MVFC Saturday’s games

Northern Iowa 42, Missouri State 7

SPRINGFIELD, MO.

David Johnson ran for 114 yards and two touchdowns, and Northern Iowa cruised. Johnson scored on short runs in the second and third quarters for the Panthers (3-1, 2-0 Missouri Valley Conference). Tirrell Rennie added 209 passing yards, including a 26-yard touchdown to Jarred Herring. The Bears (0-5, 0-2 MVC) got their only score on quarterback Trevor Wooden’s 5-yard run early in the second quarter. That tied the game 7-7, but it was all Northern Iowa after that. Chad Owens had a 7-yard touchdown run for the Panthers’ first score, and backup quarterback Jared Lanpher found Kevin Vereen from 11 yards out to cap the scoring late in the fourth quarter. Wooden completed 18 of his 21 passes for 134 yards and one interception, returned for a touchdown by Varmah Sonie with 4:53 left in the first half.

North Dakota State 20, Illinois State 10

FARGO, N.D.

D.J. McNorton ran for one touchdown and caught a pass for another for North Dakota State. The Bison (4-0), playing their Missouri Valley opener after coming off a 37-24 victory over Minnesota last week, scored first when Brock Jensen connected with McNorton for a 36-yard touchdown. McNorton’s 15-yard run gave North Dakota State a 14-3 lead early in the third quarter, and Bobby Ollman returned an interception 82 yards for the Bison’s other TD. Matt Brown, who was 31 for 48 for 270 yards for Illinois State (2-3, 1-2), found Milton Colbert for a 43-yard touchdown with 3:07 to play. Brown was intercepted twice. Jensen finished with 207 yards passing and 28 yards rushing for North Dakota State, while McNorton ran for 56 yards. The Redbirds outgained the Bison 397 yards to 331.

Western Illinois 27, Southern Illinois 21

MACOMB, ILL.

Terriun Crump caught a 77-yard touchdown pass from Josh Hudson with 26 seconds remaining as Western Illinois ended a nine-game losing streak to Southern Illinois. The Leathernecks (2-3, 1-1 Missouri Valley) got the ball at their own 15-yard line with 1:05 remaining after forcing Southern Illinois (2-2, 1-1) to punt. Caulton Ray rushed for 8 yards on first down before Crump scored the game-winner.

Associated Press