DeKALB | The NIU football team suffered yet another season ending injury this past weekend.

NIU Sports Information announced that starting tight end Jake Nordin will undergo surgery to repair a broken left fibula and will miss the remainder of the season.

The senior was the third leading receiver on the team with 14 catches for 159 yards this season.

Nordin is the third Huskie to be put on injured reserve since the start of the season. Cornerback Alvah Hansbro is out for the season with a torn tendon in his right bicep and backup running back Montell Clanton was lost for the rest of this fall with a torn miniscus in his knee.

Also, defensive back Bradley Pruitt was released from a Muncie area hospital Monday after suffering a bruised lung in Saturday’s game. It is unknown when the sophomore will make it back on the field.

Stonewalled

While Garrett Wolfe has been running wild against opposing defenses, NIU’s own defense has been steadily solidifying against the run.

The first two games of the season, the Huskies gave up 365 yards rushing. But in the last three games, the Huskies have only given up 373 yards.

That improvement has placed NIU third in the MAC in rushing defense — giving up 126.2 yards a game.

Best of the week

Coming off a career day of rushing yards, Garrett Wolfe won yet another MAC west offensive player of the week award.

The award is the third he has won or was nominated for after his performance. The senior won the Walter Camp Award and was nominated for the Cingular All-America Player of the Week yesterday.

Middle Linebacker Tim McCarthy also won MAC West defensive player of the week. The sophomore had 14 tackles and leads the team with 46 tackles.

Getting offensive

The Huskies are dominating offensive stats in the MAC.

NIU leads the MAC in scoring average at 30.8 and total offense at 467 yards per game.

The Huskies’ standings extend beyond the conference, as NIU is fourth in the nation in rushing offensive and first in the MAC at 273.6.

Lacy Searcy is a Sports Reporter for the Northern Star.