With all seven Gateway Football Conference teams were in action during the weekend, one team emerged as the frontrunner in the conference.

The Northern Iowa Panthers remained undefeated by handing SIU (6-1, 2-1 Gateway) its first loss on Saturday. The Panthers prevailed 30-24 as the Salukis’ final play came within six yards of a game-tying touchdown.

UNI head coach Mark Farley said the game was a battle between two solid teams and he was pleased with the way his team handled itself.

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“They are a confident football team and they stuck around,” Panther coach Mark Farley said of SIU. “We kept answering is what I was proud of our team for.”

Northern Iowa is now ranked No. 1 in the Football Championship Subdivision, marking the first time a Gateway team has achieved that ranking.

The Panthers (6-0, 2-0) aren’t the only team remaining with an unscathed conference record. The Western Illinois Leathernecks hosted the Missouri State Bears Saturday and won, 31-10.

The Leathernecks led 17-10 at halftime, and the score remained so until the fourth quarter, when Western Illinois (5-2, 2-0) iced the game with 14 unanswered points.

The two fourth-quarter touchdowns were scored within 24 seconds of each other. Leatherneck running back Alex Douglas ran for a 15-yard touchdown with 10 minutes, 35 seconds remaining in the game, then at 10:11 Western Illinois crossed the goal line again after blocking a punt.

Douglas gained 100 yards on the ground, but Leatherneck running back Herb Donaldson racked up 314 rushing yards and two touchdowns against Missouri State (4-3, 1-2). Donaldson is the Gateway’s leading rusher, with 1,033 yards on 178 attempts.

Second to Donaldson in rushing yards is Illinois State’s Rafael Rice, with 664.

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The only other conference game featured the Indiana State Sycamores looking for their first win of the season against the Illinois State Redbirds.

Although the Sycamores struck first with a field goal on their first possession, Illinois State (3-4, 1-2) picked up its first win in Gateway play, blowing out the Sycamores 69-17.

Indiana State (0-7, 0-3) trailed by 11 with less than five minutes to play in the first half, but the Redbirds went on to score 41 unanswered points.

Three Illinois State running backs totaled more than 100 rushing yards, and the Redbirds attempted just 10 passes in the game.

In completing eight of nine pass attempts, Illinois State quarterback Luke Drone threw for 139 yards and three touchdowns, bringing his season total to 11.

“We have not thrown the ball much this year and it helps to know that you can still do it,” Drone said after the game.

The Youngstown State Penguins faced a non-conference opponent, playing host to the Southern Utah Thunderbirds on Saturday.

The Thunderbirds gave Youngstown State a bit of a scare, but the Penguins were able to pull out a 23-22 victory.

Southern Utah quarterback Wes Marshall threw a touchdown pass with 8:52 to go in the game, giving the Thunderbirds a 22-16 lead over Youngstown State.

The Penguins’ ensuing drive, however, went 65 yards in 3:26, capped off by Ferlando Williams’ second rushing touchdown of the game to give Youngstown State the lead for good.

Williams finished the game with 51 rushing yards, and running backs Jabari Scott and Kevin Smith both ran for 59 yards for the Penguins.

Youngstown State returns to action Saturday against Illinois State, while Northern Iowa will go on the road to play at Western Illinois.

Indiana State hosts Western Kentucky Saturday and the Salukis will also return home to face Missouri State.

Daily Egyptian writer Scott Mieszala can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 256 or [email protected].