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Northern Iowa does it again, defeats North Dakota 24-17
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- Northern Iowa does it again, defeats North Dakota 24-17
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — Andrew Price blocked a punt for a touchdown, Northern Iowa forced five turnovers and the Panthers celebrated their homecoming with a 24-17 victory over North Dakota on Saturday.
Leading 24-17 and looking to defeat a Football Championship Subdivision top-5 team for the second straight game, Northern Iowa had to hold on for the final 2:37 against a North Dakota team that had lost three fumbles and two interceptions and had benched starting quarterback Jerry Kaminski, who had three of the giveaways.
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North Dakota, ranked No. 4 in the Stats Perform poll, did not reach midfield and the Panthers ran out the clock.
Northern Iowa (3-2, 2-0 Missouri Valley Football Conference) won with 144 total yards and 11 first downs on offense. The Panthers scored their first touchdown when Price blocked a punt and recovered it in the end zone. Their two other touchdowns came on drives of 21 and 20 yards following turnovers by Kaminski.
North Dakota (5-2, 2-1) trailed 24-10 at halftime and managed to climb within seven points early in the fourth quarter on backup quarterback Javance Tupou'ata-Johnson's short touchdown run.
Although the Fighting Hawks finished with 367 yards of total offense, they did not cross midfield on their final three possessions while managing only two first downs.
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The Panthers defeated then-No. 3 Illinois State 28-21 on Sept. 26.
Up next
North Dakota: vs. South Dakota State next Saturday.
Northern Iowa: at Youngstown State next Saturday. —-
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