CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – Time after time Saturday afternoon, the University of Maine defense appeared to have Northern Iowa right where it wanted it: Third down and long.

All game long, Panthers quarterback Griff Jurgens and an elusive receiver corps connected on momentum-building passes that poked holes in the Black Bears’ confidence.

Northern Iowa converted 10 of 13 third-down situations and Jurgens netted 299 yards on 12 pass completions as the sixth-ranked Panthers ruined No. 16 UMaine’s Division I-AA national championship aspirations with a 56-28 NCAA football quarterfinal victory at the UNI- Dome.

Northern Iowa (11-2) travels to top-ranked Montana Saturday for a national semifinal.

For 9-3 UMaine, it was a disappointing end to the most successful season in the 111-year history of the football program.

“We fought hard and made a hell of a run at it,” said senior offensive tackle Zack Magliaro. “We wanted to go to Tennessee [for the national championship game]. It didn’t happen for us, but I’m not going to hang my head and I don’t think anybody is. I’m proud of this team all the way.”

Saturday’s game quickly developed into an offensive shootout. Neither defense could stop the other’s offense.

The UMaine defense fell victim to long plays and the offense committed costly turnovers that helped the Panthers rally the charged-up crowd of 9,525 during a game-breaking, second-half surge.

UNI repeatedly extracted itself from long-yardage situations as Jurgens and Co. pulled off improvised pass plays. Jurgens was able to escape the Bears’ pash rush, buying time for his receivers, who got open and caught the ball.

“That’s the main difference in the game,” UMaine linebacker Malik Nichols said of UNI’s success on third down. “If we could have got off the field a couple of times and given the offense the ball, we probably would have had a chance. But they made the plays and we didn’t.”

Boy, did they.

UNI converted seven third-down plays that netted 17 yards or more. Five went for 30-plus yards and two covered more than 50. The Bears clearly missed starting free safety Dave Cusano, who sat out with a knee injury.

“They did a good job of some things, matchups, yeah,” Cosgrove said when asked whether Cusano’s absence was a factor.

In spite of their defensive struggles, the Bears were tied 28-28 late in the third quarter. UMaine hung tough thanks to the offense, led by junior quarterback Jake Eaton, who completed 29 of 44 passes for 330 yards and three touchdowns.

The Bears appeared to have gained the upper hand with 4:23 left in the third when Eaton hooked up with sophomore wideout Stefan Gomes (14 receptions, 174 yards, 2 TDs) on a 12-yard scoring toss.

On the Panthers’ next play from scrimmage, linebacker Rob Kierstead intercepted a Jurgens pass and ran it back to the UNI 37.

However, Eaton was sacked on first down, then threw three straight incomplete passes.

The Panthers pounced on the opportunity on the next play when Adam Benge (12 carries, 114 yards) ran through the middle, shedding at least five tackles, on his way to a 67-yard TD jaunt that gave the hosts the boost they needed.

“We had the ball down close and that’s the series we went for it on fourth down, didn’t get it, and they run 70 yards for a touchdown on the very next play; we miss about 12 tackles,” Cosgrove recounted. “That was the turning point of the football game right there.”

Northern Iowa remained in attack mode on its next series. Jurgens found Jake Soliday on an 18-yard third-down completion during a 79-yard play drive that ended with a 35-yard TD bomb from Jurgens to Soliday over the head of Bears cornerback Lennard Byrd.

That made it 42-28 with 12:14 left.

“Any time you make big plays like that with long balls… that just gets the crowd involved,” said UNI coach Mark Farley. “It’s hard to beat UNI at the dome.

“We haven’t thrown the long ball, like you saw today, for a long time,” he added. “I think Griff opened a lot of things up by his scrambling ability as well.”

UMaine’s hopes vanished three plays later when Paris Minor fumbled at the UM 31 after taking a big hit on a short screen pass from Eaton.

Benge carried five straight times, scoring on a 5-yard run that ended the Bears’ hopes. UMaine fumbled three times and was intercepted once and the turnovers led directly to 24 UNI points.

“We couldn’t stop ’em, then we turned the ball over a couple times and things snowballed on us in the second half,” Cosgrove said.

“I didn’t think they could stop us, personally,” he added. “We stopped ourselves and then they took advantage of all those situations with their offense.”

Ken Harris iced it with a 47-yard interception return for UNI.

UMaine’s defensive struggles stemmed from its inability to get to Jurgens with the rush and its difficulty covering receivers deep in the secondary.

“We thought we had them on third down and 10s or more,” said UMaine linebacker Stephen Cooper. “… Next thing you know the quarterback’s scrambling around making big plays. It was kind of like a replay of Hofstra all over again. We weren’t tackling well. We weren’t playing well all around on defense. You can’t win games like that.”

