University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
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Iowa State
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Johnson Leads Panthers Past Iowa State, 28-20
8/31/2013 1:00:00 AM | Football
AMES, Iowa – The University of Northern Iowa football team kicked off their 2013 season tonight with a big win over the Iowa State Cyclones, 28-20.
The Panthers held Iowa State to only two field goals in the second half to pick up their first win over an FBS opponent since beating Iowa State in 2007. Sophomore Sawyer Kollmorgen finished with 21-28-0 for 218 yards and two touchdowns while David Johnson picked up a career high 199 yards rushing, 240 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns.
On the defensive side of the ball, Jake Farley led the Panthers with 12 tackles and a pass breakup. Deiondre' Hall, Tim Kilfoy, Sam Tim and Jordan Gacke all notched eight tackles and combined for two sacks.
Johnson struck first, putting the Panthers on the scoreboard with 6:13 left to play in the first quarter. The Clinton, Iowa native broke free for a 37-yard rushing touchdown, accompanied by the PAT from Tyler Sievertsen to put UNI up, 7-0.
Iowa State was able to even up the score with 3:37 left in the first quarter off a 57-yard pass from Sam Richardson to Justin Colemon to make the score 7-7. The Cyclones took 2:30 off the clock for seven plays and 89 yards.
Johnson put the Panthers on the board again to open the second quarter when he and Kollmorgen linked up in the end zone for a nine-yard pass. The drive took 3:37 off the clock for 9 plays and 78 yards, giving UNI a 14-7 lead with 14:55 left on the clock.
With 6:52 left in the second quarter, Johnson gave the fans a three-peat, scoring his third touchdown of the game to put UNI up, 21-7. The junior broke through the Cyclone defense for a 27-yard rush, putting him over the 100-yard mark in just the first half.
The Cyclones were able to slip through the UNI defense with 3:45 left in the half when Richardson connected with James White for a seven-yard pass to make the score 21-14. Iowa State took 3:02 off the clock for 11 plays and 78 yards.
Kollmorgen finished the half 14-17 for 128 yards and a touchdown. Johnson racked up 126 yards on the ground while Kevin Vereen Jr. and Chad Owens combined for 95 yards in the Panther air attack. Tim Kilfoy notched seven tackles in the first half and Deiondre' Hall and Jake Farley combining for 12.
Both teams stayed scoreless in the third quarter until the 5:50 mark when ISU's Cole Netten knocked in a 23-yard field goal to close the UNI lead to 21-17. Netten scored again with 4:19 left in the quarter to cut the Panther lead to one point, making the score 21-20, knocking off 1:17 from the clock.
In the 13:00 minute of the fourth quarter, Johnson tied the UNI record for touchdowns in a game when he notched his fourth to give UNI a 28-20 lead. Johnson's 29-yard touchdown drive took 1:54 off the clock for five plays and 43 yards.
Johnson scored the last points with his fourth touchdown of the game and the Panthers ran out the clock after regaining possession with 27 seconds left for the win.
Post-Game Notes vs. Iowa State
Mark Farley is now 3-12 against FBS opponents, with two of his wins coming against Iowa State. This marks the first win over an FBS game since the Panthers defeated the Cyclones in 2007 and is now 21-66-5 all-time against the FBS.
David Johnson has now scored in 10 consecutive games, dating back to Sept. 15, 2012 against Iowa. He has also scored a rushing touchdown in 10 consecutive games.
David Johnson notched his ninth career 100+ rushing game and seventh consecutive against Iowa State. He finished with 199 rushing yards, setting a new career high. He broke the 2,000 career rushing mark tonight, giving him a total of 2,042 yards.
David Johnson is now tied for eighth all-time at UNI in career rushing touchdowns with former quarterback Tirrell Rennie with 24. He is also now tied for sixth in career total touchdowns with 34 with Eddie Berlin and Terrance Freeney.
David Johnson tied the UNI record for touchdowns in a game with four. This marks the 11th time that a Panther has scored four touchdowns with Johnson notching the distinction for the second time in his career.
David Johnson now has 638 all-purpose yards against FBS opponents.
Kevin Vereen Jr. set a career high for catches tonight with 7 receptions. He had four in just the first quarter, passing his total of three from last season before suffering his season ending injury.
Deiondre' Hall notched his first career sack tonight against the Cyclones. He finished with eight tackles.
Team Stats
UNI 7, ISU 0
UNI - Johnson, David 37 yd run (Sievertsen, T. kick), 5 plays, 69 yards, TOP 2:09
UNI 7, ISU 7
ISU - Coleman, Justin 59 yd pass from Richardson, SB (Arceo, Edwin kick) 7 plays, 89 yards, TOP 2:30
UNI 14, ISU 7
UNI - Johnson, David 9 yd pass from Kollmorgen, S. (Sievertsen, T. kick) 9 plays, 78 yards, TOP 3:37
UNI 21, ISU 7
UNI - Johnson, David 27 yd run (Sievertsen, T. kick), 7 plays, 82 yards, TOP 3:31
UNI 21, ISU 14
ISU - White, James 7 yd pass from Richardson, SB (Arceo, Edwin kick) 11 plays, 78 yards, TOP 3:02
UNI 21, ISU 17
ISU - Netten, Cole 23 yd field goal 12 plays, 75 yards, TOP 5:55
UNI 21, ISU 20
ISU - Netten, Cole 38 yd field goal 4 plays, 0 yards, TOP 1:17
UNI 28, ISU 20
UNI - Johnson, David 29 yd pass from Kollmorgen, S. (Sievertsen, T. kick) 5 plays, 43 yards, TOP 1:54
