As the NIU seniors played out the final roles of their collegiate careers Saturday, the Huskies sent out a message to the rest of the Midwest.

Marshall Taylor and the rest of a senior class that led the Huskies to a 7-4 finish (NIU’s second-best mark since the school went Division I-A in 1969) will be sorely missed, but the future of the program will be left in good hands.

With a nucleus of young talent on both offense and defense, the Huskies will have plenty of reason for optimism in 1989. And as long as Adam Dach is at fullback, the Huskies will be optimistic about 1990 and 1991 as well.

While one person cannot make up an entire offense, at times this season Dach was all the offense the Huskies needed. The freshman fullback’s performance in the second half of Saturday’s season finale was a perfect example.

The Huskies used several players and several big plays, like the 38-yard pass play from Taylor to Mark Clancy, in disposing of the Mid-American champion Broncos. But when the Huskies needed some tough yards against gusting 20-mile-per-hour winds, it was Dach who did most of the work.

In 18 second-half rushing attempts, Dach racked up 85 yards. On the day, Dach gained 107 yards in 25 tries. In one third quarter series, Dach carried the ball six times in seven plays.

“I went into the locker room and I told myself I had played a terrible first half,” Dach said. “I basically told myself that I better do my job in the second half. I didn’t want to screw up Senior Day for the seniors.”

In addition to playing a key role in Saturday’s win, Dach put an exclamation point on the second-best season ever by an NIU freshman running back. Dach finished the 1988 campaign with 906 yards rushing (Allen Ross ran for 1,043 yards as a freshman in 1977) in 192 attempts (4.7 yards-per-carry average). In fact, only six times in NIU history have runners gained more yardage on the ground.

“I’m basically a goal-oriented person, and this year I’ve been fortunate enough to have accomplished most of the goals that I had set for myself,” said Dach, who credited some of his success to the increased work load he took on when No. 2 fullback Chris Montgomery was injured early in the season.

“The first thing that I remember wanting to do when I got here was get into a starting position. Then, after I won a spot, I set a goal of 800 yards for the season. And I’ve always had goals to gain 100 yards in every game.”

If Dach’s future at NIU is anything like his past, he might continue to make accomplishing personal goals look easy. Dach, who chose NIU over a scholarship from Northwestern, hopes his success can open the doors to college football for players from small high schools. Despite gaining 2,319 yards his senior year—and rushing for 495 yards in one game—at nearby Byron High School, Dach wasn’t heavily recruited by major colleges.

After watching Dach for just one season at NIU, one gets the feeling that some Top 20 team might have missed the boat.

“I’m thankful that Coach Pettibone saw that I had the skills to play college ball,” Dach said. “I’m just upset for other small-school players that never got the chance.”