Richmond rallies past Northern Iowa in 21-20 win

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — Eric Ward threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Joe Stewart with 14 seconds left to give Richmond a 21-20 victory over Northern Iowa on Saturday, sending the Spiders to the Football Championship Subdivision title game.

Richmond (12-3) started the winning drive at its own 38 with 1:44 remaining and no timeouts left. Ward calmly passed the Spiders down the field and hit Stewart, his tight end, in the end zone to tie it at 20.

Andrew Howard kicked the extra point and, after Northern Iowa’s final play went nowhere, the Spiders celebrated while the stunned Panthers looked on in silence.

Richmond reached the final for the first time and will play Montana in Chattanooga, Tenn., on Friday night. The 12 victories are a school record for the Spiders, who had been in the semifinals for only the second time.

Northern Iowa (12-3) was seeking its second trip to the title game in four years.

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