The Northern Iowa football team fell to the Missouri State Bears 49-42 in the school’s annual Homecoming game.
The Panthers established the run early, as Tye Edwards ran for 15 yards on two rushes. A few plays later, Matthew Schecklman couldn’t connect with Sergio Morancy on a third down and 5, which forced the Panthers to punt.
On the Bears’ first possession, they found themselves in Panther territory early, scoring an 8-yard rushing touchdown to take an early 7-0 lead.
The Panther offense responded, going right back to the running game. On the second play from scrimmage, Edwards accelerated up the left sideline for 22 yards. Soon after, Schecklman found Morancy for a gain of 14 yards down to the Bears 30-yard line. The Panthers returned to Edwards a few plays later, as he rushed for a 17-yard gain down to the 9-yard line. On the tenth play of the drive, Amauri Pesek-Hickson punched it in to tie the game up at 7-7 late in the first quarter.
On the Bears’ next offensive possession, the Panthers allowed back-to-back first downs on the first two plays. The defense stepped up on the next series, as Hyson Bey-Buie brought pressure on the quarterback, forcing a Bears incompletion and their first punt of the game.
The Panthers faced a third down and 10 early on their next possession, but Schecklman stepped up and fired a 27-yard completion to Jaiden Ellis-Lahey to move the chains. The offense quickly faced another third down, as Schecklman was sacked for a loss, forcing a Panthers punt.
The Bears wasted no time regaining the lead early in the second quarter. On the third play from scrimmage, the Bears broke free for a 53-yard rushing touchdown to take a 14-7 lead.
As the Panthers looked to respond, Schecklman found Morancy to start the drive for a gain of ten yards. After back-to-back Bears penalties, Edwards rushed for a 9-yard gain down to the 32-yard line. With the Panthers facing a second and 6 from the 9 yard line, Pesek-Hickson rushed for his second touchdown of the day, tying the game at 14-14 with 7:38 to go in the second quarter.
The Bears offense went right back to work. On the fifth play from scrimmage, the Bears completed a 27-yard pass down to the 33-yard-line. A few plays later, Missouri State scored their third touchdown to regain the lead at 21-14 with 3:19 to go in the second quarter.
While the Panther’s running backs impacted the running game in the first half, Schecklman broke free on a quarterback keeper for a gain of 36 yards to start the drive. On the following play, Edwards accelerated for a gain of 17 down to the 22-yard line. Already in the red area, the Panther offense made it first and goal as Schecklman found Sergio Morancy for a gain of twelve down to the 7-yard line. A few plays later, Edwards ran in for a score to tie the game at 21-21 with little time remaining in the first half.
Missouri State wasted no time regaining the lead out of the halftime break. After reaching the UNI 30-yard line in just five plays, the Bears connected on a passing touchdown to take a 28-21 lead early in the third quarter.
On their next possession, Schecklman and Edwards combined for 24 yards and found their way into Missouri State territory. On second and 8, Scheklman found Morancy on a go route for a thirty-yard touchdown to tie the game up at 28-28 with 9:26 to go in the third quarter.
The Missouri State offense once again took little time to score. After a 45-yard rush, the Bears ran in a touchdown to regain the lead at 35-28 with 7:51 to go in the third.
After forcing a Northern Iowa punt, Missouri State went right back to work, rushing for 32 yards down to the 43-yard line. The Bears reached the red zone after two big pass completions. On the next play from scrimmage, the Bears rushed for a touchdown to make it a two-score game at 42-28 late in the third quarter.
Now down two scores, urgency struck the Panther offense. On his first pass of the drive, Schecklman found Tysen Kershaw for a gain of 12 yards. A few plays later he found Kershaw again, this time for a gain of thirty. Facing a third down and 18 from the Bear’s 18-yard-line, Schecklman found Desmond Hutson for a touchdown to make it a one-score game again at 42-35.
The Bears put the nail in the coffin on their next possession, scoring on their 10th play with a passing touchdown to make it 49-35.
On their next possession, the Panthers were facing a fourth down and goal from the 27-yard-line. Schecklman threw up a prayer and found Kershaw for a touchdown to cut the lead to 49-42. The Panther special teams had an opportunity to get an onside kick, but couldn’t recover the football. The Bears went on to win 49-42.
The Panthers will travel to Fargo on Saturday to take on the North Dakota State Bison at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN +.
