CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (Interstat) — Northern Iowa defeated North Dakota 24-17 on Saturday in an NCAA Football Championship Division game at the UNI-Dome. The Panthers improved to 3-2, while the Fighting Hawks fell to 5-2. A crowd of 11,487 watched Northern Iowa secure the home victory.

Northern Iowa opened the scoring in the first quarter when Max Bartachek connected on a 39-yard field goal with 10:30 remaining. North Dakota answered with C. Langama’s 8-yard touchdown run with 6:39 left, and Kenten Laughman’s extra point gave the Fighting Hawks a brief lead. Northern Iowa regained control when Andrew Price blocked a punt and recovered it for a touchdown with 3:59 remaining. Jaxon Dailey later found Brady McCullough for an 18-yard touchdown pass with 29 seconds left in the quarter, and Bartachek’s extra point extended the Panthers’ advantage.

The Panthers added to their lead in the second quarter on Michael Bormann’s 2-yard touchdown run with 13:06 remaining. North Dakota got points back before halftime when Kenten Laughman made a 28-yard field goal with 1:36 left. Northern Iowa led 24-10 at the break. Bartachek had a 49-yard field goal attempt blocked by K. Vig with 36 seconds remaining in the second quarter, and he missed a 39-yard attempt with 13:25 left in the third quarter.

North Dakota’s final scoring drive came in the fourth quarter. Javance Tupou’ata-Johnson rushed 1 yard for a touchdown with 14:16 remaining, and Laughman’s kick cut the deficit to 24-17. The Fighting Hawks could not complete the comeback, as Northern Iowa’s defense came up with stops and interceptions late.

Jerry Kaminski led North Dakota’s offense with 16 completions on 35 attempts for 152 yards. He also rushed 15 times for 48 yards and recorded one tackle. Javance Tupou’ata-Johnson completed 2 of 9 passes for 29 yards, rushed five times for 20 yards, and scored on a 1-yard run. Deng Deng caught five passes for 80 yards. Korey Tai had three receptions for 19 yards and returned one kickoff for 20 yards. Cameron Weir added two catches for 21 yards and returned four punts for 10 yards. Sam Strandell caught two passes for 13 yards, and Watson Hafer had one reception for 3 yards.

For Northern Iowa, Jaxon Dailey completed 13 of 21 passes for 81 yards and one touchdown. Taj Hughes caught five passes for 31 yards. Brady McCullough finished with two receptions for 26 yards and a touchdown. Jaiden Ellis-Lahey had three catches for 18 yards, and Tay Norman added one reception for 5 yards. Logan Gregory punted eight times for 321 yards. Max Bartachek handled kicking duties, connecting on a 39-yard field goal. Andrew Price blocked a punt, recovered it, and scored, while also recording one tackle. Josiah Young contributed two tackles and a punt return.

Northern Iowa’s defense was led by Calvin Jaworski, who made 11 tackles. John Powers added nine tackles, and Mekhi Toms had eight. Kolben Miller recorded five tackles and one interception. Braden McShane finished with four tackles and one interception. Anthony Isley and Isaiah Pinks each made five tackles. Tyson Cooreman, Jordan McClom, and AJ Vaughn each had three tackles. Hyson Bey-Buie had two tackles and two quarterback hurries. Jaylen Pettus recorded two tackles and one sack. Axel Ramazani, Ryan Kuennen, Jackson Stortz, BJ Johnson, Aidan Salow, Brock Carpenter, Aidan Ducharme, and Xhavion Reese each made two tackles. CJ Wade, Ethan Schoville, Gene Blalock, Franz Reisz, and Caleb Kamara each recorded one tackle. Blalock and Reisz also added one quarterback hurry apiece.

North Dakota’s defense got 11 tackles from Ethan Boll. Grant Noland made eight tackles. Brody Thornton, Micheal Devereaux, and Tyler Erkman each recorded seven tackles. Jonnie Wiltshire had four tackles and one sack. Braden Mohr finished with four tackles, two sacks, and one quarterback hurry. Grant Tylutki made three tackles. The Fighting Hawks also had a punt blocked in the first quarter.

North Dakota entered the game after a string of nonconference and early conference results. The Fighting Hawks had beaten Murray State at home, won at Indiana State, lost at Nebraska, won at Portland State, beaten Saint Thomas of Minnesota, and defeated Long Island earlier in the season. Northern Iowa had beaten Illinois State at home, lost at Iowa, defeated Drake at home, and lost at Eastern Washington.

North Dakota next hosts South Dakota State, then visits South Dakota and Youngstown State before hosting Illinois State and Southern Illinois. Northern Iowa next visits Youngstown State and Southern Illinois, hosts Indiana State and South Dakota State, and then visits South Dakota and Murray State.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of North Dakota 47, Northern Iowa 27. Interstat’s ELO system had projected North Dakota with a 70.6 percent probability to win. Northern Iowa had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -14. The over-under line was 58.5, and the total score was 41.