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Oct. 7, 2006

Final Stats |  Quotes |  Notes

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - The University of Northern Iowa football team ran out to an early lead and never looked back, racking up 411 yards of offense on its way to a 38-7 victory over Missouri State on Homecoming at the UNI-Dome.

Eric Sanders completed 10-of-12 passes for 161 yards and tailback Darian Williams ran for 123 yards and his first career touchdown to power the UNI offense. The Panthers' defensive unit, meanwhile, held the Bears to 180 total offensive yards and just one touchdown as UNI opened its Gateway Conference schedule with a victory.

The Panthers wasted no time getting on the board, as Sanders completed a 51-yard pass to James Lindgren for a touchdown on UNI's first play from scrimmage, less than three minutes into the first quarter. Lindgren finished the game with two receptions for 73 yards.

Kicker Brian Wingert stretched the Panther lead to 10-0 on UNI's second drive, driving home a 20-yard field goal. The kick completed a Panther drive covering 78 yards over nine plays in just under four minutes.

The Panthers made it 17-0 in short order, capitalizing on a failed fake punt attempt by the Bears that handed UNI the ball on the MSU 19. Whitney Lewis scored from 11 yards out on the drive's second play to give UNI a comfortable lead they held until the half.

Missouri State found the end zone early in the third quarter on a 30-yard touchdown pass from Matt Krapfl to receiver Jeremy Nicholson, but the Panthers were quick to answer. UNI proceeded to slam the door on the Bears with three third-quarter touchdowns.

In less than 10 minutes the Panthers covered 136 yards and found the end zone three times. With a little over 10 minutes left in the period Curt Bradley caught an 11-yard pass from Sanders to cap a 33-yard possession. Just five minutes later, Williams scored on a 4-yard run as the Panthers again took advantage of a short field, driving just 39 yards to score. UNI's final touchdown came on a 2-yard run by Lewis, his second of the night.

The Bears lost two quarterbacks to injury and were able to amass only 51 yards on 7-of-17 passing. The Panthers also forced five fumbles and held MSU to 129 yards rushing. Terrell McMoore led the UNI defense with 10 tackles, including nine solo stops. Mark Huygens also recorded a pair of sacks.

"Defense was a huge positive for us," said UNI coach Mark Farley. "We're playing just as I'd hoped, and it was a complete game by the defense. I'm very pleased with how things came together today."

The game also marked the return to the UNI-Dome of former UNI player and coach Terry Allen, who is in his first season at the helm of the Missouri State program.  Allen won seven consecutive Gateway Conference crowns as head coach of the Panthers from 1990 to 1996.

With the win, UNI improved to 3-2 overall and 1-0 in Gateway play, while the Bears dropped to 1-5 overall and 0-2 in the league.

The Panthers return to action Oct. 14 with a 3:35 p.m. matchup against Gateway Conference rival Indiana State.