DeKALB – Thanks to a walk-off touchdown from redshirt senior quarterback Rocky Lombardi, NIU football (1-0) outlasted the Boston College Eagles (0-1) for a 27-24 win.
After the Huskies raced out to a 14-0 lead, the Eagles exploded for 14 fourth-quarter points to knot the score at 21-21 and force the game to overtime. Boston College received the ball first in overtime, but were held to a field goal to take a 24-21 lead, leaving the door open for NIU to win with a touchdown.
Lombardi punched the football in from the 1-yard line on NIU’s fourth play of overtime, sealing the victory for the Huskies.
Saturday was Lomabardi’s first game back since September, 2022, due to an injury he suffered last season.
“There was a time where I didn’t know if I’d be able to come back and play ever again,” Lombardi said. “I love this game, it means a lot to me; so to be able to be back out there today and get a win on top of that, it was a lot of emotion.”
Junior running back Antario Brown led the way for the Huskies with 60 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns.
Sophomore quarterback Thomas Castellanos had a huge day for the Eagles, passing for 138 yards, rushing for 67 yards and scoring three touchdowns.
On his only pass attempt of the day, junior running back Justin Lynch connected with Brown for a 7-yard touchdown reception to give the Huskies a 7-0 lead in the second quarter.
“We’re not going to be that predictable,” said NIU head football coach Thomas Hammock. “We have a lot of weapons. We’re going to try to use them the right way and be smart with how we do it.”
The Huskies defense proved to be stout, shutting out the Eagles offense in the first 30 minutes and taking a 7-0 lead into halftime.
“That (shutting out Boston College in the first half) was huge for us as a defense,” junior linebacker Jaden Dolphin said. “The unity has grown so much over the past few years since 2021, and the guys were just willing to go to battle for each other.”
With ten minutes left in the third, Brown once again found the endzone for NIU from 2 yards out to give the Huskies a 14-0 lead.
After a fumble by Lombardi was recovered by Boston College in NIU territory, the Eagles scored on a touchdown pass from Castellanos to redshirt sophomore wide receiver Lewis Bond with just under five minutes remaining in the third quarter to cut the NIU lead to 14-7.
With under two minutes to play in the third quarter, junior cornerback Javaughn Byrd intercepted Castellanos. Byrd’s interception led to a 13-play touchdown drive, ending in a score for junior fullback Brock Lampe to put NIU up 21-7.
“I was trusting my eyes, trusting what I see. My receiver eliminated so I had to get out of there,” Byrd said. “When you’re in the right spot good things happen. I turned around, got my eyes on the ball, picked the ball off and got it done.”
The Huskies struggled after Lampe’s touchdown, allowing Castellanos and Boston College to score 14 unanswered points in the last six minutes of the quarter to tie the score at 21-21 and force overtime.
NIU’s defense didn’t allow Boston College to pick up a first down in overtime, allowing Lombardi and the offense to win the game in overtime with a touchdown.
“I couldn’t be more proud of our team, the coaches, their resiliency, their attention to detail, their discipline and their focus,” Hammock said. “I know we have a good team, it’s just good to see those guys go out there and do it.”
The Huskies’ home opener will be against Southern Illinois University at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Huskie Stadium. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and live stats will be available via SideArmStats.
