CEDAR FALLS – Defense and a dominant running performance was the name of the game for the Panthers as they recorded their first shutout of the season on homecoming weekend against the No. 11/9 Fighting Hawks of North Dakota inside the UNI-Dome, 27-0.
UNI tallied two takeaways to bookend the matchup with UND, claiming their first victory over the Fighting Hawks since 1978, and recording the program’s first-ever shutout against a top-10 ranked opponent. The three-headed monster of Caden Houghtelling, Khristian Boyd and Canon Butler combined for four sacks on the UND quarterback for a total of 39 yards.
After opening the game on a three-and-out offensively, the Panther defense came up with an early stop as Caden Houghtelling recovered a fumble by North Dakota quarterback Tommy Schuster in UNI territory, his fourth career fumble recovery. Making his collegiate debut at running back, Amauri Pesek-Hickson opened the Panthers’ second drive with a 17-yard run, ultimately capping the drive with his first career touchdown on a 14-yard carry to give UNI a 7-0 lead.
Coming out of the break after the first quarter, the Panthers drove down the field with a drive that included a pair of 10-yard rushes from Pesek-Hickson but had to settle for a 30-yard field goal from Matthew Cook.
On what looked to be a promising drive for the Fighting Hawks, the UNI defense held strong including a nine-yard sack from Caden Houghtelling. North Dakota had to settle for a field goal opportunity which was missed from 34 yards to the left. The Panthers scored five plays later with a 70-yard passing strike from Theo Day to Sergio Morancy.
The Panther defense looked to hold North Dakota scoreless in the first half and did just that with a three and out from the Fighting Hawk offense which saw a 13-yard sack from Butler to force a punt. Northern Iowa would lead heading into halftime by a score of 17-0.
Coming out of halftime, the Panther defense stood tall and forced a three and out of the Fighting Hawk offense. Following the defensive stand, the Panthers roared down the field, going 75 yards in just over four minutes for their third touchdown of the game. The drive was set up by a pair of receptions by Sam Schnee for 20 and 29 yards and culminated with a two-yard touchdown reception from Brady McCullough, his first career score. The Fighting Hawks still struggled to put an offensive drive together with another punt coming after sacks by Butler and Boyd.
Both offenses struggled to string a scoring drive together on their next couple drives with both the Panthers and the Fighting Hawks resorting to back-to-back punts. With the ball back in the hands of North Dakota, the Fighting Hawks eyed their first points of the game with a 50-yard pass from Tommy Schuster to Caden Dennis down to the UNI eight-yard line. The Panther defense wasn’t phased and forced a turnover on downs, taking the ball back at their own five yard line. With their back against the endzone, Pesek-Hickson broke off for an 18-yard run to give the purple and gold some breathing room. Another 20-yard rush from Pesek-Hickson would put the Panthers into UND territory, but would result in yet another punt, this time pinning the Fighting Hawks on their own eight yard line after a 43-yard punt by Noah Pettinger.
For the first time all season, North Dakota quarterback Tommy Schuster threw an interception which was picked off by Corry Thomas Jr. on the UND 34-yard line. The Panthers put up their second field goal of the game on a 34-yard try from Matthew Cook to extend their lead to 27-0 with 2:30 remaining in the matchup. A UND team looking for something good to come their way were disappointed on their last drive with the first snap going awry for a loss of 17 yards. The ensuing punt was the last play of the game for UND as the Panthers were able to run out the final 55 seconds and claim the 27-0 victory.
Pesek-Hickson finished his historic day with 180 rushing yards on 31 carries and one touchdown, while Day notched 239 passing yards on 13 completions with a pair of touchdowns, including 90 yards to Schnee. Defensively, Woo Governor, Dalesean Staley, Jahsiah Galvan and Tucker Langenberg all notched seven tackles for UNI, with Edwin Dearman making six total stops.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
UNI improved their series lead to 26-14 against UND, including a 16-6 record at home against the Fighting Hawks.
The Panthers recorded their first shutout against North Dakota since defeating the Fighting Hawks 7-0 in 1967.
North Dakota was held scoreless in the first half for the first time since a 45-3 loss to No. 9 Washington on September 8, 2018.
Amauri Pesek-Hickson’s 180-yard rushing performance was the most rushing yards by a Panther since Tyvis Smith’s 207-yard game in 2015.
Matthew Cook set a new program record with 37 consecutive games scoring at least one point.
Noah Pettinger recorded a career-long 61-yard punt in the third quarter.
UNI’s win was its first recorded shutout since defeating Youngstown State during the spring 2021 season.
Theo Day passed Eli Dunne (2015-18) with his 52nd career passing touchdown on Saturday, fifth-most in program history.
Matthew Cook tied Billy Hallgren (2007-10) with a program record 95 field goals attempted after two against UND.
UP NEXT
The Panthers head to Normal, Illinois next Saturday, Oct. 28 to take on the Illinois State Redbirds at Hancock Stadium at 12 p.m. CT. The matchup will be broadcast on ESPN+ and can be listened to on the Panther Sports Radio Network.
