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[Wesley]

Panthers take off in second half By ROB GRAY
REGISTER STAFF WRITER


August 31, 2007




Cedar Falls, Ia. - De'Veon Harris resisted temptation.

With the lead on the line, the football wobbling on the turf and the end zone crossing his mind, the Northern Iowa linebacker chose safety over glory.

"I was thinking about trying a scoop and score," said Harris, whose third-quarter fumble recovery helped preserve the lead before the No. 9 Panthers pulled away for a 41-14 win Thursday over Minnesota State, Mankato.

"But I didn't want to reach out and miss it."

An announced crowd of 15,056 at the UNI-Dome watched Northern Iowa surge to a 17-0 lead, limp to a 20-14 halftime edge and finally secure the win with 21 unanswered points after Harris' takeaway at the Panthers' 25-yard line.

The size of the crowd - the largest to watch a home game since 2005 - wowed Northern Iowa coach Mark Farley.

It also created a conditioning-testing side effect: extra heat.

"I felt that we got tired in the second half," said Farley, whose team won for the eighth time in its past nine home openers. "Outstanding crowd for an opener, outstanding. ... We still need a lot of work in the hot sun."

The Panthers rolled to their 17-0 edge behind touchdowns from Darian Williams and Corey Lewis and a 33-yard field goal from Billy Hallgren.

Then sluggishness set in.

Kelvin Rodgers returned a kickoff 99 yards for a Mavericks touchdown, and Tory Chappell capped a 10-play, 79-yard drive with a 4-yard run to the end zone.

Suddenly the score became 17-14.

The fans were restless. So were the Panthers.

"At times I'd give (our offense) an 'A', other times I'd give it a 'D', " said Panthers quarterback Eric Sanders, who threw for 295 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception.

Northern Iowa's overall grade fluctuated throughout the night as the Mavericks' no-huddle, delay offense frustrated the defense.

"It was messing us up so much," said Harris, who had three tackles and a sack.

Harris fell to the ground and quelled Minnesota State's drive toward a possible lead midway through the third quarter.

"That was huge," said Mavericks coach Jeff Jamrog, whose team fell to 1-1. "Momentum would have definitely shifted. Instead, they got the big break."

The Panthers will take it.

Last season's home opener finished with a shocking 35-31 loss to North Dakota.

So did three quarters of Thursday's game stir bad memories?

"You can only live through that once," Farley said, laughing.

Corey Lewis led Northern Iowa with 79 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

Victor Williams caught nine passes for 97 yards - including a key 40-yard catch that helped set up the Panther touchdown that made the score 27-14.

"I saw the opening and I just took it," said Williams, one of several Panthers to cramp up Thursday.

Minn. St. UNI
First downs 15 26
Rushes-yards 16-37 46-199
Passing 245 304
Comp-Att-Int 28-43-1 25-33-1
Punts 5-41.4 2-37.0
Fumbles-Lost 2-1 3-1
Penalties-Yards 4-58 2-10
Minnesota State 0 14 0 0 — 14
Northern Iowa 10 10 0 21 — 41
First Quarter
N—D. Williams 4 pass from Sanders (Hallgren kick), 11:48
N­­­—FG Hallgren 33, 4:28
Second Quarter
N—C. Lewis 3 run (Hallgren kick), 11:58
M—Rodgers 99 kickoff return (Tompkins kick), 11:44
M—Chappell 4 run (Tompkins kick), 0:24
N—FG Hallgren 40, 0:00
Fourth Quarter
N—D. Williams 4 run (Hallgren kick), 14:54
N—C. Lewis 19 run (Hallgren kick), 9:35
N—Brookins 11 run (Rausa kick), 0:42

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing—Minn. St.: Chappell 8-20, King 7-19, Phipps 1-(-2); UNI: Lewis 15-79, Williams 11-52, Brookins 5-28, Gray 3-17, Law 3-13, Grace 2-6, Sanders 7-4.
Passing—Minn. St.: King 28-43-1-245; UNI: Sanders 24-31-1-295, Grace 1-2-0-9.
Receiving—Minn. St.: Chappell 8-47, Turner 5-51, Balton 5-50, Haley 5-45, Shackelford 2-25, Nowlin 2-16, Fielder 1-11; UNI: V. Williams 7-97, Oordt 5-63, Gray 4-68, W. Lewis 2-19, Allen 2-18, C. Lewis 2-13, D. Williams 2-12, Mahaffey 1-14.