UNI netted 480 total yards, 261 of which came on 10 third-down plays (a 26.1-yard average).

Jarrod Gomes, who replaced Cusano, led the Bears with nine tackles and two pass break-ups. Cooper made eight tackles and Nichols registered seven.

Despite missing senior powerhouse tailback Royston English (foot injury), Eaton kept the UMaine offense clicking with the passing game. Gomes was superb on the outside, while senior tight end Chad Hayes of Old Town (7 catches, 79 yards, 1 TD) had an outstanding collegiate finale.

The Bears did have a decent run game behind redshirt freshman James Henry, who had 76 yards on 15 carries.

“[Royston’s absence] affected us a little bit because Royston, being in there, he’s such a physical presence,” Eaton said. [But] without Royston we were moving the ball. When we needed it, when it was 28-28, we just couldn’t put that big play in.”

The Panthers scored on their first two possessions. Mac Hoambrecker booted a 41-yard field goal 21/2 minutes into the game, then hit a 24-yarder after a fumbled QB-center exchange.

UMaine answered with an 80-yard scoring drive sparked by Henry’s 42-yard run. Eaton threw a 3-yard fade ball to Stefan Gomes as the Bears took a 7-6 lead with 7:42 remaining in the first quarter.

UNI responded with a 79-yard march that included a 57-yard pass from Jurgens to Ben Sanderson, who had previously caught two passes all season. Richard Carter’s 8-yard scoring run put the hosts back on top 14-7.

The Bears tied it with a superb 14-play, 92-yard drive. Eaton and Stefan Gomes combined on five completions good for 68 yards, including a 30-yarder that helped set up Henry’s 3-yard TD dive with 10:24 left in the second quarter.

UMaine had an opportunity to extend the advantage when Byrd made a diving interception at the UM 43-yard line. The Bears went three-and-out, reopening the door for the Panthers.

Northern Iowa moved 82 yards on 11 plays, including a 53-yard Jurgens-to-Sanderson third-down pass, with Benge capping it on a 3-yard scamper with 1:30 to play in the half.

The Bears didn’t back down, romping 66 yards in 1:20 aided by a pass interference penalty. Eaton again found Stefan Gomes, this time for an 18-yard scoring pass, as the Bears tied it 21-all at halftime.

UMaine was on the move again to open the second half, covering 48 yards before fullback John Gelsomino fumbled at the UNI 30.

The Panthers didn’t waste the opportunity, hitting a 39-yard, third-down pass play that paved the way for Jurgens’ 23-yard timing toss in the end zone to Soliday.

PANTHERS 56, BLACK BEARS 28

Maine (9-3) 7 14 7 0?28

Northern Iowa (11-2) 14 7 14 21?56

UNI ? Hoambrecker 41 field goal

UNI ? Hoambrecker 24 field goal

UM ? S. Gomes 3 pass from Eaton (DeVinney kick)

UNI ? Carter 8 run (Jurgens pass to Hannam)

UM ? Henry 3 run (DeVinney kick)

UNI ? Benge 3 run (Hoambrecker kick)

UM ? S. Gomes 18 pass from Eaton (DeVinney kick)

UNI ? Soliday 23 pass from Jurgens (Hoambrecker kick)

UM ?Hayes 12 pass from Eaton (DeVinney kick)

UNI ? Benge 63 run (Hoambrecker kick)

UNI ? Soliday 35 pass from Jurgens (Hoambrecker)

UNI ? Benge 5 run (Hoambrecker kick)

UNI ?Harris 47 interception return (Hoambrecker kick)

Maine No. Iowa

First downs 25 18

Rushing att.-yards 34-145 34-181

Passing comp.-att. 29-44 12-26

Passing yards 330 299

Total yards 475 480

Punts-avg. 4-40.0 1-38.0

Fumbles-lost 3-3 0-0

Intercepted by 2 1

Penalties-yards 4-31 3-15

Rushing

Maine: Henry 15-76, S. Gomes 1-20, Gelsomino 4-18, Momah 3-18, Eaton 9-16, Williams 1-3, Meczywor 1-(-6); UNI: Benge 12-114, Carter 14-66, Fiech 3-11, Moothart 1-4, Jurgens 4-(-14)

Passing

Maine: Eaton 29-44-1-330; UNI: Jurgens 12-26-2-299

Receiving

Maine: S. Gomes 14-174, Hayes 7-79, Gelsomino 4-47, Minor 4-30; UNI: Mays 4-92, Soliday 3?76, Sanderson 2-110, Hannam 1-9, Benge 1-7, Seitz 1-5

A?9,525