11-21-2004, 08:21 PM
Huskies certainly not crying Wolfe in victory over Eastern Michigan
By Bobby Narang - Chronicle Sports Staff
Updated Sunday, November 21, 2004 12:50 AM CST
<a href='http://www.daily-chronicle.com/articles/2004/11/21/sports/sports01.txt' target='_blank'>http://www.daily-chronicle.com/articles/20...ts/sports01.txt</a>
YPSILANTI, Mich. - Don't etch a season finish on the tombstone just yet.
The faint heartbeat of Northern Illinois University's football team's bowl chances just got an electric shock.
The Huskies were left for dead by some following their 31-17 loss to the University of Toledo. The debacle left the Huskies pondering their inability to win a pivotal Mid-American Conference game and advance to the title game.
However, the grim reaper didn't come calling on Saturday.
Northern Illinois rushed for a season-high 408 yards and rode the momentum of a Hail Mary touchdown pass to a 34-16 victory over Eastern Michigan University on Saturday afternoon at Rynearson Stadium.
The 2004 obituary must at least wait until the bowl bids are issued, or as NIU now hopes, after the bowl season itself is over.
The Huskies, 8-3 and guaranteed to be co-champions of the MAC West Division for the third time in the last four years, can claim a berth to the MAC Championship game if Bowling Green State University defeats Toledo on Tuesday.
Northern Illinois' long lay-off and the improvement of the Eagles did, however, lead to some tenuous moments for NIU coach Joe Novak.
"It was great to get that win," said Novak. "I was pretty nervous. I was scared and nervous. We got it done. It wasn't pretty. We've done our part to this point and now we have to put all of our faith in Bowling Green."
The return of Garrett Wolfe jump-started the Northern Illinois offense. The red-shirt sophomore missed the Toledo game because of an off-the-field eye injury. Saturday, he took out his frustration on the EMU defense.
Wolfe netted a single-game school-record 325 rushing yards on 43 carries. The 325 yards broke LeShon Johnson's 322-yard effort against Southern Illinois University in 1993. Although Wolfe didn't start the game, he burst free for touchdown runs of 11 and 70 yards to end the regular season with 20 touchdowns and 1,572 yards on 241 carries. The 20 touchdowns tie Michael Turner's school record for touchdowns in a single season while the 1,572 yards rate as the sixth-best single-season yardage tally in NIU history.
"It's been a roller-coaster ride, but I think my life has been a roller-coaster ride," Wolfe said. "I'm happy to be back and part of this football team and help us win. I want to thank everybody from Northern Illinois University and my teammates for having faith in my character. That's more important than anything involving football."
Tailback A.J. Harris rushed for 59 yards to help the Huskies pile up 566 yards of total offense.
However, the play of the Huskie defense also accounted for the large margin of victory. The NIU defense finished with six turnovers, as five players - Rob Lee, Lionel Hickenbottom, Jason Hawkins, Javan Lee and Brad Benson - each had one interception. In addition, Adam Schroeder also had a fumble recovery.
Rob Lee set the tone by picking off the first pass of the game by EMU quarterback Matt Bohnet, who was 21-of-46 passing for 232 yards despite the five pickoffs.
"Rob Lee got that first interception and from that point we got motivation and played all out," Hickenbottom said. "I think we really did step up and make plays as a defense."
The Eagles (4-7, 4-4) were able to move the ball against NIU's defense. They finished with 423 yards of total offense, but had three drives end deep in Huskie territory because of turnovers. The Huskie offense capitalized by scoring 17 points off turnovers. Northern Illinois entered the game with just six fumble recoveries and seven interceptions in 10 games.
"We haven't done a good job of getting turnovers," Novak said. "We played the ball well today."
The Eagles, led by first-year coach Jeff Genyk, were a major thorn in NIU's bowl hopes in the first half. Eastern Michigan took a 7-3 lead following a 10-play drive that ended with Trumaine Riley's 18-yard touchdown catch. Two straight field goals by Andrew Wellock tied the game at 13-13 with 2:40 left until halftime.
However, the momentum of the game shifted dramatically following a Hail Mary pass from NIU quarterback Josh Haldi.
On fourth down at EMU's 41-yard line with three seconds left until halftime, Haldi heaved a Hail Mary pass into the end zone. Eastern Michigan strong safety Rontrell Woodruff tipped the ball and the deflection landed in the arms of Shatone Powers for a touchdown. Powers also caught a tipped pass for a touchdown against Toledo.
"I thought it brought an enormous amount of energy into the game," said right guard Matt McGhghy. "We really fed off that going into halftime. It really picked us up because we were down."
Wolfe ripped off a run of 10 yards on the first play from scrimmage after halftime. He then sprung free for a 70-yard touchdown on the next play to give the Huskies a 27-13 cushion.
"That play at the end of the half was huge," Novak said. "We talked about building on that and we did."
The Eagles never recovered from the 14-point, 50-second explosion by the Huskies. Brad Cieslak's three-yard touchdown reception provided some extra cushion.
The Huskies notched their third straight eight-win season for the first time in the school's 103-year history. The Huskies managed to set a single-season total yardage record (4,906). They broke the mark established in 2000 of 4,706 yards. NIU also registered the second-best single-season point total (387 points).
Nevertheless, Northern Illinois plays the waiting game for its bowl chances. The Silicon Valley Football Classic might be the only option if the Rockets defeat the Falcons.
"I do think we're bowl-worthy," Novak said. "We'll go anywhere. We'll go to Saginaw, Michigan, or anywhere where there is a bowl game, we'll go. Bowling Green is an attractive team if they beat Toledo. I don't know how this thing will play out. We've done the best we can do up to this point."
