Shepherd Hauls in Two TDs to Lift Bison to 31-28 Homecoming Win

Saturday, October 10

Fargo, N.D.

1 p.m.

North Dakota State

4-1 , 2-0

Northern Iowa

2-3 , 0-2

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Northern Iowa	7	7	0	14	28
North Dakota State	3	7	0	21	31

Photo by: Kim Hill

Shepherd Hauls in Two TDs to Lift Bison to 31-28 Homecoming Win

10/10/2015 5:00:00 PM | Football

Box Score

FARGO, N.D. - Freshman Darrius Shepherd caught the game-winning touchdown with 35 seconds left to lift No. 2-ranked North Dakota State to a 31-28 homecoming victory over No. 10-ranked Northern Iowa on Saturday, Oct. 10.

Shepherd's 18-yard catch over two defenders in the back left corner of the end zone capped a 10-play, 79-yard drive after the Bison (4-1, 2-0 MVFC) took over with 2:30 to play trailing 28-24 after a UNI missed a field goal.

Northern Iowa (2-3, 0-2 MVFC) got a pair of first downs to advance to the NDSU 47 with four seconds to play, but quarterback Aaron Bailey's heave into the end zone for Charles Brown was batted away by NDSU freshman safety Robbie Grimsley.

Shepherd, who did not play in the first half after missing most of the week with a shoulder injury, received treatment at halftime and made three catches in the second half including a 33-yard TD strike from Wentz through coverage in the back of the end zone.

That made it 24-21 NDSU before Bailey exploded for an 83-yard touchdown run on the next play to put UNI back ahead 28-24 with 7:31 to go. The Bison were driving with 5:36 left in the game when linebacker Brett McMakin stripped Wentz on a run for first-down yardage that instead gave the Panthers the ball again on the NDSU 46.

UNI went 26 yards in eight plays before Michael Schmadeke's 38-yard field goal sailed wide left, and the Bison took over on their own 21.

NDSU extended the game with a 14-yard reception on the sideline by Zach Vraa on fourth-and-8 that was confirmed by official replay. The Bison hurry-up offense crossed midfield with a 23-yard pass to RJ Urzendowski and followed with a 15-yard pass to Vraa before the winning touchdown.

Urzendowski caught five passes for 109 yards and Vraa made five catches to break the NDSU career receptions record with 179. He passed the mark of 178 set by Kole Heckendorf from 2005-08.

Wentz threw 10 passes on the final drive and racked up 335 passing yards, the fifth most in NDSU single-game history. He was 26 of 40 (both career highs) and completed passes to 11 different receivers. Wentz set a school record with 143 consecutive attempts without an interception before throwing his first two picks of the year.

The Panthers led 14-3 early in the second quarter but the Bison cut the deficit to 14-10 before halftime with a two-yard touchdown from Wentz to tight end Jeff Illies.

NDSU went ahead 17-14 early in the fourth when Wentz found fullback Jedre Cyr on a two-yard score. It was the first touchdown and only the second career catch for the fifth-year senior, who caught a five-yard pass last year at UNI. Earlier in the morning, the former walk-on was featured on ESPN's live SportsCenter broadcast from the Fargodome.

Grimsley finished with 10 tackles including six solo stops and one sack, middle linebacker Nick DeLuca made seven tackles and defensive end Brad Ambrosius tallied six tackles, two for losses, one pass breakup and one quarterback hurry.

Bailey played the whole second half at quarterback for UNI completing 3 of 5 passes for 55 yards and rushing 13 times for 157 yards. Fountain led the Panthers with four catches for 110 yards including a 67-yard TD catch from starter Sawyer Kollmorgen on the game's opening drive.

McMakin led the UNI defense with 13 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, one sack, and two forced fumbles. He intercepted a deflected pass at the UNI 6 to stop a 66-yard drive and preserve a 14-10 Panther lead in the third quarter.

A crowd of 18,954 was on hand at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome for the 95th annual homecoming game. NDSU set a new Missouri Valley Football Conference record with its 26th straight home win, the longest active streak in Division I and the eighth longest in Football Championship Subdivision history.

North Dakota State returns home to host South Dakota at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17.