McElvain guides Northern Iowa past Youngstown State 21-14

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- Redshirt freshman Will McElvain threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Weston , and Trevor Allen and Tyler Hoosman ran for scores, as Northern Iowa held off Youngstown State 21-14 in a Missouri Valley Football Conference opener between two ranked teams on Saturday. McElvain staked the Panthers (3-2), ranked 13th in the FCS Coaches poll, to a 7-0 lead in the first quarter when he capped an eight-play, 80-yard drive with his TD toss to Weston. McElvain directed an eight-play, 79-yard drive -- ended by Allen's 10-yard TD run -- to push Northern Iowa's lead to 14-0 with 5:07 left in the second quarter. On the ensuing possession for the 17th-ranked Penguins (4-1), Nathan Mays needed just one play -- a 75-yard scoring strike to Jermiah Braswell -- to halve the lead at 14-7.