DEKALB, Ill. – Kent State came from behind with two touchdowns in the fourth quarter as the Golden Flashes topped the Northern Illinois University Huskies, 35-31, on Friday afternoon (Nov. 28) at Huskie Stadium. Gavin Garcia rushed for 151 yards on 24 carries for the visitors, who overcame an 11-point halftime deficit. 

Chavon Wright (Opa Locka, Fla./Cedar Grove) had a game-high 185 yards on 30 carries with two touchdowns for the Huskies, Jalen Macon (Nashville, Tenn./Hillsboro) added 65 yards on 17 carries and also scored a pair of touchdowns. 

"Tough way to end the season for our seniors, guys that put a lot into this program, we weren't able to get it done for those guys," said NIU head coach Thomas Hammock. "Credit to Kent (State), they made the plays necessary in-game to win the game, we have a lot of work to do to make sure that we continue to improve."

Kent State scored first as the Golden Flashes converted a Huskie turnover into a 34-yard field goal. NIU fumbled on its own 40-yard line, giving the visitors a short field. The Golden Flashes moved to the NIU 17 before settling for a field goal from Will Hryszko to take a 3-0 lead midway through the opening quarter. 

NIU responded with a 12-play, 71-yard drive, capped by a Macon 2-yard touchdown run as the Huskies took a 7-3 lead with a little over two minutes to play in the first quarter. Wright had a carry of 22 yards on the drive that set up the Huskies in the red zone and Macon scored four plays later. Wright had six carries for 50 yards on the drive. 

The Golden Flashes went back in front with a touchdown on the first drive of the second quarter. Dru DeShields connected with Terik Mulder for a score from five yards out to finish off a 9-play, 81-yard drive, giving Kent State a 10-7 lead with 12:17 to play in the second quarter. 

DeShields was 11-of-22 passing for 207 yards and a pair of touchdowns. 

A Kent State turnover helped NIU reclaim the lead midway through the second quarter. Quinn Urwiler's (Mooseheart, Ill./Batavia) first career interception gave the Huskies the ball on the Golden Flashes 43-yard line and, two plays later, Wright bounced a run to the right and powered through a pair of tackles to go 38 yards for a score, giving the Huskies a 14-10 lead.

The visitors needed just six plays to go 75 yards to reclaim the lead. Kent State took a 17-14 advantage with 4:15 to play in the half as DeShields threw his second touchdown pass of the afternoon, connecting with DaShawn Martin from 17 yards out. 

Martin had three catches for a game-high 91 yards. 

NIU swung the lead back in its favor with a touchdown in the final minute of the half as Macon capped a 10-play, 75-yard drive with a score, giving the Huskies a 21-17 advantage at the intermission. All 10 plays on the drive were rushes, including a third-and-6 with an empty backfield where Macon picked up 10 on a quarterback draw. Telly Johnson Jr. (Augusta, Ga./Hephzibah) had carries of 11 and 17 on the drive before Macon rushed for 13, one play before the touchdown. 

Johnson finished the game with 36 yards on eight carries. 

On its first drive of the second half, Hryszko converted a 28-yard field goal for Kent State to bring the Golden Flashes within one, 21-20. The visitors marched down to the NIU 7-yard line before a sack by Reggie Jean (Ocoee, Fla./Foundation Academy) stopped the drive and forced Kent State into the field goal with 6:20 remaining in the third quarter. 

NIU pushed its lead back to four as Andrew Glass (Wheeling, W. Va./Wheeling) made a 33-yard field goal on the second play of the fourth quarter, putting the Huskies in front, 24-20. 

The first two-score lead of the game came just a minute later as NIU converted another Kent State turnover into points. Urwiler forced a fumble near midfield and Taylor Powell (Belleville, Ill./East St. Louis) returned it down the sideline to the Kent State 1-yard line. On the next play, Wright took a direct snap into the end zone, giving the Huskies a 31-20 lead. 

Urwiler finished with a game-high 12 tackles, including five solos, along with an interception and a forced fumble. 

Less than four minutes later, Kent State was back within four as the Golden Flashes went 67 yards in seven plays, culminating in a 31-yard touchdown run from Wolford. Kent State was successful on a two-point conversion as they cut the NIU advantage to just three, 31-28. 

After forcing a Huskie punt, Kent State went in front, 35-31, with 4:11 remaining. Garcia rushed for a 26-yard score, capping off a 6-play, 80-yard drive, for the Golden Flashes. 

The Huskies then marched inside the Kent State 30, but faced a fourth-and-10 from the Golden Flashes 27 with a little over 30 seconds to play. The NIU fourth down pass fell incomplete as Kent State picked up a road win to close the season. 

Kent State finishes the season with a 5-7 overall record, 4-4 in league play, while NIU wraps up 2025 at 3-9, 2-6 in its final season in the Mid-American Conference as Huskie Football will make the move to the Mountain West Conference in 2026.