UNI Picks Up First MVFC Win, Defeats Coyotes 27-16

Saturday, October 11

Vermillion, S.D.

3:00 p.m.

University of Northern Iowa

3-3 , 1-1

South Dakota

2-4 , 0-2

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

UNI

South Dakota

UNI Picks Up First MVFC Win, Defeats Coyotes 27-16

10/11/2014 1:00:00 AM | Football

Box Score

By: UNI Athletics Communications

VERMILLION, S.D. – The University of Northern Iowa football team picked up its first conference win of the season, defeating the South Dakota Coyotes, 27-16 inside a sold out DakotaDome. The Panthers are now 3-3 overall and 1-1 in MVFC play.

The dual play of quarterbacks Sawyer Kollmorgen and Brion Carnes proved to be too much for the Coyotes with Kollmorgen finishing 7-16-0 for 154 yards and a touchdown while Carnes finished 4-13-0 for 51 yards and a touchdown along with 55 rushing yards.

Kevin Vereen Jr. led the Panthers through the air with 87 receiving yards and his fifth touchdown of the season. Charles Brown also grabbed 47 yards off two receptions.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Panthers tied their season high in sacks with a staggering seven. Deiondre' Hall led the team with eight tackles and his third interception of the season while sophomore Brett McMakin notched five tackles, three sacks and his first-career interception.

South Dakota jumped on the board first with a 17-yard rushing touchdown from Trevor Bouma at the 8:32 mark in the first quarter. The Coyotes took a 7-0 lead after the 11 play, 76 yard drive the burned up 6:28 off the clock.

Michael Schmadeke cut the South Dakota lead to four points when he knocked in a 28-yard field goal with 7:26 left in the second quarter, making the score 7-3. The drive took 2:21 off the clock for seven plays and 44 yards.

UNI took a 10-7 lead with 2:37 left in the half after Carnes found Vereen Jr. open for a 28-yard touchdown. The score ended a 2:38 drive for eight plays and 55 yards.

The Panther defense was stingy with yardage in the first half, only allowing 26 rushing. McMakin finished the half with four tackles and two key sacks for UNI.

McMakin continued his dominating play early in the third quarter grabbing his first interception of the season to put UNI in the redzone, setting up their next score. David Johnson punched it home for the Panthers, grabbing a one-yard rushing touchdown a few plays later to put UNI up 17-7 with 11:01 left in the third quarter. The play ended a 2:11 long drive for five plays and 23 yards.

With 3:51 left in the third quarter, USD placekicker Miles Bergner connected on a 33-yard field goal to make the score 17-10. UNI was able to answer with a field goal of its own when Schmadeke converted on a 34-yarder to give the Panthers a 20-10 lead with 2:28 on the clock, ending a five play, 56-yard drive.

South Dakota was able to cut the UNI lead to 20-16 with 10:17 left to play in the game when Kevin Earl found Brandt Van Roekel open for a 25-yard receiving touchdown. Ronelle McNeil was able to get a hand on the PAT for his first block of the season. The scoring drive took 3:58 off the clock for nine plays and 99 yards.

UNI extended its lead with 7:49 remaining in the game when true freshman Daurice Fountain scored his first-career touchdown, linking up with Kollmorgen for a 15-yard receiving touchdown. The drive lasted 2:22 for seven plays and 70 yards.

Fountain's touchdown solidified the win for the Panthers, earning them a 1-1 Missouri Valley Football Conference record. The Panthers will return to action Saturday, Oct. 18 when they return to the UNI-Dome to take on South Dakota State for Family Weekend.

Post-Game Notes vs. South Dakota

- Captains against South Dakota: #46 Jake Farley, #98 Xavier Williams, #7 David Johnson and #66 Jack Rummells

- David Johnson broke the school record for career all-purpose yards against the Coyotes, going for 42 rushing yards, 64 kickoff return yards to give him a career total of 5,259. Johnson also moved up to 5^th all-time at UNI in career points. He now has 282 points to tie him for fifth with Jeff Stovall (47 TD, 1993-96).

- Evan Williams notched his first reception of the season, making an acrobatic catch for a 25-yard gain and a first down in the second quarter.

- Brion Carnes grabbed his first passing touchdown of the season late in the second quarter against South Dakota. The senior found Kevin Vereen Jr. open for a 28-yard score to put UNI up 10-7.

- Kevin Vereen Jr. scored his fifth touchdown of the season against the Coyotes. The senior had scored in four consecutive games prior to the game against Indiana State (10/4). He now has 80 career receptions for 1,198 yards and 10 touchdowns.

- Brett McMakin notched his first-career interception against the Coyotes, returning it for nine yards and putting UNI in the red zone for their next score.

- The Panthers finished the game with seven total sacks. The number tied for a season-high and also tied for 10^th all-time at UNI in single-game sack totals. Brett McMakin was just one sack away from tying the school record for sacks in a game by an individual. True freshman Daurice Fountain scored his first collegiate touchdown against South Dakota, linking up with Kollmorgen in the third quarter for a 15-yard receiving touchdown to put UNI up 27-16.

- Chad Owens finished with a career-high 103 punt return yards. He was just 28 yards shy of tying the school record for most punt returns in a game (131 yards, Milo Popovic vs. Wayne State, 1988).