DeKALB, Ill. – A 15-play, 80-yard drive, capped by a Rocky Lombardi (Clive, Iowa/Valley/Michigan State) one-yard touchdown run, gave the NIU Huskies a 20-13 lead with just over a minute to go and Devonte O'Malley (Midlothian, Ill./Bremen) sealed the victory with an interception as NIU outlasted Eastern Michigan for its third consecutive win on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 21) at Huskie Stadium.
 
NIU converted three third downs and one fourth down on its game-winning drive as the Huskies took over with 7:58 to play and Lombardi finished off the drive with 1:11 on the clock. The Huskie signal caller went 5-of-5 on the drive for 51 yards, including a 26-yard connection to Grayson Barnes (Rocklin, Calif./Rocklin/American River CC) on a third-and-14 to keep the drive alive.
 
Two plays later, Gavin Williams (Altoona, Iowa/Dowling Catholic/Iowa) went 34 yards down the sideline to the Eastern Michigan two-yard line. After the Huskies forced the Eagles to use all of their timeouts, Lombardi scored to put the Huskies in front, 20-13.
 
"We weren't going to give them the ball back until we scored," Hammock said of the final touchdown drive. "They went out and made plays. Grayson Barnes on third down had a tremendous catch. Gavin Williams with a great run and then Rocky [Lombardi] at the end managing the game to take a knee, be smart with the ball and make them use their timeouts so they would have to go score a touchdown with no timeouts."
 
Taking over with just over a minute to play, Eastern Michigan moved just across midfield to the NIU 48 before pressure from James Ester (Detroit, Mich./Cass Tech) forced the ball up in the air out of the hand of Eastern Michigan quarterback Austin Smith and O'Malley made the interception to preserve the victory for the Huskies.
 
"I couldn't be prouder of our players and coaching staff," said NIU head coach Thomas Hammock.  "Our [players] were resilient. The coaches did a fantastic job making game plan adjustments. The wind was a factor. I thought if we won special teams we would win the game and our special teams guys did a phenomenal job."
 
The win was the Huskies third straight as the moved to 4-4 on the season to return to .500 and improved to 3-1 in the MAC. Eastern Michigan fell to 4-4, 2-2 MAC.
 
Facing a north to south wind with gusts up to 35 miles per hour, both offenses were held under 300 yards.  NIU got 289 yards while EMU picked up 257. The Huskie defense forced two turnovers in the fourth quarter and allowed the Eagles just two first downs in the period, paving the way for NIU's comeback victory. Cyrus McGarrell intercepted a pass for the second consecutive game, while Jaden Dolphin's eight tackles led NIU.
 
The Huskie offense was led by Williams, who rushed for 80 yards on just seven carries in the game. Trayvon Rudolph (Crete, Ill./Crete Monee HS) led the team in receiving yards with 55 on seven receptions while Barnes caught three passes for 44 yards. Lombardi completed 21 of 33 passes for 173 yards and a rushing touchdown. The Huskie offense has now gone three consecutive games without committing a turnover.
 
NIU received the opening kickoff and struck first as a nine play 75-yard drive was capped off by a two-yard touchdown by Antario Brown (Savannah, Ga. / Beach).
 
EMU responded quickly and tied the game at seven after Samson Evans ran in from two yards out to cap a nine-play, 65-yard drive. The Eagles took a 10-7 lead with 8:21 left in the first half on a 34-yard field goal by Jesus Gomez.
 
NIU came back to score on a 35-yard field goal by Woodill with 14 seconds to play in the half following a 10-play, 40-yard drive.
 
The Eagles regained the lead on the opening possession of the third quarter, driving 50 yards in 12 plays to set up a 37-yard kick by Gomez. With 8:28 to play in the third, EMU led 13-10.
 
After a trade of punts, NIU came back once again. Beginning with 3:56 to play in the third, the Huskies drove 44 yards in nine plays and 4:03. Lombardi completed passes of 12 yards to Trayvon Rudolph and 14 yards to freshman Dan Pardridge to start the drive. Facing third-and-18 from the EMU 48 after a delay of game penalty, Lombardi hit Davis Patterson for 20 yards for a first down. Four plays later, Woodill tied the game at 13 with a 39-yard field goal.
 
In the fourth quarter, two stops by the Huskie defense set the team up with the ball and 7:58 to play.
On third and five from the 25, Lombardi found Rudolph for six yards to move the chains. A sack forced NIU into a third and 14, Lombardi found Jalen Johnson (Aurora, Ill./Metea Valley HS) for 13 yards. On fourth and one freshman running back Christian Nash (Omaha, Neb, / Millard South) pushed ahead for two yards as the clock ticked below three minutes.
 
NIU was backed up yet again by a holding call to set up another third and 14. Lombardi found Barnes on the right side of the field for 26 yards to move the ball to the EMU 36. After an incomplete pass on first down, Williams set the team up at the Eagles two-yard line with a 34-yard run as he broke to the outside of the field.
 
Lombardi then took two knees, forcing the Eagles to use their last two timeouts, and then strolled into the endzone on third and goal from the one-yard line with just over a minute remaining.
 
The ensuing possession was then put to an end by the Huskie defense. On second down, Neveah Sanders forced EMU quarterback Austin Smith to fumble and two plays later, Smith was hit as he threw and O'Malley grabbed the interception, and the Huskie win.
 
NIU will have 10 days before they travel on the road to take on Central Michigan on Halloween night as #MACtion shifts to weeknights. The Huskies' next home game is Tuesday, November 7 versus Ball State.  
 
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