Sun Sep 30 04:15:14 2007

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Sanders comes back from injury to lead UNI to win

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Normal, IL (Sports Network) - Facing a third and goal situation from the five in a tie game with less than five and a half minutes left, Northern Iowa's coaching staff didn't think quarterback Eric Sanders was healthy enough to throw the ball.

"We were trying to come up with a running play we could score on," said Northern Iowa coach Mark Farley. "He (Sanders) came over (during a time out) and said he could throw it."

Suffering an AC joint sprain early in the fourth quarter, the gutsy Sanders came back to lead a 12-play, 61-yard drive that finished with the third-down call.

Looking to his right, Sanders found his initial receiver covered, but he sprinted back to the left side to hit Terrell Allen at the left flag for a five-yard touchdown pass that gave the No. 3 ranked Panthers (5-0, 1-0) the lead for good in a 23-13 victory that opened Gateway Conference play for both teams.

Sanders then trotted slowly off the field, with his right arm dangling at his side, sore, but happy with the game-winning play.

After Illinois State's fourth turnover, Billy Hallgren added his third field goal of the day -- a 43-yarder with 1:36 left -- to clinch the Panthers' victory.

"We worked too hard this summer and had to gut that one out," said Sanders, the senior Payton Award candidate. "It was huge to get a touchdown instead of a field goal right there."

Northern Iowa had several chances to score touchdowns in the first half, but had to settle for a pair of field goals on two second-quarter trips inside the ISU five.

The Panthers finally got a touchdown on a six-yard connection from Sanders to Victor Williams with 47 seconds in the second period to take a 13-7 lead.

No. 16 ranked Illinois State (2-3, 0-1) scored once in the first period on Geno Blow's 50-yard scamper and against when Luke Drone hit Jake Rourke on a 27-yard strike with 4:38 left in the third quarter. But a missed extra point by Tyler Funk left the Redbirds tied with UNI at 13-all and the game moved into the fourth period.

Sanders was hurt as he tried to scramble away from pressure on a sack by Dan Simnick and Brandon Wilson on UNI's first possession of the fourth quarter.

"I just came down right on it," said Sanders, who hit 16-of-26 passes for 166 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. "My shoulder went numb. It was like a dull pain, but it loosed up later on."

Farley felt a knot in his stomach when he saw his quarterback and senior leader go down.

"My first thought was when (senior quarterback) Tom Petrie broke his collarbone (four years ago)," said Farley. "What Eric did represents this football team and what he means to it."

Farley wasn't the only one impressed with Sanders' performance.

"That guy is a warrior," said Illinois State coach Denver Johnson. "I was very concerned when he laid there on the turf. I was hoping and praying he wasn't hurt bad."

"It would have been all right if we had knocked him out of the game, but I didn't want to see him have a season-ending injury."

But Sanders returned to steal the win from Johnson and the Redbirds.

On a day that proved difficult for both offenses, Northern Iowa's defense put Sanders in position to win by limiting Illinois State's potent attack to 259 yards, forcing three interceptions by Drone (12-of-23 for 108 yards and one TD) and also recovering a fumble.

Outside of a career-high 167 rushing yards by ISU's Geno Blow, the Redbirds could do little against the Panthers tough defense.

"I feel very good about our defense," said Farley. "This was a day where our defense had to help our offense."

Middle linebacker De'Veon Harris led the Panthers with 11 tackles, while safeties Chris Parsons and Clifford Waters and linebacker Brannon Carter intercepted passes. Everette Pedescleaux recovered a fumble.

Northern Iowa, even though it has played four straight games on the road after opening at home, is off to its first 5-0 start since 1992 and has four of its final six games in the friendly confines of the UNI Dome after an off-week.

"Our goal is to not look down the road past the next football game," said Farley. "There are some wounded warriors out there right now. We've got to get them home and healthy."