CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – Western Illinois could not overcome a stretch during the second quarter in which Northern Iowa scored 21 unanswered points within a four minute span, falling 28-13 in the season finale. The Leathernecks ended the year 4-8 overall, 2-6 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, while UNI ended 7-5 and 3-5.

The Leathernecks scored first on their opening drive. After converting on 3rd-and-10, then later on 4th-and-5, Western got a season-long 37-yard field goal from Nathan Knuffman for a 3-0 lead, capping a 13-play drive that covered 51 yards and took 5:45 off the clock.

Western added to its MVFC-leading total in turnovers gained when Jeremy Curry recovered a fumble in UNI territory. The Leathernecks were unable to complete a pass on 4th-and-3 as the Panthers took over on downs. During the subsequent drive, UNI reached the endzone on a 2-yard touchdown run by David Johnson with just over three minutes in the first quarter for a 7-3 lead.

Early in the second quarter Western threatened to take the lead. Trenton Norvell hit Joey Borsellino and got to the 3. J.C. Baker got to the 1, then following a false start, Norvell got back to the one but was stopped shy of the endzone on 3rd-and-goal. The UNI defense stopped Nikko Watson at the two and took over on downs.

According to Western head coach Bob Nielson, it was a game of missed opportunities starting with that goal line stand.

"It was a big play. We had three chances to put that ball in the endzone and didn't get it done. We left it a half-yard short, picked up a penalty and left it a half-yard short again. Then on fourth down UNI did a good job and we didn't execute," said Nielson. "It hurt us one other time 4th-and-short where we didn't execute late in the game. Those two touchdowns on the board it's a totally different game.

"Give Northern Iowa credit, they did a good job defensively stopping us when we had the ball in the redzone and obviously the two interceptions returned for a touchdown. You're not going to beat many good football teams if you turn the ball over like that," said Nielson.

The Panthers took advantage of a Western interception to add to their lead. Johnson scored an 11-yard TD run to make it 14-3 with 4:20 in the opening half. On Western's next play from scrimmage, Norvell threw an interception that Ray Mitchell returned for a touchdown. Less than four minutes later, UNI got another touchdown return by Mitchell – this one going for 71 yards - making it 28-3.

During the first half, Western had twice as many total yards (250-125) and held the ball for an entire quarter more than UNI (22:35 to 7:25) despite the deficit.

Knuffman chipped into the deficit on Western's first drive of the second half, hitting again from 37 yards out.

Kevin Kintzel recorded his third touchdown of the year late in the third quarter. The junior linebacker picked off his third pass, tying him for the team lead, and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown. Knuffman's PAT made it 28-13.

Later in the fourth quarter, inside the UNI redzone, Norvell found Lance Lenoir, Jr. on third down, but he was spotted just shy of the first down marker at the UNI 15. The Leathernecks were stuffed on fourth down and UNI eventually ran out the clock.

Norvell completed 23 passes on a season-high 51 attempts for 252 yards and he added another 24 yards on the ground. Baker led the rushing attack with 42 yards on 17 attempts.

Lenoir caught six passes for 71 yards, Baker caught a career-high six passes for 52 yards, and Borsellino made five catches (all in the first half) for a game-high 72 yards. In all, Western accumulated 361 total yards of offense on 91 plays.

The defense held UNI to 247 yards in the game – with 79 of those yards coming on the final drive. Western stopped the Panther passing game, holding them to 68 yards. The defensive unit allowed just 149 passing yards per game, setting the fifth-lowest total allowed in program history.

"They (the defense) played great, they played the way we needed to win. We knew points were going to be hard to come by. UNI has a very good defensive football team too. We moved the ball really well outside the 20 yard lines," said Nielson.

David McDaniel recorded a team-leading eight tackles while Devon Butler had seven solo tackles. Western saw 10 seniors play their final game in the Purple and Gold.

"We got a lot of guys back, but we got a lot of positions where we need to get better. With the young guys we have that are redshirting and another good recruiting class. We got a chance to make a step forward," said Nielson. "The one thing I was really proud of today is the way our guys fought in the second half. You saw a football team play really hard for 60 minutes today. Unfortunately it's going to be one of those games you look at statistically with the exception of turnovers that we were the better football team. That's the way football is, you have to do all the little things right."

GAME NOTES: Western was leading the MVFC entering the game with 26 turnovers gained on the year (11th nationally)… During the second quarter, Norvell became the first Leatherneck freshman quarterback to throw for 2,000 yards in a season. His 2,140 season yards left him nine shy of tying for 10th place on the season 'Top 10'… Knuffman's two field goals were the first multi-FG game by a Leatherneck kicker since Pat Smith made two against Indianapolis in game two of the 2012 season… Borsellino and Lenoir became the first freshmen in program history to lead the team in receptions (41) and yards (489), respectively. Borsellino finished second on the team in yards (465) and Lenoir finished second in receptions (39)… Baker finished with the 10th most rushing yards in a season (1,152) and the ninth-most receiving yards by a running back (183)… Norvell completed the sixth-most passes in a season (195) with the fourth-most passing attempts (384)… Kintzel tied Martinez Davis for the team-lead in interceptions with three. Western intercepted 16 passes this year, returning four of them for a TD, led by Kintzel's two. Kintzel helped account for eight of the team's 28 takeaways… Antoine Ford's five punt returns were one shy of tying a program record (Mike Cunningham vs. Milwaukee in 1969), and he set a personal-best with 68 yards. His 301 yards this year were the most since 2000 (454-Ashlee Frazier)… The team's 16 interceptions this year tied last year's team for 10th-best in program history. On the flip side, Western committed just 20 turnovers, which is the 10th-fewest total in a season… The team's 91 plays were the most since 101 at Indiana State two years ago… Western held an edge in time of possession 35:50-24:10… Western was 10-of-23 on third downs, one shy of matching the season-high, while holding UNI to 4-of-13.

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