• Home
  • News
    • Politics & Government
    • Business & Economy
    • Crime / Courts
    • Health / Medicine
  • Sports
    • High School Sports
    • Radio Iowa Poll
  • Affiliates
    • Affiliate Support Page
  • Contact Us
    • Reporters

Radio Iowa

Iowa's Radio News Network

You are here: Home / Sports / UNI playoff win includes unusual touchdown

UNI playoff win includes unusual touchdown

December 5, 2011 By Radio Iowa Contributor

It was one of the strangest touchdowns anyone on the field or in the stands will ever see. Early in the 4th quarter of U.N.I.’s second round playoff win over Wofford on Saturday, the Panthers had just taken a 21-14 lead. On the ensuing kickoff, the Wofford returner caught the ball at the goal line, drifted back into his own endzone, and just stood there.

He didn’t down the football, he didn’t attempt a return, he just thought the play was over. But U.N.I.’s coverage team kept playing. Zac Cutkomp slapped the ball out of the Wofford player’s hands, and after it lay on the turf for a few seconds, U.N.I.’s Phil Wright jumped on it for a score.

That made it 28-14 in favor of the Panthers, who would eventually win 28-21. Wright says he knew the play was still alive, but it took a second before he realized that six points were just laying there on the ground. “It took a couple of seconds, then it hits, you don’t expect that, you don’t expect that to happen,” Wright says.

Panther quarterback Tirrell Rennie says that when the players on the sideline realized what had happened, there was a big reaction. Rennie says everyone was asking “did that really just happen” and everyone on the sideline was jumping up and down.

U.N.I. coach Mark Farley says it was an incredibly smart play, and the biggest challenge for him was making sure the referees called it right. Farley says it was “headsy” to knock the ball out instead of tackling the ball as he says in high school football the ball is called down, but in college you have to down it or hand the ball to the official.

U.N.I. advances to the quarterfinal round of the playoffs despite being outgained by more than a two-to-one ratio. But Farley says the only stat that matters is the final score. “I could care less, at the end of the day, all it is is a win,” according to Farley.

The Panthers will face 4th seeded Montana in Missoula on Friday night at 7:00. The game will be televised nationwide on ESPN2.

By Jesse Gavin, KCNZ, Cedar Falls

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With: Football, High School Sports, UNI Panthers

Featured Stories

Exhibit features lesser known works of Grant Wood

Testing finds 21 new CWD cases in deer

It may become a crime in Iowa to use fake urine in workplace drug tests

February trending 18 degrees below average temperature

Iowa House Education Committee votes to end tenure at UI, ISU, UNI

TwitterFacebook
Tweets by RadioIowa

New look and new format at girls’ state basketball

Youngstown State takes action against assistant football coach

Iowa’s Jack Nunge lost for the season

Key stretch begins for #9 Iowa

Drake’s Roman Penn lost for the season

More Sports

eNews and Updates

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Archives

Copyright © 2021 · Learfield News & Ag, LLC