Football | October 12

Box Score For Immediate Release
October 13, 2019
 
RICHARDSON'S GAME-WINNING FIELD GOAL GIVES NIU 39-36 WIN
Huskies Have a 300-Yard Passer, Two 100-Yard Receivers and a 100-Yard Rusher in the Victory
 
ATHENS, Ohio – Northern Illinois University kicker John Richardson made a 37-yard field goal as time expired to give the NIU Huskies a 39-36 win over Ohio University at Peden Stadium Saturday.
 
The field goal capped a second half comeback as NIU scored 29-second half points to earn its first Mid-American Conference win of the season and improve to 2-4 overall, 1-1 in the MAC.
 
"I'm proud of our kids, I'm proud of our coaches," said NIU Head Coach Thomas Hammock. "We were resilient. It was a team effort; I liked the fight of our team. We wanted to play four quarters of Huskie Football, not getting too high or too low, just play the next play. The difference today was guys making plays. We talked to our guys at halftime about making plays."
 
Tailback Tre Harbison scored three touchdowns and gained 113 yards on 25 carries, with 108 of those yards coming in the second half.  On the Huskies' game-winning drive, NIU got the ball with 3:38 to play and after a 14-yard completion from quarterback Ross Bowers to wide receiver Tyrice Richie, Harbison ran six consecutive times for 42 yards, advancing NIU from its 39-yard line all the way to the Ohio 19. From there, Richardson, who had hit a career long 51-yard field goal earlier in the game but had missed his last two attempts, from 44 and 49 yards, was good for the first game-winner of his young NIU career.  
 
"I knew that the snap and hold were going to be great, I knew the line was going to block just like they had all year," Richardson said. "I just had to be confident in myself because my team had confidence in me. It was tough missing earlier. I knew I had to deliver for my team."
 
Trailing 21-10 at halftime, the Huskies got a spark on their second drive of the third quarter from back-up quarterback Marcus Childers. From the NIU 23, he took the snap and took off, running up the middle for 70 yards before getting tackled at the Ohio seven-yard line. Two plays later, Harbison ran in from the four-yard line to trim Ohio's lead to 21-16 after the two-point try failed.  Childers' run was the longest for a Huskie player since 2016 when another quarterback, Anthony Maddie, had a 70-yard run versus Ball State.
 
After the Huskie defense forced a three-and-out, Bowers led NIU on a 13-play, 76-yard drive to take the lead.  The Huskies converted two third downs and a fourth down on the drive, with Bowers hitting Cole Tucker for 20 and 10 yards, respectively, on two plays and connecting with freshman Michael Love for 13 yards on the third. Harbison finished the drive with a one-yard touchdown run to give NIU a 22-21 lead.
 
Tucker finished the game with a career high eight catches for 118 yards as Bowers found him in critical situations. Bowers finished the game with an NIU career best 338 yards on 23-of-39 passing and a touchdown. 
 
Hammock said Tucker earned his chances.
 
"Number one, he catches the football," Hammock said. "He's a good route runner.  We're going to play the guys that play consistent football. Going into the game, he knew he was getting the start, he knew we were going to him and he did what we expected him to do, catch the football and make plays."
 
Leading 22-21, NIU got the ball back after Ohio could not convert on fourth and six, and the Huskies quickly extended their lead to 29-21 with a six-play, 63-yard drive. Bowers hit tight end Mitchell Brinkman, who caught five passes for 100 yards in the game, for a 28-yard pick-up on third and three. He connected with Richie for a 30-yard touchdown after the receiver broke a tackle and took it in for the score. NIU led 29-21 with 12:02 to play.
 
Ohio responded behind quarterback Nathan Rourke, who took the Bobcats down the field with his arm and his legs, running twice for 25 yards and connecting with tight end Ryan Luehrmann on the eight-yard score.  The two-point try was good and the score was tied at 29 with 8:25 left.
 
NIU took the lead again, Harbison scoring his third TD after a 48-yard pass to Brinkman put the Huskies on the Ohio three-yard line. The Bobcats took just four plays to respond as Shane Hooks powered into the end zone on a 47-yard pass play from Rourke with 3:38 to play, leaving the Huskies plenty of time for their game-winning drive.
 
The Ohio QB finished with 258 yards passing and 80 rushing on 12 carries as the Bobcats fell to 2-4 overall, 1-1 in the MAC.
 
Mykelti Williams led the Huskies defensively with 14 tackles, while Antonio Jones-Davis added 12 stops and a sack. 
 
The Bobcats took a 21-10 halftime lead with a pair of second quarter touchdowns and used trick plays to score both. First, a wide open Rourke caught a two-yard pass from receiver D.L. Knock to finish a 13-play, 59 yard drive and put the Bobcats ahead 14-10. 
 
After the Huskies missed a 44-yard field goal and an Ohio punt, the Bobcats got the ball back off an interception that nearly ended in a fumble back to the Huskies.  Ilyaas Motley made the interception and appeared to fumble the ball back to NIU, but after replay, it was called an illegal forward pass and Ohio retained possession at the NIU 30-yard line.
 
Six plays later, the Bobcats went copycat to score when Rourke lateralled to offensive lineman Austen Pleasants who ran for the two-yard score.  It was the same play the Huskies used to record a two-point conversion in its win over OU a year ago in DeKalb. After the PAT, Ohio led 21-10.
 
The Huskie special teams put NIU on the scoreboard just two minutes into the game when Corey Lersch blocked a Michael Farkas punt and senior safety Adam Buirge picked it up and scored from three-yards out. 
 
Ohio tied the game with a nine-play, 75-yard drive on an eight-yard rush by Rourke with 8:06 to play in the first.  NIU's offense finally took the field at that point and went 42 yards on nine plays to the Bobcats' 33-yard line.  From there, John Richardson drilled a 51-yard field goal, the longest of his career and the longest by a Huskie kicker since Christian Hagan's 52-yard effort versus Toledo in 2015. The kick, with 5:41 to play in the first quarter, gave the Huskies a 10-7 lead.
 
NIU takes on another MAC East team on the road next Saturday when they travel to Oxford, Ohio to play Miami.  That game kicks off at 1:30 p.m. on ESPN+.  The Huskies return home on October 26 versus Akron to celebrate the 113^th Homecoming.  Tickets for the game are available at NIUHuskies.com.
 
-- NIU --