(Ames, IA) — Its deja vu all over again — Kyle Konrardy kicks a late field goal and Iowa St. beats Iowa to win the Cy Hawk trophy. Konrardy boots a 54 yard field goal with 1:52 left and the Cyclones beats the Hawkeyes 16-13.
The second half was a defensive struggle with nobody getting to the end zone. There were some long sustaining drives by both teams but little points were scored as you might expect in this rivalry. On the last scoring drive for ISU, Gabe Burkle made some key catches to set up Konrardy for the game winning kick.
Iowa went 3 and out on the first drive of the game and ISU got a Carson Hansen run for 11 yards on their first play from scrimmage. The drive stalled at the Iowa 26 and Konrardy kicked a 44 yard field goal to give Iowa St. a 3-0 lead.
Another 3 and out for Iowa and ISU mounted a 10 play drive. Rocco Becht hit Brett Eskildsen for a big 35 yard pass play but the next three plays went nowhere and Konrardy was summoned to kick a 27 yard field goal for a 6-0 lead.
Iowa went nowhere fast although they did get their first first down. On 3rd and 16, Mark Gronowski was sacked by Marcus Neal Jr. which forced another Hawkeye punt.
The Hawkeyes got a break when Xavier Townsend fumbled on the ISU 33. It led to a Drew Stevens 31 yard field goal to get Iowa on the board to make it 6-3.
After ISU punted twice and Iowa punted once. Iowa had the ball at their own 33 and Gronowski was picked off by Jeremiah Cooper who read the eyes of the Iowa QB and returned it to the Iowa 18. It led to a Becht 2 yard TD pass to Ben Brahmer and ISU led 13-3.
Iowa finally got a nice drive going — Jaz Patterson ran for 10, Gronowski hit Sam Phillips with a 15 yard pass, Gronowski found Jacob Gil for 16. On 3rd and 8 from the ISU 9, Gronowski was sacked but Iowa St. was called for holding to give Iowa a first down and Gronowski squeezed into the end zone for a 2 yard run and ISU took a 13-10 lead into the locker room.
The Cyclones went 3 and out on the opening drive of the 2nd half and Iowa began to systematically move the ball on the ground. The Hawks got a 16 play drive and went 77 yards that resulted in a Stevens 36 yard field goal to tie the game at 13-13.
The Iowa drive took most of the 3rd quarter and Iowa St. answered with a long drive that took 6 minutes but stalled and ISU had to punt.
From their own 11, Iowa got to midfield but Gronowski misfired on a pass to Gil on 3rd and 7 and Iowa punted back to the Cyclones.
With 8:21 left, Iowa St. started a long drive from their own 10 yard line. Becht scrambled on 3rd and 2 for 3. On 3rd and 4, Becht’s pass was tipped by Townsend but Gabe Burkle adjusted and caught it for a gain of 17. Becht threw a jump pass to Burkle that the tight end had to adjust to and caught for a gain of 10. With 1:52 left, Konrardy kicked what would be the game winning score from 54 yards and there was never any doubt.
Gronowski was sacked twice on the Hawkeyes final chance and the Cyclone players raced across the field to reclaim the Cy Hawk Trophy.
Iowa Stats
Mark Gronowski 13-24 passing, 83 yards, 1 INT; 16 carries, 37 yards, 1 TD
Jaziun Patterson 11 carries, 60 yards
Xavier Williams 7 carries, 26 yards
Jacob Gill 5 catches, 52 yards
Jaden Harrell 9 tackles, 6 solo
Iowa St. stats
Rocco Becht 18-27 passing, 134 yards, 1 TD
Abu Sama III 12 carries, 47 yards
Carson Hansen 11 carries, 46 yards
Marcus Neal Jr. 9 tackles, 5 solo, 2 TFL, 1 sack
Iowa (1-1) 0-10-3-0 — 13
Iowa St. (3-0) 6-7-0-3 — 16
