FAYETTE, Iowa - The Upper Iowa football team (3-1, 1-0 GLVC) totaled 432 yards of offense in Saturday's 31-10 homecoming win over Lincoln (Mo.) (2-2, 0-2 GLVC). UIU rushed for a season-high 220 yards, led by running back Damon Head Jr. with 85 yards and a touchdown.
The Peacocks scored 28 of their 31 points in the first half, and they were determined to establish the ground game early. Upper Iowa rushed on seven of its first nine during the opening drive. The drive was topped off with a one-yard rushing touchdown by Eddy Latanauskas. The senior defensive lineman lined up at fullback to find the endzone for his first career touchdown.
The Blue Tigers then used a 16-play 84-yard drive to eat up 10:11 of game time and put a field goal on the board. The Peacocks drove right down the field again, going 75 yards in nine plays, finishing with a Head Jr. two-yard touchdown run. Head Jr. totaled 31 yards on the drive, and 32 yards came on a reception by tight end Eddie Burgess.
After an LU three-and-out, the Peacocks went right down the field again. This time, they scored on an explosive 28-yard quarterback scramble by Darryl Overstreet Jr. to lead, 21-3.
Lincoln missed a 36-yard field goal on the ensuing drive, giving the Peacocks the ball with 1:31 left. Upper Iowa executed the two-minute drill to perfection, going 80 yards, finishing with a 39-yard touchdown pass to senior receiver Mante Morrow. Overstreet Jr. was 5-of-5 on the drive with 66 passing yards.
The Peacocks led 28-3 at halftime and scored on all four first-half possessions. Overstreet Jr. was 11-of-12 in the first half with 141 passing yards.
The Upper Iowa offense slowed down in the second half, with UIU scoring its only points on a Nathan Behne 30-yard field goal with 6:59 left in the game. Lincoln scored on the ensuing possession with a 89-yard scramble drill touchdown by Armani Turner on a pass from Jaylen Thomas.
Overstreet Jr. finished 17-for-22 (77.2%) with 212 passing yards and a touchdown through the air. He added 28 yards on the ground with the rushing touchdown. The senior quarterback was intercepted in the third quarter as Lincoln's Desean Logan-Russell stripped the ball away from Morrow to steal a touchdown in the endzone.
Head Jr.'s 85 yards marked a career high for the redshirt freshman. He totaled a team-high 18 carries (4.7 yards per carry). Jayden Gordon rushed 10 times for 60 yards (5.7 yards per carry) and Calvin Swinney ran eight times for 44 yards (5.5 yards per carry).
Burgess led the team in receiving with four catches for 70 yards. Koda Gates-Bridges had six catches for 53 yards. Morrow finished with three catches for 51 yards and a touchdown. He has now scored a touchdown in 10 straight games for the Peacocks, dating back to last season's matchup vs. Truman State (Mo.) (10/5/24). Morrow has totaled seven receiving touchdowns this season.
Tade Parsons led the Peacocks defensively with nine tackles (four solo). Trevor Thompson added six tackles (two solo). Evan Dorn, Yashua Pettis-Taylor and Demontay Mack each had five tackles.
Mack made some explosive plays with a 17-yard sack to help him finish with 2.5 tackles for loss. Dorn and Shaquille Roman each had a pass breakup.
Thomas entered in the second half for the Blue Tigers and finished 4-of-8 with 134 passing yards. Jadarrius Thomas had 56 yards on the ground, and Jareese Howard had 54. Turner led all receivers with 89 yards on his fourth-quarter catch.
Upper Iowa outgained Lincoln 432-334 with a 220-131 rushing advantage and a 212-203 passing advantage. UIU had 27 first downs compared to 13 for the Blue Tigers. Upper Iowa gained six first downs via Lincoln penalties.
The Peacocks didn't allow a sack for the third straight game. Lincoln came into Saturday's matchup averaging 3.3 sacks per game. Upper Iowa has now won back-to-back homecoming games
Next Saturday, Upper Iowa is on the road against Missouri S&T (2-2, 0-1 GLVC) for the Miner's homecoming game. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Allgood-Bailey Stadium in Rolla, Missouri.
