Redbirds Drop Opener In DeKalb To The Huskies, 24-10

DEKALB, Ill. – A late scoring outburst by Northern Illinois (1-0) gave the Huskies to a 24-10 victory over the No. 13-ranked Illinois State Redbirds (0-1) at Huskie Stadium Saturday night in DeKalb.

How It Happened:
•    Northern Illinois scored first on a 25-yard field goal by John Richardson to take a 3-0 advantage with 4:19 remaining in the first quarter.
•    Dylan Draka's interception off a tipped pass at the line by Steven Podkulski led to ISU tying up the game 3-3 on a 32-yard field goal by Sam Fenlason with 2:55 left in the second quarter.  
•    NIU took the lead in the third quarter, after quarterback Ross Bowers threw a 22-yard pass to Tyrice Richie to give the Huskies a 10-3 lead over the Redbirds with 2:11 remaining before the end of the third quarter.
•    The Redbirds came right back with a 42-yard touchdown pass from Brady Davis to Taylor Grimes, tying the game back up 10-10 with 14:22 remaining in the game.           
•    Richie would score again for NIU on a 68-yard touchdown reception, which gave the Huskies a 17-10 lead with 14:04 left in the fourth quarter. 
•    NIU would score the final touchdown of the game, when Mickie intercepted a Davis pass and returned it 32 yards for the pick six to give the Huskies the 24-10 victory. 

Game Notes:    
•    Draka's interception was the first of his career and he also set a career-high with seven tackles against the Huskies. 
•    Luther Kirk led the Redbirds defensively with nine tackles for ISU, one short of his career high of 10 set last season against UNI.
•    John Ridgeway (8), Christian Uphoff (6)  and Zeke Vandenburgh (5) also set career bests in tackles and Tuvone Clark tied his personal best with 7 in the contest.
•    Grimes led the team in receiving, as he finished with career highs in receptions (6), yards (109), and touchdowns (1). 
•    JT Bohlken's 67-yard punt was a career long, as he averaged 43.8 yards per attempt against the Huskies with a pair of punts downed inside the 20 yard line.

Up Next:
Illinois State will be at Hancock Stadium next Saturday for the home opener against Morehead State at 6:30 p.m.

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