CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — Will McElvain passed 17 yards to Isaiah Weston for the game’s only touchdown early in the fourth quarter and lifted Northern Iowa to a 13-6 victory over Idaho State on Saturday. McElvain scrambled to his right then back across the field before finding Weston in the left end of the end zone with 14:14 remaining.

Austin Evans and Bryce Flater picked off passes later in the quarter to thwart the Bengals (1-2). Omar Brown also had an interception for the FCS No. 8 Panthers (2-1) and Elerson Smith collected three sacks including one on Idaho State’s final possession.

Kevin Ryan kicked two field goals for the Bengals before Matthew Cook hit one for the Panthers to cut Idaho State’s lead to 6-3 at halftime. Cook added a 20-yarder with 2:11 remaining in the game. He is perfect on eight attempts this season.

Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Sophomore Brock Purdy threw for a career-high 435 yards and tied a school record with six touchdowns and Iowa State throttled Louisiana-Monroe 72-20. Purdy tossed three touchdown passes and ran for 75 yards and three TDs for the Cyclones, becoming the first player in school history to surpass 500 yards of total offense.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The University of Iowa has reopened an inquiry into allegations that members of its marching band were targets of abuse during last weekend’s game at Iowa State University. Members of the Iowa band say they were subjected to racial slurs, verbal and physical and sexual harassment and assault before, during and after the game. The schools’ athletic directors said last week that they had looked into the claims, but they didn’t announce any punishment. Students said that was insufficient.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Adrian Martinez passed for 327 yards and three touchdowns to lead Nebraska over Illinois 42-38 in the Big Ten Conference opener for both teams. The Cornhuskers (3-1, 1-0) put up 690 yards of total offense compared to 299 by Illinois (2-2, 0-1).

CHICAGO (AP) — Yadier Molina and Paul DeJong homered on Craig Kimbrel’s first two pitches in the ninth inning, and the St. Louis Cardinals handed the reeling Chicago Cubs their fifth straight loss with a wild 9-8 victory. Marcell Ozuna also connected as the NL Central-leading Cardinals won for the fifth time in six games.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Twins closer Taylor Rogers got tagged during a seven-run ninth inning and Minnesota missed a chance to add to its AL Central lead, falling the Kansas City Royals 12-5. The Twins remained four games ahead of Cleveland, which lost at home to Philadelphia. Pinch-hitter Cheslor Cuthbert lined a tiebreaking, two-run homer off Rogers to begin the Royals’ big burst. Rogers gave up three runs on three hits while getting just one out.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Kendall Austin threw 202 yards, Martell Pettaway ran for a pair of scores, and West Virginia held on for a 29-24 victory over Kansas to open Big 12 play Saturday. Kennedy McCoy added 73 yards rushing and a touchdown, and Evan Staley bounced back from an early miss to hit three field goals, as the Mountaineers improved to 8-1 against the Jayhawks. Carter Stanley threw for 235 yards and three TDs for the Jayhawks.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Police say a 21-year-old Columbia College volleyball player Shelby Meyer has died. Police say Shelby Meyer, a junior, was found dead Saturday morning at an apartment building in Columbia. She apparently fell while trying to climb a ladder to the apartment’s roof. No foul play is suspected but an investigation is continuing.

(2-1) ACGC 21-19-16, Glidden-Ralston 13-21-14
(2-0) ACGC 21-21, Colfax-Mingo 7-15
(2-0) ACGC 21-21, Glidden-Ralston 18-19
(2-0) ACGC 22-21, Audubon 20-8
(2-1) AHSTW 21-14-15, Missouri Valley 16-21-12
(2-0) AHSTW 21-21, West Harrison 12-15
(2-0) AHSTW 21-21, Whiting 8-4
(2-0) AHSTW 21-21, Woodbine 8-5
(2-1) AHSTW 21-8-15, Council Bluffs Jefferson 18-21-13
(2-0) Audubon 21-21, West Central Valley 17-10
(2-0) Carroll 21-21, IKM-Manning 7-11
(2-1) Colfax-Mingo 21-14-15, Audubon 18-21-13
(2-1) Coon Rapids-Bayard 21-15-15, ACGC 19-21-8
(2-1) Council Bluffs Lincoln 15-21-15, Red Oak 21-17-11
(2-0) Council Bluffs Lincoln 21-21, Creston 10-10
(2-0) Council Bluffs Lincoln 21-21, Sidney 16-14
(2-0) Council Bluffs Lincoln 21-21, Tri-Center 8-19
(2-0) Council Bluffs Lincoln 24-21, Mount Vernon 22-10
(2-0) Creston 21-21, Harlan 18-12
(2-0) Creston 21-21, Treynor 17-14
(2-0) Creston 21-22, Tri-Center 13-20
(2-0) East Mills 21-21, Martensdale-St Marys 10-13
(2-0) East Mills 21-21, Wayne 9-6
(2-0) East Mills 25-25, Mount Ayr 9-12
(2-0) East Mills 25-25, Shenandoah 20-12
(2-0) Glidden-Ralston 21-21, Audubon 17-19
(2-0) Harlan 24-21, Sidney 22-15
(2-0) Nevada 21-21, Atlantic 11-6
(2-0) Nevada 21-21, Winterset 17-15
(2-0) Newell-Fonda 21-21, IKM-Manning 8-15
(2-0) Red Oak 21-21, Clarinda 8-12
(2-0) Red Oak 21-21, Harlan 11-18
(2-0) Red Oak 21-21, Mount Vernon 16-9
(2-0) Red Oak 21-21, Treynor 8-15
(2-0) Red Oak 21-21, Tri-Center 13-11
(2-1) Shenandoah 19-21-15, East Mills 21-15-8
(2-0) Shenandoah 21-21, Martensdale-St Marys 19-16
(2-0) Sidney 21-21, Clarinda 16-12
(2-0) Sidney 21-21, Clarinda 4-8
(2-0) Sidney 21-21, Tri-Center 16-15
(2-1) South Central Calhoun 12-21-15, Carroll 21-11-9
(2-0) Treynor 21-21, Creston 10-13
(2-0) Treynor 21-21, Harlan 12-18
(2-0) Treynor 24-21, Clarinda 22-17
(2-0) Tri-Center 21-21, Harlan 18-16
(2-0) Tri-Center 23-27, Clarinda 21-25
(2-0) Underwood 21-21, Coon Rapids-Bayard 14-12
(2-0) Underwood 21-21, Coon Rapids-Bayard 8-16
(2-0) Underwood 21-21, Exira-EHK 6-14
(2-0) Underwood 21-21, Glidden-Ralston 12-9
(2-0) Underwood 21-21, West Central Valley 12-13

