Stephen F. Austin
Northern Iowa
Northern Iowa Outscores 'Jacks, 37-30
9/23/2000 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 23, 2000
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) - Northern Iowa's Ryan Helming passed for three touchdowns and 288 yards as the Panthers fought back from a 17-point deficit to beat No. 10 Stephen F. Austin 37-30 Saturday.
Helming's 9-yard TD pass to Jake Soliday with 8:29 remaining in the third quarter put UNI (2-2) ahead 27-23 for its first lead of the game.
UNI's Justin Jansen, a freshman making his first start, extended the Panthers' lead to 34-23 on an 84-yard interception return off a fake field goal.
Following a UNI field goal, SFA (3-1) closed to within 37-30 on Richard Daniels' 100-yard kickoff return with seven minutes to play.
In the second quarter, Helming twice found Eddie Berlin for scores. Helming's 14-yard TD pass to Berlin with 15 seconds left in the half brought UNI to within 23-20.
Berlin caught a 14-yard TD with 3:41 remaining in the second quarter to cut UNI's deficit to 17-13.
But the Lumberjacks responded on the ensuing possession, as Wes Pate hit Scott Keys from 18 yards out for a 10-point advantage, 23-13.
Helming completed 24 of 46 passes. His favorite target was Soliday, who caught a UNI-Dome record-tying 11 passes for 139 yards.
SFA built a 17-0 lead before the game was 13 minutes old. First, Ryan Rossner hit a 37-yard field goal on the Lumberjacks' first possession of the game.
The Panthers then drove down the field, but David Crocker intercepted Helming's pass on the SFA 15 and returned it 85 yards for the score and a 10-0 lead.
With 2:04 left in the opening quarter, Pate found Will Bowers for a 3-yard touchdown.
Pate was 19-of-43 for 239 yards.
There was a wide disparity in penalties, as SFA was flagged 17 times for 146 yards, as opposed to UNI's six time for 41 yards.
