DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University football team held its first extended scrimmage of the preseason under perfect conditions at Huskie Stadium Saturday afternoon.
 
The offense excelled during the full-field segments of the scrimmage, while the defense held its own during the third down and red zone periods.
 
"I thought it was a good scrimmage," said NIU head coach Thomas Hammock. "You saw some big plays on both sides. We try and make explosives plays because we know those plays determine the outcome of a lot games. I thought on both sides of the ball we made a lot of plays to give ourselves a chance to score points."
 
Hammock had the Huskies start out with two segments of third down situations. The offense converted on four of the first seven third down situations, while the defense held on the final three third down plays, including a Trayshon Foster interception of Ross Bowers. The Huskie quarterback got a little revenge on the defense in red zone situations, going 3-for-5 in two series, including a 10-yard touchdown pass to freshman Michael Love.
 
"You want to work the situations you may not get in a scrimmage situation," Hammock said. "We wanted to put an emphasis on third down and red zone, which are two areas you have to be good in to be good on offense. We have percentages we want to hit on both third down, both offensively and defensively.
 
"Obviously, when you get to the redzone, you want to score touchdowns. That's a point of emphasis, along with a couple other things that we want to make sure we hit when we do these situations."
 
Marcus Childers opened the full field situational periods breaking through the pressure and hitting Cole Tucker on a 57-yard completion, with Tucker running for about 45 yards after the catch. The drive ended with a one-yard Childers touchdown run.
 
After failing to lead the Huskie offense to the endzone in his first full-field series, Bowers connected with wide receiver Fabian McCray on a 20-yard touchdown pass to cap an eight-play drive.
 
The offense busted out one more big play on the day when Childers hit Tre Harbison on a screen pass and the Huskie tailback scampered 73 yards for the touchdown.
 
While Hammock was pleased with what he saw, he is anxious to see how the team responds during tomorrow's practice.
 
"A physical practice today," he said. "Now we have to come back and get ourselves ready. It's going to be a different set up for practice tomorrow so they have to come out with the right mindset, otherwise we'll come back out and bang again. They understand the tempo."
 
NIU returns to the practice field in full pads on Sunday. Tomorrow's practice is open exclusively to 2019 football season ticket members and it starts at 2:30 p.m. Season ticket members can check in at the entrance to the West Stands of Huskie Stadium. Following practice, Hammock will meet fans for a Q&A session. Follow all the stories and links from 2019 NIU Preseason Camp at Camp Central on NIUHuskies.com.
 
Season Tickets for all five 2019 NIU home games are still available, starting at as little as $60 for an East Side (general admission) season ticket. Purchase four tickets for family or a group of friends on either the East or West Side for as little as $55 or $75 per person with the Huskie Family Pack, including the ability to purchase tickets at those rates for additional people. 
 
Three-game Mini-Plans, which include a choice of any two Saturday and either #MACtion (weeknight) game are just $70 each for all three games, while the new Huskie Flex Pass offers the chance to purchase a minimum of five tickets to any game or combination of games for $75, or just $15 each. The new Saturdays Special includes a ticket to all three Saturday home games as well as a voucher good for a hot dog, chips and a soda for each game for just $110.
 
To renew or purchase new season tickets and #JointhePack for 2019, click the links above, which are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Tickets are also available by calling 815-753-PACK (7225), emailing huskiestickets@niu.edu or stopping by the NIU Athletics Ticket Office in the Convocation Center, which is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
 
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