Quincy, Ill. - The Quincy University NCAA football team dropped their homecoming game to the Upper Iowa University Peacocks on Saturday (Sept. 28). The Peacocks had 22 unanswered points in the second half that pushed them past the Hawks 29-27. 

The Hawks ran up the score in the second quarter starting off with a 69-yard interception run from David Lewis. Lewis was able to knock the ball away from the Peacocks' hands and while the ball was mid-air, Lewis secured it and ran free to the end zone. The Peacocks defended the conversion kick well, blocking the extra-point play. 

The Peacocks took the lead shortly after with their running back running nearly the width of the field before finding the ball home to the end zone. Anthony Gilpin, Jr. caught a short pass from Drake Davis in the end zone to give the Hawks the advantage again. 

Some excitement at the two-minute mark gave the Hawks some momentum to finish the half. Brandon Granger forced a fumble at the one-yard line on a scoring play from the Peacocks, allowing the Hawks to diffuse a score and get themselves one more before the half concluded. Collin Olla-Chatman recovered the fumble before the Peacocks requested a challenge on the play. The play stood and the Hawks moved 99 yards down the field for a touchdown in the final 21 seconds of play in the first half. Teon Dollard went on a long run up the right side of the field for 55 yards. After a few short plays, Dollard then went for a five-yard rush into the end zone, giving the Hawks a 20-7 lead at halftime. 

In the final 21 seconds of the half, the Hawks defense put high pressure on the Peacocks, earning two sacks on three plays. Jaylin Vaughn was credited with the first sack while Jai Williams and Matt Austin worked on the 19-yard loss to end the half.

The Hawks kept the Peacocks to just 25 yards in the third quarter before allowing the Peacocks into a 17-play gauntlet. A 15-yard roughing the punter call against the Hawks gave the Peacocks some freedom to move forward and gave them some confidence going into the final quarter. 

A forced fumble on the Hawks gave way to their Peacocks' first touchdown of the quarter. Upper Iowa scored two more touchdowns and earned a two-point conversion on the second, putting the Hawks down nine with 1:47 left on the clock. A 15-yard personal foul call in favor of the Hawks helped them clock one more touchdown with a minute remaining in the game, but the Hawks were not able to regain possession of the onside kick for a chance to win the game. 

Dollard led the Hawks in rushing with 121 yards and two touchdowns. On defense, Trajen THornton led the Hawks with nine tackles, six solo,  two tackles for loss, and a pass breakup. Brock Inman, Brock Wiley, and Vaughn all each had seven tackles and recorded tackles for loss. 

The Hawks look forward to their new rivalry match at McKendree next weekend. The Battle for the Land of Lincoln will have the Hawks and Bearcats competing for the top hat trophy, signifying the long-standed rivalry between the two teams.