At the completion of the annual spring football game, NIU football coach Joe Novak said he didn’t care about the scoreboard. All he cared about was coming out of the spring with his team’s health intact.

More than 1,800 students and alumni were on hand to watch as the white offense defeated the cardinal-red defense 6-0 in Saturday’s scrimmage at Huskie Stadium.

After last year’s offensive showcase that produced 34 points, the defense dominated much of the game and limited the offense to two Chris Nendick field goals. Sophomore defensive end Larry English used his speed to accumulate three sacks and the secondary picked off three passes.

“We’re really starting to gell,” said senior linebacker Keenan Blalark, who registered six tackles. “We’re just really starting to understand the whole philosophy of the defense and once that starts going, we’re just flying to the ball and having fun.”

The starting quarterback battle between senior Phil Horvath and sophomore Dan Nicholson never materialized as Horvath only played the first series of the game thanks to a sprained ankle.

Nicholson finished with 104 yards and two interceptions on 18-of-30 passing while splitting the snaps with third-string walk-on Ryan Morris. Morris completed 13-of-23 for 126 yards and threw one interception.

“We didn’t get a good continuity in our passing game with our quarterbacks and receivers,” Novak said. “That’s probably the one thing this spring that we didn’t come out with as good a feel as I wish we had.”

With starting running back Garrett Wolfe still rehabbing his shoulder from off-season surgery, the Huskies’ young crop of running backs made themselves known to the crowd.

Starter Montell Clanton rushed for 50 yards on nine carries while leading all receivers with seven catches for 43 yards. Third-year back Cas Prime also saw substantial action with 15 carries for 73 yards.

Several starters saw limited action or missed the game entirely because of injuries. Besides Wolfe, No. 1 wide receiver Britt Davis sat out with a knee injury. Tight end Jake Nordin’s hip kept him out of action and free safety Dustin Utschig was also limited to calling signals from the sidelines.