By Bobby Narang - Chronicle Sports Staff
Updated Sunday, November 21, 2004 12:50 AM CST
<a href='http://www.daily-chronicle.com/articles/2004/11/21/sports/sports01.txt' target='_blank'>http://www.daily-chronicle.com/articles/20...ts/sports01.txt</a>
YPSILANTI, Mich. - Don't etch a season finish on the tombstone just yet.
The faint heartbeat of Northern Illinois University's football team's bowl chances just got an electric shock.
The Huskies were left for dead by some following their 31-17 loss to the University of Toledo. The debacle left the Huskies pondering their inability to win a pivotal Mid-American Conference game and advance to the title game.
However, the grim reaper didn't come calling on Saturday.
Northern Illinois rushed for a season-high 408 yards and rode the momentum of a Hail Mary touchdown pass to a 34-16 victory over Eastern Michigan University on Saturday afternoon at Rynearson Stadium.
The 2004 obituary must at least wait until the bowl bids are issued, or as NIU now hopes, after the bowl season itself is over.
The Huskies, 8-3 and guaranteed to be co-champions of the MAC West Division for the third time in the last four years, can claim a berth to the MAC Championship game if Bowling Green State University defeats Toledo on Tuesday.
Northern Illinois' long lay-off and the improvement of the Eagles did, however, lead to some tenuous moments for NIU coach Joe Novak.
"It was great to get that win," said Novak. "I was pretty nervous. I was scared and nervous. We got it done. It wasn't pretty. We've done our part to this point and now we have to put all of our faith in Bowling Green."
The return of Garrett Wolfe jump-started the Northern Illinois offense. The red-shirt sophomore missed the Toledo game because of an off-the-field eye injury. Saturday, he took out his frustration on the EMU defense.
Wolfe netted a single-game school-record 325 rushing yards on 43 carries. The 325 yards broke LeShon Johnson's 322-yard effort against Southern Illinois University in 1993. Although Wolfe didn't start the game, he burst free for touchdown runs of 11 and 70 yards to end the regular season with 20 touchdowns and 1,572 yards on 241 carries. The 20 touchdowns tie Michael Turner's school record for touchdowns in a single season while the 1,572 yards rate as the sixth-best single-season yardage tally in NIU history.
"It's been a roller-coaster ride, but I think my life has been a roller-coaster ride," Wolfe said. "I'm happy to be back and part of this football team and help us win. I want to thank everybody from Northern Illinois University and my teammates for having faith in my character. That's more important than anything involving football."
Tailback A.J. Harris rushed for 59 yards to help the Huskies pile up 566 yards of total offense.
However, the play of the Huskie defense also accounted for the large margin of victory. The NIU defense finished with six turnovers, as five players - Rob Lee, Lionel Hickenbottom, Jason Hawkins, Javan Lee and Brad Benson - each had one interception. In addition, Adam Schroeder also had a fumble recovery.
Rob Lee set the tone by picking off the first pass of the game by EMU quarterback Matt Bohnet, who was 21-of-46 passing for 232 yards despite the five pickoffs.
"Rob Lee got that first interception and from that point we got motivation and played all out," Hickenbottom said. "I think we really did step up and make plays as a defense."
The Eagles (4-7, 4-4) were able to move the ball against NIU's defense. They finished with 423 yards of total offense, but had three drives end deep in Huskie territory because of turnovers. The Huskie offense capitalized by scoring 17 points off turnovers. Northern Illinois entered the game with just six fumble recoveries and seven interceptions in 10 games.
"We haven't done a good job of getting turnovers," Novak said. "We played the ball well today."
The Eagles, led by first-year coach Jeff Genyk, were a major thorn in NIU's bowl hopes in the first half. Eastern Michigan took a 7-3 lead following a 10-play drive that ended with Trumaine Riley's 18-yard touchdown catch. Two straight field goals by Andrew Wellock tied the game at 13-13 with 2:40 left until halftime.
However, the momentum of the game shifted dramatically following a Hail Mary pass from NIU quarterback Josh Haldi.
On fourth down at EMU's 41-yard line with three seconds left until halftime, Haldi heaved a Hail Mary pass into the end zone. Eastern Michigan strong safety Rontrell Woodruff tipped the ball and the deflection landed in the arms of Shatone Powers for a touchdown. Powers also caught a tipped pass for a touchdown against Toledo.
"I thought it brought an enormous amount of energy into the game," said right guard Matt McGhghy. "We really fed off that going into halftime. It really picked us up because we were down."
Wolfe ripped off a run of 10 yards on the first play from scrimmage after halftime. He then sprung free for a 70-yard touchdown on the next play to give the Huskies a 27-13 cushion.
"That play at the end of the half was huge," Novak said. "We talked about building on that and we did."
The Eagles never recovered from the 14-point, 50-second explosion by the Huskies. Brad Cieslak's three-yard touchdown reception provided some extra cushion.
The Huskies notched their third straight eight-win season for the first time in the school's 103-year history. The Huskies managed to set a single-season total yardage record (4,906). They broke the mark established in 2000 of 4,706 yards. NIU also registered the second-best single-season point total (387 points).
Nevertheless, Northern Illinois plays the waiting game for its bowl chances. The Silicon Valley Football Classic might be the only option if the Rockets defeat the Falcons.
"I do think we're bowl-worthy," Novak said. "We'll go anywhere. We'll go to Saginaw, Michigan, or anywhere where there is a bowl game, we'll go. Bowling Green is an attractive team if they beat Toledo. I don't know how this thing will play out. We've done the best we can do up to this point."