UNI Tops Wofford 28-21, Advances to Quarterfinals

Saturday, December 3

Cedar Falls, Iowa

4 p.m.

University of Northern Iowa

10-2

Wofford

8-4

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Wofford

UNI

UNI Tops Wofford 28-21, Advances to Quarterfinals

12/3/2011 1:00:00 AM | Football

Box Score

By: UNI Athletics Communications

The University of Northern Iowa football team used 21 second-half points to overcome a halftime deficit and defeat Wofford 28-21 in an NCAA Football Championship Subdivision second round playoff game on Saturday evening in the UNI-Dome.

With the win, UNI will travel to Montana on Dec. 9 or Dec. 10 to make its 12th appearance in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division I Football Championship.

The Panthers took advantage of three Wofford fumbles, including one in the endzone recovered for a touchdown, to overcome a 478-238 deficit in total offense.

UNI senior quarterback Tirrell Rennie rushed for 95 yards on 19 carries. He was 7-of-12 passing for 67 yards and had two touchdown passes to senior receiver Jarred Herring. Herring caught four passes for 54 yards on the night. Junior running back Carlos Anderson gained 52 yards on 11 carries.

Senior linebacker L.J. Fort posted 16 tackles to run his season total to 167 and move into No. 2 on UNI's all-time list for tackles in a season. Fort also jumped to fifth on UNI's career tackles leaderboard.

Jordan Smith had 14 stops for the Panther defense, and defensive tackle Ben Boothby and safety Wilmot Wellington each tallied a career-high 12 tackles.

Wofford (8-4) gained 457 of their 478 total yards on the ground, rushing 73 times for 6.3 yards per carry. Wofford quarterback Mitch Allen had 156 yards rushing and fullback Eric Breitenstein added 131 yards and three touchdowns.

UNI (10-2) received the opening kickoff and drove 72 yards on six plays to score first. Rennie found Herring over the middle for a 23-yard scoring strike, and UNI led 7-0 with 12:09 left in the first quarter.

Wofford responded with a 16-play, 81-yard drive that resulted in a three-yard touchdown run by Breitenstein to tie the contest at 7-7 with 3:30 left in the first quarter.

Breitenstein broke loose for a 46-yard touchdown run with 5:45 left in the second quarter that gave the Terriers a 14-7 lead at halftime.

With Wofford driving into UNI territory on the opening drive of the second half, Panther linebacker James Conley forced a fumble by Terrier wide receiver Brenton Bersin, and Wellington scooped it up for a 12-yard return. From there, Rennie led the Panthers down the field and hit Herring once again for a seven-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 14-14 with 10:21 left in the third quarter.

UNI scored on the first play of the fourth quarter with a one-yard touchdown run by David Johnson, taking a 21-14 lead.

On the following kickoff, Wofford returner Stephon Shelton fumbled in his own endzone and UNI's Phil Wright recovered for a Panther touchdown. With 14:56 left in the game, UNI held a 28-14 lead.

Wofford put together a 15-play, 88-yard drive and a three-yard touchdown run by Breitenstein to cut the lead to 28-21 with 2:00 remaining. UNI's Brett LeMaster recovered the Terriers' onside kick, but when Tyler Sievertsen missed a 47-yard field goal attempt to ice the game, Wofford had one more chance to score with 0:53 on the clock.

The Panther defense stopped Wofford on four consecutive plays, with senior defensive tackle August Hadenfeldt notching a sack on fourth down to seal the victory.

UNI will travel to Missoula, Mont., to face the No. 4-seeded Montana Grizzlies in a quarterfinal game on either Fri., Dec. 9, or Sat., Dec. 10. Game time is still to be determined.