Nov. 22, 2014 Final Stats | Quotes
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - A Northern Iowa touchdown on the final play of the first half proved decisive as the No. 11 UNI Panthers outlasted a game effort by the Missouri State football Bears in a 38-24 UNI win Saturday afternoon in the UNI-Dome.
The late score before intermission handed UNI momentum and the Panthers never gave it back in rolling to their fifth win in a row to close their regular season at 8-4 and 6-2 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The Bears wound up at 4-8 and 1-7 in league play in ending the campaign with their fifth loss in a row.
UNI senior running back David Johnson led the effort with 205 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 31 carries. Johnson's game Saturday followed a two-TD, 167-yard game vs. Missouri State in Springfield in 2013.
UNI extended its series domination over the Bears to 30 wins in 35 meetings, including nine wins in a row, and an overall mark of 16-2 vs. MSU in the UNI-Dome.
Field position was a key in the first half as the Bears averaged starting from their own 16-yard line their last five possessions of the half while UNI averaged taking the ball on their own 44 their decisive final five possessions of the half.
The Bears rolled 70 yards on just six plays in 2:03 minutes after taking the opening kickoff, with Kierra Harris completing both of his pass attempts, Calan Crowder gaining 35 yards on three carries and Phoenix Johnson running the final 24 yards into the end zone to score.
UNI took advantage of Chad Owens's 23-yard punt return on its third possession and started a drive on the Bears' 30 which netted a score in four plays, as Johnson ran in from six yards away to tie the game at 7-7 with 2:16 left in the first quarter.
A 25-yard burst from Darrian Miller gave UNI a 14-7 lead with four minutes left in the first half, but the Bears answered on a 74-yard drive. Harris had the big gainer on a 25-yard run and Phoenix Johnson logged his second touchdown of the game from six yards out with 39 seconds left in the period to tie the game at 14-14.
The Bears appeared poised to head into the break even with the Panthers, but UNI moved 56 yards in just five plays with Johnson going into the end zone down the left sideline at the first half horn to give the Panthers a 21-14 intermission edge.
Johnson started the third quarter where he ended the second with 59 yards on three carries to set up Michael Schmadeke's 42-yard field goal.
Missouri State roared back with 81 yards on six plays to close within 24-21 with 9:31 left in the period. Crowder scored from eight yards out after Harris had a 19-yard run followed by a 44-yard pass to completion a diving Julian Burton at the UNI 9. The catch was Burton's only grab of the day and marked the 32nd straight game in which he has caught a pass--third longest reception game streak in school history. He finished his career with 146 receptions (2nd best MSU career total) for 1,947 yards (4th best MSU career total).
David Johnson came right back with his third TD of the game on a nine-yard run with 3:16 left in the quarter. The MVC's all-purpose yardage leader this season, he pushed his season TD total to 13 and extended his UNI career all-purpose yardage mark.
Marcelo Bonani's 28-yard field goal pulled the Bears back within a touchdown at 31-24 with 8:25 left in the game, but a 35-yard pass from Brion Carnes to Kevin Vereen set up a nine-yard scamper by Owens to push UNI up 38-24 and close out the game's scoring.
Crowder finished the game with 82 yards on 15 carries to push his season rushing total to 766 yards, after surpassing Kingjack Washington's 2007 freshman record of 674 yards a week earlier. Phoenix Johnson also surpassed 500 rushing yards for the season to finish at 575, while Harris closed with 478 rushing yards for 2014
Harris ended his Missouri State playing days with 5,245 total yards, including 961 rushing and 4,284 passing. He connected on 17-of-23 throws Saturday, finishing with 371-of-673 over four seasons.
