Late offense pushes Panthers past Tommies

Saturday, September 7

St. Paul, Minn.

1 p.m.

University of Northern Iowa

2-0 , 0-0

St. Thomas

0-2 , 0-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

UNI

St. Thomas (MN)

Photo by: Eli Hull

Late offense pushes Panthers past Tommies

9/7/2024 4:40:00 PM | Football

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Amauri Pesek-Hickson scored the go-ahead touchdown for the Panthers off a fumble recovery to give UNI the 17-10 victory in St. Paul.

ST. PAUL, Minnesota — The UNI Panther football team took on the St. Thomas Tommies in St. Paul, Minnesota for the Panthers' first road game of the young 2024 season. It was a slow start on both sides of the ball for both teams, but a late-game touchdown pushed the Panthers ahead of the Tommies for UNI's first 2-0 start since 2013.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Panther defense came out fast and forced a turnover on downs on the fourth play of the game. Tucker Langenberg got into the backfield to disrupt the fourth and one play. The Panthers missed a field goal on the subsequent offensive drive after starting on the Tommie 34 yardline. An offensive drive that saw a St. Thomas, 31-yard reception ended in a Tommie touchdown to give the home team a 7-0 lead after the extra point.

The Panthers struggled on offense once again and gave the Tommies great field position after a blocked punt off the foot of Noah Pettinger. The UNI defense stood tall and forced a field goal attempt. Offsetting penalties on the initial try forced St. Thomas to re-kick which ended up wide of the pipes. The game remained 7-0 after the missed field goal.

The Panthers followed the defensive stand with their first scoring drive of the day which spanned 80 yards in 11 plays including a pair of long third-down conversions. The drive resulted in a three-yard touchdown rush from Amauri Pesek-Hickson.

The Tommies were forced to punt on their next offensive drive after a five-yard sack from Zach Mehmert forced a fourth down. Another Panther punt was followed by the second missed field goal from St. Thomas on a 29-yard try.

The UNI offense looked to get the ball rolling in the two-minute drill, but stalled out and ended with a turnover on downs. With just over 30 seconds left, the Tommies took control of the ball and looked to score before a defensive stand from the Panthers gave UNI the ball back with one second on the clock. A run from Pesek-Hickson drained the rest of the clock and the teams went into the locker room tied at seven at the halftime break.

UNI opened the second quarter with a punt before the Tommies took a 10-7 lead with a 50-yard field goal. After a pair of explosive offensive plays, the Panther offense stalled out and was forced to punt once again.

The Panther defense forced the Tommies to punt on the next possession which ended up being blocked by Tucker Langenberg and recovered at the St. Thomas seven yardline. The Panthers were unable to punch in the touchdown and settled for a field goal off the foot of Caden Palmer.

The next defensive possession for the Tommies ended in a punt before the Panthers began their game-winning drive. The drive began with a 56-yard run from Tye Edwards and was capped by a touchdown rush from Auamri Pesek-Hickson on a fumble recovery. St. Thomas got the ball back but was held up by the Panther defense with next to no time remaining for the Panthers to take home the 17-10 victory.

Aidan Dunne finished the day with 99 passing yards on 11 completions. Tye Edwards led the ground game with another 100+-yard performance as he finished with 141 rushing yards. Sergio Morancy led the receiving game with 52 yards on four receptions.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

The Panthers improved to 2-0 with the 17-10 victory over the Tommies and are now 3-0-1 all-time against St. Thomas.
The victory marks the first time since 2013 that the Panthers have started the season 2-0 and the fourth time as such in head coach Mark Farley's career. (2013, 2007, and 2005)
Caden Palmer recorded his first field goal as a Panther with a 20-yarder in the fourth quarter.
Tye Edwards recorded back-to-back 100+-yard performances for the first time in his career.
Amauri Pesek-Hickson recorded his first rushing touchdown of the season and the third multi-touchdown game of his career with two rushing touchdowns against the Tommies.

UP NEXT

The Panthers head to Nebraska on September 14 for a 6:30 p.m. kickoff in Lincoln, Nebraska. The game can be watched on the Big Ten Network or listened to on the Panther Sports Radio Network.

UNI football action can be followed all season long on social media on Facebook (UNI Football), X (@UNIFootball) and on Instagram (@unipantherfootball). The full 2024 schedule and roster, along with the latest Panther news and information can be found online at UNIpanthers.com.