In the 10 days leading up to NIU football’s midweek MACtion matchup, a common message was ‘let’s be us.”
On Wednesday night in Kalamazoo, Michigan, the Huskies made it known who they were: a team that puts up 42 points on offense, registers three takeaways on defense and scores a kickoff return touchdown in a decisive 42-28 victory over the Mid-American Conference frontrunner Western Michigan University.
“We talked about ‘let’s be us,’ and that was us tonight,” Hammock said. “Obviously, there’s a lot of things that we can do better and we will continue to get better as we go – but what a great launching pad for the month of November.”
Brown goes down, Telly goes to town
The Huskies were without their top rusher for most of the night after senior starting running back Antario Brown suffered a leg injury in the first quarter. On his fourth carry of the game, Brown broke off a 49-yard run before having his right leg rolled up during a tackle by Broncos junior cornerback Aaron Wofford. Brown had to be helped off the field by medical staff after the play and was later seen on the sideline standing on crutches.
After the game, Hammock said he didn’t have an update on Brown’s status, but would have more information as the week goes along.
With Brown unavailable, NIU relied heavily on freshman running back Telly Johnson Jr. and redshirt senior running back Gavin Williams, who combined for 183 yards and three touchdowns. Johnson led the way with the best performance of his young career, carrying the ball 23 times for 141 yards and two touchdowns – all career-high marks.
“It feels good,” Johnson said. “My coaches have been telling me to trust the process all year, and it finally came. You’ve just to take advantage of the opportunities.”
Johnson finished the game having outperformed the Mid-American Conference’s leading rusher in Western Michigan redshirt junior running back Jaden Nixon, who led the Broncos with 95 yards and two touchdowns.
Hampton delivers strong showing
In his first game as NIU’s uninterrupted starter, redshirt junior quarterback Ethan Hampton completed 13-of-16 passes for 156 yards and two touchdowns. His 81.3 completion percentage was his highest since the season opener against Western Illinois University.
Hammock had high praise for Hampton’s performance, especially his audibles and his execution in end-of-half situations.
“He played great situational football, and that’s what we need out of the quarterback position: a guy that’s going to play great in situations and distribute the ball to our playmakers,” Hammock said.”
Tightly battled first half
The defense started off strong with a sack by senior defensive tackle Devonte O’Malley on Western Michigan redshirt senior quarterback Hayden Wolff on the Broncos’ first play from scrimmage. The possession ended with a quick three-and-out.
On the following drive, Nixon gashed the Huskie defense with a 66-yard touchdown run to put WMU on the board. NIU’s responding drive ended with Brown’s injury and a lost fumble inside the Broncos’ 5-yard line on the same play.
Western Michigan eventually reached the NIU 42-yard line, where the Broncos attempted a fake punt as redshirt freshman punter Ryan Millmore attempted a pass to junior wide receiver Kaevion Mack. NIU redshirt freshman safety Santana Banner hawked the ball to record his first career interception and returned it to the WMU 46,
“We had a punt safe call, so I just ran my key, and it led into me making that play,” Banner said.
The Huskies capitalized on the takeaway with Johnson’s first touchdown carry – a 6-yard run – to tie the game at 7 early in the second quarter. Hampton threw his first touchdown on NIU’s next possession, connecting with redshirt senior tight end Tristen Tewes for the 7-yard passing score. Western Michigan replied with a nine-play, 75-yard scoring drive finished off by Nixon’s second rushing score.
With 1:54 left to play in the first half, the Huskies executed the two-minute drill to near-perfection, finding the end zone with 9 seconds to go. Hampton completed four passes for 34 yards to redshirt senior wide receiver Trayvon Rudolph on the drive to help set up Williams’ 5-yard score. Williams caught a screen pass from Hampton and made the defender miss to score his first career receiving touchdown and give NIU a 21-14 halftime lead.
Running away with the lead
The Broncos received the second half kickoff and made it near NIU’s goal line in three plays after a defensive pass interference call against senior linebacker Jaden Dolphin. Western Michigan brought the game back to even on the fifth play of the drive with a 1-yard keeper by redshirt freshman quarterback Broc Lowry.
That tie lasted just 13 seconds as redshirt sophomore wide receiver Cam Thompson housed the ensuing kickoff with a 91-yard return. Thompson became the first Huskie to score a kickoff return touchdown since Rudolph achieved the feat against Bowling Green State University in 2021.
“I just stuck to what the game plan was,” Thompson said. “Everybody did their job and made the right block. I just cut off one person.”
The Huskies then intercepted Wolff on back-to-back drives – the first by Dolphin and the second by senior safety Nate Valcarcel. Those picks set up rushing touchdowns of 2 yards by Williams and 26 yards by Johnson, respectively.
Western Michigan threw its first and only touchdown of the night early in the fourth quarter. On fourth-and-2 at the NIU 10, Wolff found redshirt junior tight end Mareyohn Hrabowski in the end zone to cut NIU’s lead to 42-28.
Senior kicker Kanon Woodill attempted a 43-yard field goal on the next possession, but missed wide right. NIU stopped the Broncos’ next drive and kneeled three times to secure their third-straight victory against Western Michigan.
With the victory, the Huskies are one win away from earning bowl game eligibility. And with three games left in the regular season, Hammock said NIU’s best is yet to come.
“Our best football is ahead of us,” Hammock said. “We’re looking forward to playing our best football over the last month of the season.”
