Flater steps up in UNI's playoff-opening win

CEDAR FALLS – Mark Farley admits that the linebacker position for the University of Northern Iowa football team hasn't had the most comfortable season.
 
"It's a struggle every day because of the numbers that we've had and the injuries that we've had," the UNI football head coach said.
 
When Alfonzo Lambert went down early in the second half, it gave Bryce Flater an opportunity to be the next man in.
 
The redshirt freshman from Grundy Center performed well, logging six tackles and a sack in two quarters of work as UNI rallied to a 16-13 victory over Lamar in a first-round NCAA FCS playoff game in the UNI-Dome on Saturday.
 
The Panthers will play the University of California, Davis in Davis on Dec. 1 at 6 p.m. The Aggies are ranked No. 7 in the STATS FCS poll.
 
"I told [linebacker coach DJ Vokolek] in the locker room that Bryce might have been the difference in the third and fourth quarter because he was making a lot of tackles on that run game," Farley said. "He will run, and he will hit you when he gets there."
 
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