DeKALB — On a homecoming day that featured a lot of rain and wind, the Huskies defeated the Kent State Golden Flashes by a score of 24-3.

“We’re extremely pleased to be 1-0 in conference,” Head Coach Rod Carey said. “That is a fantastic win on homecoming, and I thought it was an unbelievable effort by our team.”

NIU was led by three touchdowns from redshirt freshman quarterback Marcus Childers, who came in the game early in place of redshirt sophomore quarterback Daniel Santacaterina.

“I don’t know about the quarterbacks going forward,” Carey said. “I put in [Childers] because it was certainly going to be hard to throw and catch it when the rain was coming down sideways. [Marcus is] a little better of an athlete and runner.”

Childers started off the game with a 28-yard run, which led to a 10-yard throw and catch by Spencer Tears, redshirt sophomore wide receiver, to put the Huskies on the board.

Childers was unavailable for comment on his breakout game.

Redshirt junior linebacker Juwan Johnson closed out the first quarter with an interception to go along with his 12 tackles on the day.

The Golden Flashes gained some momentum when Santacaterina’s pass was picked off by senior cornerback Jerrell Foster, leading to a 18-yard field goal from junior kicker Shane Hynes.

On the next drive, the Huskies turned the ball over on their punt as junior cornerback Darryl Marshall of Kent State recovered the ball and gave possession back to the Golden Flashes.

That play would quickly be forgotten as senior corner Shawun Lurry added his 14th career interception for 45-yards that tied him for third on the NIU all-time list.

Childers would strike again after connecting to Shane Wimann, redshirt senior tight end, with a 25-yard touchdown reception.

“It felt good, I didn’t think I would be in game five with only a few catches so it was good to go out there and make a few [plays],” Wimann said.

Entering the third quarter up 14-3, the NIU special teams got involved after recovering a fumbled punt from the Golden Flashes.

Childers would cash in for his third touchdown of the day, after hooking up with Jordan Huff, redshirt senior running back, for a two-yard score.

Redshirt senior linebacker Bobby Jones IV gave the Huskies their third interception on the day and then senior kicker Christian Hagan increased the lead to 24-3.

Not much noise happened in the fourth quarter from either sides, as the Huskies made one oftheir only mistakes of the day as Childers threw an interception to junior safety Juantez McRae, but it wouldn’t be enough with the final score being 24-3.

NIU will return to action next week as they will face the University at Buffalo Bulls 2:30 p.m. Saturday in Buffalo, New York.