UNI Falls To #8 South Dakota State, 45-24

Saturday, November 19

Cedar Falls, Iowa (UNI-Dome)

4 p.m.

University of Northern Iowa

5-6 , 4-4

South Dakota State (Senior Day)

8-3 , 7-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

South Dakota State

UNI

UNI Falls To #8 South Dakota State, 45-24

11/19/2016 8:26:00 PM | Football

Box Score

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The University of Northern Iowa football program fell to the South Dakota State Jackrabbits 45-24, ending the season 5-6 overall and 4-4 in Missouri Valley Football Conference play.

Eli Dunne finished the game with 28 completions for 295 yards and a touchdown with Daurice Fountain leading the Panthers with five catches and 75 yards. Jalen Rima added 66 receiving yards and a touchdown to round out UNI's top offensive performers.

On defense, Duncan Ferch led the Panthers for the second consecutive week, racking up a career-high 12 tackles. Senior D'Shawn Dexter added nine tackles with one tackle for loss while Karter Schult had seven tackles and a sack.

South Dakota State wasted no time in getting on the scoreboard, putting up seven points with 13:49 left to play in the first quarter. On their first offensive drive, they went down field for just three plays and 68 yards, ending with a 30-yard pass from Taryn Christion to Jake Wieneke to make it 7-0.

It quickly turned into a first quarter shoot out with UNI tying it 7-7 with 10:57 on the clock. Freshman Rima found himself in the end zone on a 36-yard pass from Dunne, ending a seven-play, 66-yard drive that burned 2:47 off the clock.

The Jackrabbits answered with a 16-yard passing touchdown from Christion to Wieneke for the second score between the two of them. It was the end of a 67-yard drive for six plays, giving them a 14-7 advantage with 7:41 remaining in the quarter.

Rima gave South Dakota State no time to breath, scoring on the kickoff return, running it to the house for 99 yards and his second touchdown of the game. It was UNI's first kickoff return for a score since 2014, tying the score 14-14 with 7:28 on the clock.

Wieneke kept the scoring surge going into the second quarter, giving South Dakota State a 21-14 lead with 12:48 on the clock. Christion found the junior open for a five-yard pass into the end zone, their third scoring link-up of the game. It ended an 11-play, 80-yard drive that took 4:48 off the game clock.

Sam Drysdale scored the only other points in the second quarter, punching in a 20-yard field goal with 1:42 on the clock. It was a part of a 15-play, 63-yard drive that burned 6:34 off the clock, making it 21-17.

The Jackrabbits opened scoring in the third quarter, scoring on an 11-yard rush from Christion, putting South Dakota State up 28-17. It ended a 78-yard drive for nine plays and 4:18 off the clock to give SDSU its 11-point lead with less than 10 minutes to play in the quarter.

The Panthers weren't done yet, cutting the South Dakota State lead to just four points with 4:22 left to play in the third quarter. J'Veyon Browning got it done for the Panthers, rushing into the end zone for a one-yard rushing score, making it 28-24. It put an end to a 10-play, 63-yard drive that took 4:46 off the clock.

UNI couldn't catch a break on the deep ball against the Jackrabbits with their next touchdown being set up by a 27-yard pass to the UNI four-yard-line. Kyle Paris scored two plays later, rushing it three yards into the end zone to give SDSU a 35-24 advantage. It completed an eight-play, 50-yard drive that started in the third quarter.

It was all South Dakota State in the fourth quarter with UNI being plagued by turnovers. The Jackrabbits scored a 32-yard field goal with 5:27 on the clock, followed by a 65-yard interception return with less than two minutes to play to seal its 45-24 win.

Post-Game Notes vs. South Dakota State

Captains against South Dakota State: #15 Aaron Bailey, #30 D'Shawn Dexter, #72 Robert Rathje and #93 Karter Schult.
Jalen Rima scored a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the first quarter, his second special teams touchdown of the season. The last time UNI scored on a kickoff return was against Illinois State in 2014 when current Arizona Cardinal David Johnson took it 98 yards to the house.
Duncan Ferch notched a career-high 12 tackles against South Dakota State.
Senior Karter Schult finished the season with at least a sack in 10 of the 11 games. He had one sack against South Dakota State with a total of seven tackles.