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Sept. 9, 2006

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CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - North Dakota landed the final blow in a back-and-forth fight with the University of Northern Iowa football team Saturday, countering the Panthers' late-game scoring drive with one of its own and holding on for a 35-31 victory at the UNI-Dome.

Trailing 28-24, the Panthers staged a rapid comeback late in the fourth quarter, with junior quarterback Eric Sanders (Oelwein, Iowa/Oelwein) orchestrating a 65-yard scoring drive in just 59 seconds. On third-and-10 from the Panthers' 35, Sanders fired a 45-yard completion to Johnny Gray (Deerfield Beach, Fla./Deerfield Beach) to set up a first down at the North Dakota 20 yard line. Two plays later, Sanders and Gray connected again, this time for a touchdown, and Brian Wingert (Cedar Falls, Iowa/Cedar Falls) added the extra point to give UNI a 31-28 lead.

The 1:27 left on the game clock proved to be more than enough for the Fighting Sioux to respond to the Panthers' drive, with quarterback Reed Manke taking North Dakota 65 yards to the end zone in just two plays and 28 seconds. Manke followed up a 20-yard connection with Weston Dressler on first down with a 50-yard strike to Dressler on the Sioux's second play, a deep pass that went for six and, after the extra point, put North Dakota on top again, 35-31.

The Panthers took possession with 43 seconds left and Sanders managed a pair of completions to James Lindgren (Odebolt, Iowa/Odebolt-Arthur) and Gray, but the Fighting Sioux managed to take Sanders down on a sack to ice the win.

The Panthers racked up 369 offensive yards, including 208 yards through the air, but allowed 434 yards to the Sioux. Corey Lewis (St. Paul, Neb./St. Paul) led the way on the ground for the Panthers, rushing for 114 yards on 19 carries and a touchdown. Sanders made good on 18 of his 31 passing attempts for 208 yards and a pair of touchdowns, one each to Gray and Lindgren.  Gray led the Panthers with six grabs for 103 yards as six UNI players notched pass receptions.

UNI drew first blood in the contest, with Wingert making good on a 33-yard attempt just over two minutes into the game, but the Sioux responded with a pair of touchdowns in the second period to snag a 14-3 lead.  Wingert's second field goal, a career-long 56-yard boot, drew the Panthers within a 14-6 margin just before halftime.

The Sioux struck again in the third quarter on a 12-yard run by Ryan Chappell and the Panthers answered with another Wingert field goal, this time from 35 yards out. Almost 12 minutes of game time elapsed before the teams went on a back-and-forth scoring binge late in the fourth quarter, with Corey Lewis giving the lead on a 9-yard run to cap a six-play, 45-yard drive. Sanders then connected with Ross Hannam for a two-point conversion that gave UNI a seemingly comfortable 24-21 advantage with 4:53 to play.

The Sioux responded with an 80-yard touchdown drive Chappell finished off with a 17-yard scoring run with 2:13 to play, setting up UNI's final scoring march and the North Dakota response.

With the win, North Dakota improves to 2-0 on the season, while the Panthers saw their record fall to 1-1. UNI hosts South Dakota State next Saturday, Sept. 16, in the UNI-Dome.  Kickoff is scheduled for 4:05 p.m.