Redbirds miss out on conference title, fall to UNI 38-27

[NOV. 20, 2006]  CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- The Illinois State football team was looking to secure a share of the Gateway Football Conference title for the first time since 1999 with a win against Northern Iowa on Saturday. Despite 210 yards rushing and three touchdowns from Pierre Rembert, the Redbirds (8-3, 5-2 GFC) turned the ball over four times, and the Panthers (7-4, 5-2 GFC) took advantage, spoiling ISU's shot at a conference crown, and secured a 38-27 victory in front of 10,827 fans at the UNI-Dome.

UNI got on the scoreboard first on a one-yard touchdown run by Corey Lewis, making the score 7-0 with 7:31 left in the first quarter. ISU answered on its very next drive, to tie the score. The drive, which covered six plays and 80 yards, was highlighted by a 62-yard completion from Luke Drone to Laurent Robinson. Two plays later, Rembert ran into the end zone from four yards out to knot the score at 7-7.

After recovering a fumbled punt by ISU's Jason Horton, UNI took advantage of the turnover and scored on its first play of the drive. Quarterback Eric Sanders found wide receiver Victor Williams in the corner of the end zone for a 34-yard touchdown pass to regain the lead at 14-7.

The Panthers would then extend the lead to two touchdowns 33 seconds into the second quarter, after an interception by Drone. Sanders tossed a pass to Williams, who then aired out a 57-yard touchdown pass to Johnny Gray to make the score 21-7 in favor of UNI. A 45-yard touchdown pass from Sanders to Darian Williams then widened the Panthers' lead to 28-7 with 5:09 left in the first half.

With 49 seconds left in the half, the Redbirds drove 81 yards in 10 plays to cut into the Panthers' lead. Rafael Rice capped off the drive with a two-yard touchdown run; however, Kevin Mazur's extra-point attempt was blocked, and UNI took a 28-13 lead into the locker room at halftime.

ISU cut the UNI lead to eight points on its first possession of the second half, by way of a 57-yard scoring drive that took 5:19 off the clock. Carrying the bulk of the load throughout the entire drive, Rembert punched the ball in from one yard out for his second rushing touchdown of the day and made the score 28-20.

Sanders widened the UNI lead to 35-20 on a one-yard quarterback sneak just under a minute into the fourth quarter. ISU quickly answered on a 31-yard touchdown pass from Drone to Rembert, bringing the score to 35-27 with 10:23 left in the game. However, UNI drove 50 yards, and Brian Wingert capped off the scoring drive with a 21-yard field goal to make the lead 11 points at 38-27 with 6:37 left in the game.

The score would stay that way for the remainder, as the Panthers snapped the Redbirds' five-game conference road winning streak. ISU will now wait to see if their 8-3 overall record is good enough to earn a spot in the I-AA playoffs. The pairings will be announced on ESPNews between noon and 1 p.m. Central time on Sunday.

[Illinois State University news release provided by Mike Williams]

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