The UNI Football team found their momentum this weekend with a big 41-17 win over Idaho State. The Panthers started out with a 91 yard march downfield on its opening possession after forcing Idaho State to punt on its first possession and then leading the Panthers to score a touchdown via a run from Tye Edwards.
On the next possession, Tate Sander forced a fumble by the Bengals. This allowed the Panthers to respond with a two play, 65 yard touchdown drive with a pair of receptions capped by a 54 yard touchdown by Sam Schnee. Idaho State would respond a few minutes later with a 49-yard field goal, making the score 14-3 Panthers.
Matthew Cook had two field goals from 26 and 47 yards thanks to receptions from Layne Pryor and Schnee. Cordarrius Bailey’s first sack of the season helped give possession back to the Panthers. Idaho State tried to make an effort to score as the first half was coming to an end, until Edwin Dearman intercepted Jordan Cooke at the Panthers own nine yard line. The Panthers were able to capitalize on the turnover and score as Day found Schnee for his second touchdown in the final seconds of the half, boosting the Panthers to a 27-3 lead.
UNI started off strong in the second half thanks to a 32-yard catch from Schnee. Harrison Bey-Buie would find the end zone marking his first rushing touchdown of the year. The Bengals would make their way to their end zone in the final seconds of the third quarter and score on a one-yard run making the score 34-10.
The Panthers would then respond on the next drive with a 12 yard touchdown run by Josh Jenkins and the first touchdown of his career, and help push the lead to 41-10. The Bengals then made way down field and scored their second touchdown of the day, making the score 41-17. Theo Day finished the day with a career high 388 passing yards and two touchdown passes.
Schnee tallied 174 receiving yards on seven catches, and Jenkins led the Panthers in the running game with 69 rushing yards. Bailey had a career high three sacks while Jahsiah Galvan had ten total tackles, to lead the team, and seven solo stops. Thomas Jr. and Sander both tallied six tackles as well. With a big win over Idaho State, Head Coach Mark Farley records his 175th victory of his coaching career.
