University of Northern Iowa
Southern Illinois
UNI Loses Petrie In 40-36 Loss At SIU
10/2/2004 8:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 2, 2004
CEDAR FALLS -- The University of Northern Iowa Panthers lost more than just a football game in their 40-36 loss to no. 1 ranked Southern Illinois this afternoon in Carbondale, IL. They also lost senior quarterback to what could be a season-ending injury when he left the game with about eight and a half minutes remaining to a fractured left collarbone.
"Tom is a huge loss for our program," said UNI head coach Mark Farley. "His injury might have cost us this football game. He wanted to finish the drive even with a bone sticking out. That puts winning and losing in perspective when you lose good kids."
The game was almost a repeat performance from last year's Gateway Conference showdown, except with opposite results. This time around, the no. 1-ranked Salukis came back from a 20-0 deficit to defeat the 15th-ranked Panthers 40-36. Last year, UNI fought back from trailing 28-7 to win share of the league title and the automatic bid to the 1-AA playoffs with the 43-40 win in the UNI-Dome.
Today's contest was the first conference game of the year for both squad, so the title race is just beginning. But with the loss, UNI falls to 1-3 overall, the worst start since the 1988 season during Earle Bruce's one-year reign as head coach. The Panthers now most likely will have to win their remaining games to advance to post-season play.
"We're in a must-win situation," Farley said. "We're really three plays from being the no. 1 team in the country to being 1-3. We'll have to circle the wagons. Now it's us against the world.
UNI took advantage of Saluki miscues early, jumping out to a 20-0 lead with 8:21 left in the first half. Sophomore Dre Dokes captured UNI's first interception of the season, returning it 95 yards to put the Panthers up 7-0 at the 8:12 mark of the first quarter. Senior safety Tyler Johnson recovered an SIU fumble and returned it to the 36. Three minutes later, Petrie scored on a two-yard run following an SIU pass interference call in the end zone, giving UNI a 14-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. Petrie connected with junior Justin Surrency for a 23-yard TD reception to give UNI the 20-0 lead after Brian Wingert's point after attempt was blocked.
As UNI was taking advantage of penalties and turnovers, SIU was making the big plays. Five key plays went at least 58 yards. Craig Turner returned a punt 58 yards to put SIU on the scoreboard finally with 3:57 left in the half and less than two minutes later, Quorey Payne scored on a 69-yard pass from Joel Sambursky. UNI's Patrick Hunter scored his first career TD on a 52-yard pass from Petrie with 10 seconds left in the half to give UNI a 26-14 advantage at the break.
Turner added a 71-yard run with 11:15 left in the third quarter and Craig Coffin's 33-yard field goal pulledSIU back to within two at 26-24 at the 4:25 mark. The teams traded scores to start the final period. Petrie threw a 19-yard TD pass to James Lindgren with 13:48 left in the game, and SIU answered with a 61-yard TD pass to Brandon Jacobs just 44 seconds later. SIU took the lead for good at 38-33 with 11:33 remaining on a two-yard run by Arkee Whitlock, which followed Petrie's third interception of the day.
Petrie led what could be the final drive of his collegiate career down to the SIU 18, but was replaced by redshirt freshman Eric Sanders, who had completed just three-of-five passes in one game to date. Wingert kicked a 35-yard field goal to pull UNI back within two points at 38-36 with 8:17 left, but SIU got two more points on a safety at the 5:59 mark when Sanders stepped out of the back of the end zone.
Sanders showed his grit in a pressure situation when he drove the Panthers down to the SIU 20 with 20 seconds left. His first two passes went incomplete, and his last attempt with eight seconds left in the game was intercepted, ending the game.
"Sanders gave us a shot to win," Farley said. "He had no chance to warm up and he came in against the no. 1 team playing on the road. It was a gutsy performance.
"I was proud of how (the team) played," he added. "We're a good football team. They represented this university as good as any team from the past. It's just too bad it ended on the short side."
The Panthers not only lost Petrie, but senior Beau Gibbs also left the game in the second half after injuring the MCL in his right knee. A reserve tight end who has seen most of his collegiate action on special teams, Gibbs saw his first start today at outside linebacker because of his speed and size. He finished with four tackles, including two tackles for loss of 13 yards.
"We knew we needed to change things to create turnovers," Farley said, "and Beau was part of that process."
Petrie left the game after having completed 12-of-24 passes with the three interceptions and three TDs for 187 yards. Sanders completed five-of-13 passes for 56 yards and the one interception. Walter Payton Award candidate Terrance Freeney gained a hard-fought 93 yards on 26 carries. Surrency caught seven passes for 98 yards and the one TD. The Panthers were led defensively by senior end Ryan Arnold with six tackles.
