FAYETTE, Iowa - All's well that ends well.

Just the same, University of Mary coach Myron Schulz hopes his team gets out of the habit of digging itself holes like the ones the Marauders had to climb out of to beat Upper Iowa 34-31 on Saturday.

U-Mary (1-1) trailed nearly the whole game, but Jamal Lomax's 1-yard touchdown run with 2:35 to play allowed the Marauders to escape with the victory.

"I'm really proud of the way the guys keep playing hard, even when we get behind," Schulz said. "Hopefully we'll quit doing that."

It took an awful lot for the Marauders to battle back from a 21-6 deficit against the Peacocks.

It took three touchdowns from Lomax, who ran for 106 yards on 23 carries.

It took a 71-yard pass from Jesse Kozak to Roman Penirian to set up the game-winning score.

And it took a series of self-inflicted wounds from the Peacocks, who were penalized 10 times for 111 yards. Flags played key roles on two U-Mary scoring drives and wiped out an Upper Iowa touchdown in the fourth quarter, forcing the Peacocks to settle for a field goal.

"Our penalties were aggressive, but those personal fouls will lose you games," Schulz said.

Upper Iowa met little resistance on its first two drives, the first covering 71 yards on nine plays, the second 98 yards on 12.

U-Mary got on the board early in the second quarter on a 3-yard plunge by Lomax, but the Marauders were hurt by two special teams miscues. First came a failed two-point conversion, then a botched sky kickoff that set up Upper Iowa on the U-Mary 40.

The Peacocks capitalized to make it 21-6 with 11:43 to play in the second quarter.

"We really got behind the eight-ball," Schulz said. "I think our guys were shellshocked."

A 42-yard kickoff return by Mike Williams led to another Lomax score. This time the sophomore shook off a hit on the way to a 2-yard touchdown.

On U-Mary's next possession the Peacocks committed three personal fouls. Kozak made Upper Iowa pay, hitting Williams, who spun away from a tackler for a 9-yard touchdown. That left Upper Iowa clinging to a 21-20 halftime lead.

U-Mary pushed ahead with 12:24 left in the third quarter when Penirian found a seam and Kozak hit him for a 24-yard touchdown. Penirian had a huge day, with nine catches for 165 yards.

The Peacocks regained the lead with 10:05 left in the third with a 28-27 lead.

Upper Iowa had a chance to take control early in the fourth. Brian Curran hit La'Mont Williams in the end zone for an apparent 5-yard touchdown pass. But the Peacocks were flagged for having an ineligible receiver downfield, and they had to settle for a 26-yard field goal and a 31-27 edge.

That would come back to haunt the Peacocks. With 5:20 left to play, Kozak hung in despite a heavy pass rush and hit Penirian for a 71-yarder, putting the Marauders on the Upper Iowa 7-yard-line.

"Jesse's a gutsy kid,"Schulz said.

After two short runs, a third-down pass fell incomplete. But Upper Iowa's Nate Curran was called for pass interference, giving U-Mary a first down on the 2-yard line.

It took Lomax three tries, but he eventually pushed it in, giving U-Mary the lead with 2:35 to play. The Marauder defense stuffed Upper Iowa on its final possession, wrapping up the win.

"That was a huge win,"Schulz said. "Every game in our conference is tougher than nails. When you're in them and close, you have to find a way to win."

U-Mary 0 20 7 7 - 34

Upper Iowa 14 7 7 3 - 31

First Quarter

UI - Sam Epsteen 11 run (Jason Price kick), 9:45. (9 plays, 71 yards, 5:15)

UI - Epsteen 32 run (Price kick), 1:27. (12 plays, 98 yards, 5:59)

Second Quarter

UM - Jamal Lomax 3 run (pass failed), 13:24. (8 plays, 79 yards, 2:56)

UI - Epsteen 8 run (Price kick), 11:43. (4 plays, 40 yards, 1:37)

UM - Lomax 2 run (Rett Thibodeaux kick), 8:24. (7 play, 41 yards, 3:10)

UM - Mike Williams 9 pass from Jesse Kozak (Thibodeaux kick), :28. (9 plays, 57 yards, 2:47)

Third Quarter

UM - Roman Penirian 24 pass from Kozak (Thibodeaux kick), 12:24. (6 plays, 60 yards, 2:34)

UI - Jordan Otdoerfer 26 run (Price kick), 10:05. (6 plays, 60 yards, 2:19)

Fourth Quarter

UI - Price 26 FG, 12:14. (13 plays, 58 yards, 6:14)

UM - Lomax 1 run (Thibodeaux kick), 2:35. (7 plays, 66 yards, 4:15)

Team Statistics

UM UI

First downs 24 20

Rushes-yards 31-90 42-227

Passing yards 274 122

Comp-Att-Int 20-36-2 13-26-0

Punts-avg 4-37.8 5-32.0

Fumbles-lost 0-0 1-0

Penalties-yards 5-76 10-111

Individual Statistics

Rushing:UM - Jamal Lomax 23-106, Jesse Kozak 7-(minus-15), Team 1-(minus-1). UI - Sam Epsteen 24-152, Jordan Otdoerfer 10-63, Brian Curran 4-22, Zay Shepherd 2-3, La'Mont Williams

Passing: UM - Kozak 20-36-2, 274 yards. UI - Curran 13-26-0, 122 yards.

Receiving:UM - Roman Penirian 9-165, Mike Williams 5-46, Lomax 3-34, Brennan Quintus 2-11, Erik Kruse 1-18. UI - Kyle Hosch 4-49, Williams 4-18, Justin Michaels 2-24, Epsteen 2-17, J. Hubbard 1-14.

Interceptions:UI- Dominique Jackson 1-0. Vernard Wilkins 1-0.

Records:UM1-0 NSIC, 1-1 overall; UI 0-1, 0-2.