PANTHERS & PENALTIES PLAGUE COLONELS AS No. 10 UNI CLAIMS 34-14 VICTORY

PANTHERS & PENALTIES PLAGUE COLONELS AS No. 10 UNI CLAIMS 34-14 VICTORY

Oct. 2, 2008

Box Score

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - Costly penalties on the Colonels and a strong Northern Iowa attack led the No. 10 Panthers to a 34-14 victory over Nicholls Thursday night before a nationally-televised audience on ESPNU in the UNI Dome.

"We didn't play smart today. We knew coming in that we could not have penalties and miscues against them [Northern Iowa]. They are really good and showed it tonight," said Head Coach Jay Thomas.

The Colonels, playing in just their second game of the 2008 season, were led by quarterback Vincent Montgomery who converted four-of-eight passing attempts for 106 yards. Montgomery was picked off twice on the night. On the ground, Montgomery and senior quarterback Chris Bunch combined for 124 yards, part of 270 total rushing yards for Nicholls.

Junior defensive back Andrew Eddie and junior linebacker Garrick Spain each tallied 10 tackles through the contest, as Eddie recorded five solos and Spain three.

"I preached to the guys all week that playing in the UNI Dome was going to be like a playoff atmosphere," added Thomas. "The fans make it a tough place to play, and we didn't make it any easier on our selves with all of our penalties."

Penalties plagued the Colonels all game as they were flagged 11 times for 89 yards, while the Panthers only had four yellow hankies thrown on them, with three of those infractions coming in the second half.

The Colonels (0-2, 0-0 SLC) scored on their opening drive via a nine-yard run by junior Marlin Meeks. The drive, which covered 69 yards on six plays, was fueled by a 42-yard reception by senior Patrick Gordon from Montgomery. Junior Ross Schexnayder added the extra point, and the Colonels took the early 7-0 lead at the 12:07 mark of the first quarter.

The Panthers (3-2, 2-2 MVFC) fired right back with back-to-back scores after forcing the Colonels into a three-and-out. Junior quarterback Pat Grace was responsible for both UNI touchdowns as he ran in for the first from one yard out and connected with freshman Jarred Herring for 36 yards for the other. Sophomore Billy Hallgren added both extra points as the Panthers took a 14-7 lead with 2:02 left to play in the first quarter.

The squads traded interceptions to start the second period. Senior Lardarius Webb recorded his first interception of the season at the 9:22 mark of the second quarter, and the Colonels' offense returned the favor as Montgomery tossed one to the Panthers' senior Darrell Lloyd on the ensuing drive.

Neither team scored in the second quarter sending the Colonels into the locker room at halftime down by a touchdown.

Nicholls forced the Panthers to punt for the first time on Northern Iowa's first possession of the second half, and after some punting trickery of their own on offense, the Colonels knotted the game at 14. The Colonel touchdown came on a 36-yard connection in the air as Montgomery's pass hit junior Antonio Robinson.

The scoring drive took 10 plays, covered 86-yards and used 4:45 off the clock. Schexnayder tacked on the PAT to make the score 14 all at the 8:14 mark of the third quarter. The scoring drive was made possible due to a key fake punt on fourth down, which Meeks took on the direct snap and ran up the gut for Colonel the first down.

Northern Iowa answered with a touchdown drive of their own as Grace did the deed from two yards out for his second rushing score of the game. The drive covered 54 yards on seven plays and used 3:30. Hallgren added the extra point at the 4:44 mark to put the Panthers on top 21-14.

After a costly fumble by Montgomery deep in Colonel territory, Nicholls defense held strong, limiting the Panthers to a 23-yard Hallgren field goal. Northern Iowa went up 24-14 after the field goal and less than five minutes later, Hallgren added another field goal in the fourth quarter, a 43-yarder with 12:20 to go to extend the Panther lead, 27-14.

Northern Iowa padded the lead, scoring another touchdown at the 6:34 mark via a 12-yard run by junior Derrick Law to go ahead 34-14. Northern Iowa out scored Nicholls 20-7 in the second half to coast to a 34-14 win.

The squads turned in balanced offensive numbers, with the Colonels gaining 376 yards on 60-total plays and 28 minutes on offense and the Panthers picking up 378 yards in 62 tries and 32 minutes of possession.

Nicholls will be back in action on Saturday October 11 at conference and in-state rival Northwestern State. Gametime is set for 6 p.m.

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Notes: The Colonels scored their first offensive touchdown of the season with Marlin Meeks' nine yard run at the 12:07 mark of the first quarter... It was Meeks' first career touchdown... Nicholls' first conversion on third down of the season came at the 6:56 mark of the third quarter... The Colonels are 2-for-16 on the season on third down, however, they are 3-for-3 on fourth downs on the year... Junior Antonio Robinson caught his first career touchdown in the third quarter to tie the game... It was Robinson's only reception of the game.