DeKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University Huskies scored the final 16 points of the game while shutting out Ohio in the second half to earn a 23-13 Homecoming win over the Bobcats Saturday at Huskie Stadium. NIU snapped Ohio's five-game winning streak to improve to 3-4 overall, 2-1 in the Mid-American Conference, while Ohio fell to 5-2, 2-1 MAC.
 
"We knew it would take everything we had to give ourselves a chance," head coach Thomas Hammock said. "Ohio's a great football team with a great defense and a great quarterback. The way our players have practiced and worked as a team; I couldn't be prouder."
 
NIU scored two touchdowns on plays of 50-plus yards. The first opened the game's scoring at 8:18 of the first quarter when Gavin Williams (Altoona, Iowa / Dowling Catholic) took the handoff, ran through a hole to the left and broke away from the Bobcat defense, going 53 yards to the endzone. The touchdown came on Williams' longest run of the season.
 
"I saw the hole and kept running until I crossed the line," Williams said. "The coaches have been talking to us about taking the hesitation out of our play and I think that was a great example of what they were talking about."
 
Trailing 13-7 after Ohio kicker Gianni Spetic made a 37-yard field goal seven seconds before halftime, NIU took the lead at 12:54 of the third quarter when quarterback Rocky Lombardi (Clive, Iowa / Valley) found wide receiver Grayson Barnes (Rocklin, Calif. / Rocklin) wide open on the left side. The entire Ohio defense bought the fake on the play action and Barnes went untouched down the field and into the endzone. That touchdown tied the game and Kanon Woodill's (Plainfield, Ill. Plainfield North) extra point put the Huskies ahead 14-13.
 
NIU (3-4, 2-1 MAC) picked off Ohio's Kurtis Rourke three times in the fourth quarter while Woodill hit three field goals in the final 17:12 of the game to provide the eventual final 10-point margin. Cyrus McGarrell (Windsor, Ontario, Canada / Clearwater Academy International) made his first career interception and his 35-yard return set up the second of three Woodill field goals, this one from 32 yards out. Junior Nate Valcarcel (Greenfield, Wis. / Whitnall) and JaVaughn Byrd (Milwaukee, Wis. / Rufus King) followed with interceptions on the Bobcats' next two possessions. Valcarcel's interception was his team-leading third of the season. Rourke had only been picked off twice in the Bobcats' first six games.
 
"The defense was phenomenal," Hammock said. "The three picks in the fourth quarter changed the game. For Cyrus [McGarrell] to get that pick and then Nate Valcarcel to give us field position and then [JaVaughn] Byrd at the end. What tremendous plays those guys made. Credit to the staff for making great adjustments [at halftime] and to our players for being able to handle the adjustments."
   
NIU didn't turn the ball over on the day, committed just one penalty and held the Bobcats to 254 yards of total offense.
 
"Today happened the way we needed it to happen for us to have a chance to win," Hammock said. "Ohio was in the MAC championship a year ago and has their whole team back, we knew it would be a challenge. We knew before the game we had to have good ball security and make smart decisions, which we did."
The Huskies outgained the Bobcats 191-66 in the second half yardage and finished with 302 as Lombardi completed 15-of-23 passes for 172 yards and one touchdown. Woodill made field goals of 31, 37 and 32 yards for the first three field goal game of his career. His third field goal, at 8:09 of the fourth quarter, put NIU ahead 23-13.
 
After NIU took a 7-0 lead on Williams' run, the Bobcats (5-2, 2-1 MAC) scored the next 13 points to take a six-point lead into halftime. Spetic made a 27-yard field goal to finish a 10-play, 51-yard drive and Rourke ran in from one yard out for Ohio's lone touchdown. His touchdown finished a 13-play, 60-yard drive that consumed 7:07 and came with 10:22 to play in the half.  With seven seconds left in the first half Spetic extended the Bobcat's lead at the break to 13-7.
 
NIU returns to Huskie Stadium next Saturday, October 21, with kick off at 2:30 p.m. against Eastern Michigan. Tickets are on sale now at NIUHuskies.com/myhuskies or by calling 815-753-PACK (7225) Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. (CT). 
 
NIU Postgame Notes
***Gavin Williams' 53-yard touchdown run in the first quarter was the longest of his Huskie career and marked the third straight game NIU has had a run of 50 yards or longer.
***Wide receiver Grayson Barnes went 58 yards for the longest catch of his NIU career, and his second touchdown as a Huskie.
***After catching four passes for 16 yards in the first six games of the season, Antario Brown caught a career high five passes for 31 yards Saturday.
***Cyrus McGarrell recorded the first interception of his career for NIU for NIU's first interception of the game. His 35-yard return was the longest of the season for the Huskies.
***Kanon Woodill's three field goals were a career high as the sophomore connected from 31, 37 and 32 yards in the second half.
***Nate Valcarcel's interception was his third of the season (and of his career), while his 33-yard return was his longest.  Valcarcel has now intercepted a pass (3) or recovered a fumble (1) in four consecutive games.
***The Huskies' three interceptions Saturday gave them seven for the season.
***NIU has not had a three-interception game in 70 games, since October 21, 2017 when the Huskies picked off three passes versus Bowling Green.   
 
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