CHICAGO (AP) — Yadier Molina and Paul DeJong homered on Craig Kimbrel’s first two pitches in the ninth inning, and the St. Louis Cardinals handed the reeling Chicago Cubs their fifth straight loss with a wild 9-8 victory on Saturday.

Marcell Ozuna also connected as the NL Central-leading Cardinals (88-67) won for the fifth time in six games. Dexter Fowler had two hits and two RBIs, and Paul Goldschmidt also drove in two runs. Chicago (82-73) used pinch-hit homers by Ian Happ and Tony Kemp and a solo drive by rookie Nico Hoerner to carry an 8-7 lead into the ninth. It looked as if it was on its way to stopping a costly slide that pushed it out of playoff position — the Cubs began the day two games back of Milwaukee for the second NL wild card.
But Kimbrel (0-4) was hit hard again in his first appearance since he gave up Matt Carpenter’s 10th-inning homer in the Cubs’ 5-4 loss Thursday night.

Molina jumped on Kimbrel’s first pitch for his ninth homer, touching off a rollicking celebration in the Cardinals’ dugout. Kimbrel looked stunned as the ball soared into the bleachers in left-center.
DeJong then belted an even deeper drive for his 28th homer, sending the party on the Cardinals’ half of the field to another level. Signed in early June, Kimbrel has allowed a career-high nine home runs in only 20 2/3 innings this year, and has blown three of 16 save chances. He permitted seven home runs last season in 62 1/3 innings with Boston.

John Gant (11-1) got the last out of the eighth for the win, and Carlos Martínez finished for his 23rd save. It’s the first three-game win streak for St. Louis at Wrigley Field since June 20-22, 2016.

NEARING THE END
The Cubs paid tribute to longtime broadcast partner WGN-TV with a pregame video. One member of WGN’s crew for Cubs games threw out a ceremonial first pitch, surrounded by some of his veteran colleagues. The Cubs will show their games on their own regional sports network beginning next year, ending their run on WGN after 72 seasons.

TRAINER’S ROOM
Cardinals: 2B Kolten Wong (strained left hamstring) was out of the starting lineup for the second straight game. “The good news is he’s feeling good, he’s moving around,” manager Mike Shildt said. “We’re just going to take it day by day. Encouraging, but no timetable at all.” Wong got hurt during Thursday’s 10-inning win over Chicago.

UP NEXT
Yu Darvish (6-7, 4.02 ERA) pitches for Chicago in what might be the final game of the year at Wrigley. The Japanese right-hander has 34 strikeouts in 18 innings over three September starts. Miles Mikolas (9-14, 4.29 ERA) goes for his 10th win for St. Louis.

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa State desperately needed a spark after barely beating Northern Iowa and losing a heartbreaker to rival Iowa. Sophomore Brock Purdy gave the Cyclones the jolt they were looking for with one of the best individual performances in school history.

Purdy threw for a career-high 435 yards and tied a school record with six touchdowns and Iowa State throttled Louisiana-Monroe 72-20 on Saturday, its best scoring output in 113 years. “Our offense clicked, the receivers were great, offensive line did amazing,” Purdy said. “It just happened. It’s not something I go into the game thinking (about) records. As long as we’re winning, I’m totally fine.”

Purdy tossed three touchdown passes and ran for 75 yards and three TDs for the Cyclones (2-1), becoming the first player in school history to surpass 500 yards of total offense. Purdy wasn’t the only once piling it on against a ULM team that took Florida State to overtime in its opener.

Iowa State finished with a school-best 714 yards and scored its most points since beating Cornell 81-0 in 1906 — the same year the forward pass became legal. Purdy and the Cyclones broke free in the second half, pushing a 14-point halftime lead to 48-20 with three touchdowns in the third quarter.

Purdy ran it in from 13 yards out, found Deshaunte Jones for an 84-yard TD connection and hit Sean Shaw from 12 yards out to make it a 28-point game with 19 seconds left in the third. Purdy racked up 510 total yards despite sitting out the fourth quarter. Tarique Milton had 142 yards receiving for the Cyclones, and Jones had 100 on just two grabs.

Caleb Evans threw for 176 yards and two TDs and ran for 93 yards for ULM (1-2). The Warhawks allowed 45 points in the second half, the same total it gave up in four quarters and overtime against the Seminoles.
THE TAKEAWAY
Iowa State: Entering play, Iowa State’s 15 points a game in regulation would’ve ranked 125th out of 130 FBS schools. The Cyclones snapped out of their funk with authority, as Purdy found both opened and seemingly covered receivers with ease. Iowa State’s defense didn’t have a great day, but for once the offense picked it up.

Iowa State opens Big 12 play at Baylor on Sept. 28.