NORMAL, Ill. – UNI struck early on offense and held Illinois State to just one scoring drive in the second half as the Panthers picked up a key road win against the Redbirds in a 24-21 road victory at Hancock Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Panthers, coming off an impressive home shutout of North Dakota at home last week, moves into second-place in the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) standings with a 4-1 league record. UNI has now won four of its last five as it heads into the final three weeks of the regular season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Edwin Dearman made the first big play of the afternoon just five plays into the game as the redshirt junior defensive back forced a fumble after a reception by Illinois State’s Mason Blakemore at midfield, with Cannon Butler recovering to set UNI up with excellent field position. On the ground, Amauri Pesek-Hickson picked up where he left off a week ago with a three-yard rushing touchdown, set up by a 20-yard reception by Sam Schnee from Theo Day.
The Redbirds would come back with a 10-play, 75-yard drive in three and a half minutes to tie the game at 7-7 on a one-yard carry by quarterback Zack Annexstad. UNI would respond in kind with a long drive of just under seven minutes with Day connecting on a pair of third-down conversion to Jaiden Ellis-Lahey and Logan Wolf, marching down the field for Pesek-Hickson to put the Panthers back ahead on a one-yard touchdown.
The Panther defense forced a three and out on the ensuing Redbird drive before notching their third touchdown of the day on a seven-yard reception by Desmond Hutson to extend the UNI lead to 21-7.
Illinois State looked to get their offense rolling, but momentum was stopped quickly by Corry Thomas Jr. who notched his second interception in the last two games at the Redbird 49-yard line. The Panthers could not capitalize however, and were forced to punt the ball back to the Redbirds, able to hold the Redbirds to another three and out.
Late in the second quarter, Day would find Sergio Morancy for what looked to be a long gain before an untimely fumble gave the ball back to Illinois State. The Redbirds used that turnover to mount their second scoring drive of the day which ended with an eight-yard reception by Daniel Sobkowicz from Annexstad. UNI would run down the clock and take their 21-14 lead into halftime.
Out of the halftime break, the Panther offense marched down the field and were within striking distance before the first UNI interception of the day on the Illinois State 24-yard line. The Redbirds were not able to capitalize on the error and were forced to punt the ball back to the Panthers.
After a scoreless third period which saw the Panthers come up with the ball on a fourth-and-one stop by Tucker Langenberg, the UNI defense came up with a big stop and forced a punt early in the fourth quarter. Northern Iowa chewed up just under nine minutes on the ensuing drive which ended with a 31-yard field goal from Matthew Cook to give UNI the 24-14 lead with 2:48 remaining in the game.
With short time and needing two scores, the Redbirds marched down the field with a ten-play, 75-yard touchdown drive in two minutes, 21 seconds on a 17-yard scoring pass from Annexstad to Cam Grandy to pull Illinois State within three points. The Redbirds’ attempt at an onside kick recovery would ultimately fail with the kicking going out of bounds, allowing the Panthers to run out the clock for the one-possession win.
Day finished the afternoon with 289 passing yards on 20 completions, with Pesek-Hickson racking up 107 yards rushing with a pair of touchdowns on 30 carries. Sam Schnee hauled in 82 receiving yards in the win. Alex Allen pulled in 47 yards receiving, while Morancy grabbed 41 yards through the air.
Defensively, Dearman led the Panthers with 12 total tackles with Jahsiah Galvan recording 11 stops and Rollian Sturkey making eight tackles. Thomas Jr. tacked on five tackles to complement his first half interception.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
The Panthers improve to 24-15 all-time against the Redbirds and snap a two-game skid to Illinois State. UNI is now 10-11 playing at Hancock Stadium
Edwin Dearman’s forced fumble in the first quarter was his first of the season and second of his career. Cannon Butler’s fumble recovery was the first of his career.
After accounting for six points against the Redbirds, placekicker Matthew Cook is just three points away from passing David Johnson (2010-14) as UNI’s all-time leading scorer. Cook has notched 382 career points off of 145 made PAT attempts and 79 field goals.
Cook extended his school record streak of scoring at least one point to 38 games on Saturday. He also extended his streak of 145 made PAT attempts, remaining perfect in his career.
Quarterback Theo Day moved up to fifth on the program’s all-time pass completions list with 522, moving ahead of Jay Johnson (1989-92). Day also moved up to eighth in pass attempts at UNI with 849, passing Larry Miller (1981-84).
UP NEXT
The Panthers return home next Saturday to host the Western Illinois Leathernecks at 1 p.m. CT inside the UNI-Dome on Military Appreciation and Band Day. Military veterans and active duty servicemen and women can receive free admission to next Saturday’s game by presenting their military IDs at the UNITIX office. Live coverage of the game will also be carried on ESPN+ and on the Panther Sports Radio Network.
