A pleasant homecoming
By Bobby Narang - Staff Writer
DeKALB - The second-largest Homecoming crowd expected an offensive show. Instead, the Northern Illinois offense fizzled and faltered most of the game.
Quite unexpectedly, the NIU defense picked up the slack, allowing just 160 yards as Northern Illinois posted a 24-8 victory over Eastern Michigan on Saturday.
For a change, the offense sputtered. The Huskies had three turnovers, gave up a safety, botched a punt and ended a drive on downs in Eagles territory.
?I told the team it was obvious that it wasn't pretty, but it was a win,? said Northern Illinois coach Joe Novak. ?Give credit to Eastern Michigan. We got the win, but we're a little nicked up.?
The pedestrian showing by the offense might be a minor concern compared to the injuries to tailbacks Garrett Wolfe and A.J. Harris. Wolfe left the game with a left knee injury late in the third quarter. The junior was on crutches immediately after the game. Wolfe did top the 150-yard mark for the eighth time with 161 yards rushing and one touchdown.
?It doesn't look good for the immediate future for Garrett and A.J.,? Novak said.
Harris, who replaced Wolfe when he suffered a hip injury in the Silicon Valley Football Classic, was taken to the hospital for X-Rays after leaving the game with a right shoulder injury early in the fourth.
Harris rushed for 89 yards on 13 carries, scoring a four-yard touchdown in the first quarter. The senior didn't know the extent of his injury.
?I hurt my shoulder a few plays earlier and switched my brace to the other side,? Harris said. ?I ran a few plays. I don't know right how serious the injury is.?
Third-string tailback Adrian Davis provided an early preview of next week, amassing 60 yards on 10 carries in NIU's final drive. Davis helped pad NIU's final rushing total to 317 yards, and said he'll be prepared if Wolfe and Harris don't play next week at Kent State.
?I'm A.J. and Garrett's biggest fan,? Davis said. ?I don't want to see them get injured, but I have to be ready to play.?
The Huskies' streak of four straight games of 500 yards or more ended with Saturday's 430-yard effort. Wolfe's one-yard touchdown run was followed by Harris' four-yard jaunt into the end zone, as the Huskies leaped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter.
Another high-scoring, highlight-filled game looked in store for the Huskies, but the Eagles didn't allow another score until Shatone Powers' 15-yard TD catch from Phil Horvath with 15 ticks left in the third quarter.
Horvath, fourth-ranked in passing efficiency in Division I-A, completed 15-of-23 passes for a season-low 113 yards with two interceptions. The junior lacked his usual precision, passing for 48 yards in the opening half. The Eagles contained NIU wide receiver Sam Hurd for most of the game. Hurd, who had 21 receptions for 362 yards and five touchdowns in the last two games, was held to five catches for 37 yards on Saturday.
Horvath insisted on crediting the defense for the win.
?Championship teams will do that and still come out with wins,? Horvath said. ?Our defense played great. We (the offense) kept saying to ourselves that the defense is keeping us in the game.?
With the offense sputtering, the defense got a rare chance to steal the spotlight. Eastern Michigan's spread offense didn't bother the Huskies, nor did the Eagles' rotating quarterback system.
Starter Matt Bohnet played the first four series before backup Tyler Jones took over. Eastern Michigan coach Jeff Genyk played Bohnet and Jones on the same drive a few times.
The switching of quarterbacks didn't help Eastern Michigan. The Eagles didn't get a first down until their fourth possession. They needed 43 plays to pass the 100-yard mark for total offense. Eastern Michigan's biggest play from scrimmage was a 17-yard pass. The Eagles were 2-of-16 on third downs and finished with 160 yards of total offense.
The Huskie defense allowed just two field goals and cornerback Adriel Hansbro forced an incompletion on Bohnet's fade pass to Eric Deslauriers in the end zone on fourth down late in the game.
?I shot my hands up and tried to rip the ball out of his (Deslauriers) hands,? Hansbro said.
Alvah Hansbro had the first interception of the season for the secondary and Keenan Blalark led the team with 10 tackles. Freshman defensive end Craig Rusch netted one sack and one tackle for a loss.
?We're still getting better,? Novak said of the defense. ?We're covering better, but not getting a lot of pressure. Defensively, we are playing better than five weeks ago.?
