Messenger photo by Britt Kudla D.J. Hocken catches a touchdown pass for North Iowa on Saturday in Pomeroy against Northwest Iowa.

POMEROY — The North Iowa Knights dropped a 27-14 decision to rival Northwest Iowa here on Saturday night in a battle for first place in the IAFL.

Preston Peterson of North Iowa (3-2 overall) found D.J. Hocken on a 44-yard touchdown pass to get the Knights on the board after the Bulldogs (5-0) struck first.

Northwest Iowa led 13-7 at halftime, then extended the advantage with a pair of third-quarter touchdowns. Running back Mikey Mial threw a four-yard TD strike to Jamal Lewis for the final North Iowa score.

”We had several failed scoring opportunities during this contest that would’ve made the difference in the outcome,” Knights head coach Raun Taylor said. ”These two competitive teams treated the fans to a great game. It’s definitely the kind of semi-pro football game that makes the Pomeroy and Aurelia communities very proud.”

K-Anthony Fletcher had a short TD run to break the scoring ice for Northwest Iowa in the second quarter. Running back Nathan Leer had the other first-half Bulldog touchdown.

Fletcher found Tristan Yap on a 34-yard TD pass, and Leer scampered in from 16 yards out to give Northwest Iowa some breathing room in the third quarter.

North Iowa is slated to face the East Iowa Storm this Saturday. The Bulldogs square off with the Quad City River Hawks in Davenport on Saturday.