CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – Indiana State football went toe-to-toe with No. 5 Northern Iowa (7-3, 5-1 MVFC) Saturday night in Cedar Falls, falling to the host Panthers, 17-9.
The Sycamores outgained Northern Iowa 345 to 258 in the game, including a 125-91 yard advantage on the ground and 220-167 passing.
Dante Hendrix put together his best performance of the 2019 season, racking up 135 yards receiving on five catches. The redshirt sophomore put ISU at the three-yard line in the fourth quarter after a 48-yard diving catch while having three catches over 25 yards.
Jerry Nunez nailed all three field goals he kicked. The senior was good from 24, 28 and 41 yards.
The Indiana State defense was solid throughout, making several key stands to get the ball back into the offenses hands while holding UNI to just 91 yards on the ground and 167 yards through the air.
ISU turned the heat up on the Panthers early in the fourth after
Travis Reiner pinned UNI at the 10-yard line on a punt. UNI's Will McElvain took the snap and was sacked almost immediately by
Henrik Barndt to setup the three-and-out.
The Sycamores (3-7, 1-5 MVFC) took over at midfield and on the first play threw the ball up to Hendrix who made the diving catch at the three-yard line, but consecutive penalties would move ISU back from the goal line. Wilderman was forced to make a play rolling out of the pocket on third and goal from the 15 and was intercepted in the end zone.
After the Panthers picked up one first down, the defense would collect another stop after
Jonas Griffith and
Michael Thomas made a stop on first down to keep UNI at the line of scrimmage.
Michael Ghant Jr. and
Clayton Glasco stopped Nick McCabe for just a yard gain before McElvain threw an incomplete pass to force the UNI punt.
With 3:50 left on the clock, ISU took over possession and two plays in Wilderman found Hendrix for 27 yards to the 50-yard line. The Sycamores converted 3
rd and nine with a pass to
Dante Jones II for 11 yards. The next play, Wilderman was sacked and lost the ball which UNI recovered.
ISU rushed for 125 yards on the top rushing defense in the Missouri Valley Football Conference led by Dafney's 80 yards on 16 carries.
Michael Haupert added 33 yards while
Peterson Kerlegrand went for 30 yards. Kerlegrand also added four catches for 36 yards out of the backfield.
Kurtis Wilderman was 15-for-25 for 220 yards passing but was responsible for three turnovers (two interceptions and a fumble on a sack) in the game.
Denzel Bonner led the Sycamores from the safety position with a career high 13 tackles (four solo) while
Clayton Glasco and
Jonas Griffith added seven tackles each. Griffith also added a sack prior to halftime to halt the UNI drive near midfield.
McElvain passed for 167 yards on 11-of-20, including a touchdown for UNI. The Panthers were led by Trevor Allen out of the backfield as he went for a team high 62 yards rushing.
Christian Jegan finished with 10 tackles form the Panthers as well as one of the two UNI interceptions. Elerson Smith forced the fumble on a sack on ISU's final offensive drive to finish with eight tackles and two sacks for 15 yards.
Indiana State is back in action next weekend as Youngstown State comes to town for Senior Day. Kickoff with the Penguins is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET from Memorial Stadium. ISU will honor its 23 seniors prior to kickoff, approximately 25 minutes prior to the start of action.
For the latest information on the Sycamore Football team, make sure to check out
GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including
Facebook and
Twitter.
