Burgess for UIU's first score.

After a Greyhound three-and-out, the Peacock offense had an opportunity to tie the game. A 21-yard Jayden Gordon draw rush on 3rd-and-10 got the drive going. Burgess had key catches to convert on third down and fourth down later in the drive. With 41 seconds left in the half, Overstreet Jr. found Morrow for a 22-yard touchdown on 3rd-and-10 to tie the game.

That capped off a 13-play 90-yard drive that took 5:52 off the clock. The Greyhounds drove down the field and had a 41-yard field goal attempt before the half. Freshman kicker Andrew Herron missed it, keeping the score at 14-14 at halftime. 

On the opening drive of the second half, a 25-yard third-down rush by Overstreet Jr. set up Nathan Behne for a 34-yard field goal. Behne's kick was wide left, and UIndy capitalized. A few plays later, Sukup found Markez Gilliam for a 51-yard completion. Sukup then ran it in from five yards out to lead, 21-14, with 7:58 left in the third quarter. 

Overstreet Jr. finished the game 32-of-51 (62.7%) with 334 yards passing, three touchdowns and an interception. He added 72 rushing yards on the ground. This was a season-high in completions for him, and he had his first game with 40+ attempts since 2023. The 334 passing yards marked the senior's second-most this season. He's totaled 2,467 passing yards this season, marking a career-high for him and also recording the eighth-most in a season in program history. 

Burgess had his third two-touchdown game of his career, with his latest in 2023 against Missouri S&T. The senior tight end finished the game with eight catches for 95 yards, making multiple clutch plays for the Peacocks on the day.

Butts totaled eight catches for 107 yards, marking a career-high with UIU in both marks. Morrow added seven catches for 92 yards and a touchdown, hitting 900 total yards and 12 touchdowns this season. Lonny Melvin Jr. had four catches for 23 yards. 

Gordon recorded nine carries for 58 yards on the ground. On defense, Latanauskas totaled two sacks, both in the first half. Linebacker Evan Dorn had eight tackles (four solo) and safety Tade Parsons had seven tackles (six solo). Yashua Pettis-Taylor had four solo tackles, a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry. 

Behne had three punts for the Peacocks, all landing inside the 20-yard line. His first punt of the game went out of bounds at the one-yard line. 

Sukup finished the game 19-of-27 (70.4%) for 287 yards, three touchdowns passing and one rushing. He completed a pass to eight different receivers, with Derrick leading the team totaling seven catches for 93 yards. Running back Sherrell Garrett ran seven times for 74 yards while Fataki Juseters had eight carries for 51 yards. 

UIU outgained UIndy 472-446 with a 334-287 advantage through the air, while the Greyhounds held a 159-138 advantage on the ground. The Peacocks gained 26 first downs while UIndy gained 20. 

Upper Iowa was 7-of-15 (46.7%) on third downs and 3-of-3 on fourth downs, and UIndy was 5-of-9 (55.5%) on third downs and 1-of-2 on fourth downs. UIU was 3-for-5 in the redzone while UIndy went 3-for-3. 

The Peacocks will now await to see if they are selected for the NCAA Super Region Three Playoffs. Upper Iowa got a little help in the NSIC as the region's No. 6 Minnesota State and No. 8 Augustana both lost on Saturday. The NCAA Division II Playoffs selection show is scheduled for Sunday at 5 p.m. and can be watched on NCAA.com.