SAN JOSE, Calif. – An unfamiliar name was one of two NIU football players to take home MVP honors at the Dec. 30 Silicon Valley Football Classic.

Thanks to a key blocked punt and a couple big tackles on kickoffs, sophomore strong safety Dustin Utschig made a name for himself, winning the special teams MVP.

“We called up a lightning cross,” said Utschig, who finished with five tackles. “We’d been working on it the entire week. Dave McDermott and I were on the back side and were doing a simple cross. I took two steps forward, came right off of Dave’s back and the hole was wide open.”

Utschig’s block led to a Chris Nendick field goal, which gave the Huskies their first lead of the game in their 34-21 win over Troy.

NIU senior Lionel Hickenbottom also was named the defensive MVP of the game for the Huskies. Hickenbottom finished the game with four tackles and the only interception of the game.

Troy running back DeWhitt Betterson racked up 150 yards on the ground to take home the offensive MVP award.

Injuries update

Despite a solid first half, highlighted by a 50-yard touchdown run, NIU running back Garrett Wolfe didn’t play in the second half. The sophomore, who was named an All-America honorable mention by collegefootballnews.com, injured his right hip.

The injury was a bad bruise taken when he was hit in the hip with a helmet.

“It’s still sore,” Wolfe said Monday. “Every time I cough or sneeze, it hurts. But I’ll be OK.”

Senior wide receiver Dan Sheldon, also an All-Americanhonorable mention by collegefootballnews.com, was sidelined with a broken collar bone. Sheldon finished the final game of his career with one reception for 17 yards and became one of three MAC players to have over 1,000 punt return yards.

Taking it back

After losing the starting running back position to Wolfe in week four, NIU junior A.J. Harris was thrust back into the No. 1 role after Wolfe’s injury against Troy.

Harris filled in admirably, rushing 23 times for 120 yards, including a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

“I didn’t know where [Wolfe] was in the second half, but I sort of hoped he would’ve stayed out there after I saw No. 24,” Troy coach Larry Blakeney said.

“Garrett beat him out earlier in the year, and he was really in a tough situation,” said Novak of Harris. “He came in here with a great attitude, and when his time came he played great. He really helped us win that football game.”

Troy story

The first nine minutes of the game looked like a dream come true for the Trojans. After scoring on its first two drives, Troy looked in command to win their first bowl appearance.

But the fairy tale start was short-lived, as the NIU offense took over and picked up the school’s second major bowl victory.

“If you know me at all, a loss puts a damper on me and it puts a damper on the team,” Blakeney said. “It’s not the end of the world, though. We played a real good team.”

Troy made eight playoff appearances as a Division I-AA team. It also captured two Division II national championships and an NAIA title in over 90 years of football.

This year was Troy’s fourth season at the Division I-A level.

Attendance up

Attendance at the SVFC rose this year, despite a matchup of two teams halfway across the country.

The attendance at the Dec. 30 game was 21,456, up from the 20,126 who attended last year’s game between Fresno State and UCLA – both California teams.

“Over 3,000 tickets were sold and most were from NIU,” said Greg Jamison, the Chairman of the SVFC. “They not only have good fan support but are part of a good conference.

“The weather hurts [the attendance] because we’ve had a lot of people who bought tickets that didn’t show up.”