Quick start helps Weber State beat Northern Iowa 29-17

Sep 29, 2019, 09:10 am

OGDEN, Utah -- Kaden Jenks hit Rashid Shaheed for a 73-yard touchdown on Weber State's first play from scrimmage and the Wildcats led the rest of the way in their 29-17 win over Northern Iowa on Saturday night.

Jenks finished 19-of-29 passing for 219 yards and two touchdowns in a battle between two of the top teams in the Football Championship Subdivision.

Weber State (2-2), which came in ranked No. 5 in the STATS FCS Top 25, scored on its first five drives to open a 27-3 lead midway through the second quarter.

Following Shaheed's touchdown, the ninth-ranked Panthers fumbled the kickoff and Trey Tuttle's 25-yard field goal extended the lead. Then, just three plays later, Brody Burke picked off a pass from Will McElvain to set up Kris Jackson's 2-yard touchdown run that made it 17-0 less than 10 minutes into the game.

Matthew Cook made a 35-yard field goal to get Northern Iowa (2-2) on the board with 3:27 left in the first quarter, but Tuttle made a 41-yarder about 2 1/2 minutes later and Jenks hit Justin Malone for a 13-yard touchdown with 8:30 left in the second quarter.

McElvain threw for 219 yards and two touchdowns and added 105 yards rushing on 16 carries for UNI.