Marcus Perez became an unlikely star in NIU’s 23-22 home-opening sellout win over Southern Illinois University Saturday at Huskie Stadium.

After a toss from quarterback Phil Horvath, the NIU freshman receiver threw a 61-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Dan Sheldon, giving the Huskies a 20-6 lead.

“I know I can throw,” said Perez, who was a pitcher in high school. “I always wanted to be a quarterback – I just never got around to it.”

Perez, who was second only to Sheldon in receiving yards with 61, was moved into a starting role after wide receivers Sam Hurd and Shatone Powers were suspended.

Hurd and Powers did not attend make-up sessions for their study sessions and have until Tuesday morning to make it up or they won’t be with the team Saturday at Iowa State, NIU coach Joe Novak said.

Running back A.J. Harris led the Huskies in out-rushing SIU with a career-high 139 yards on 24 carries toward NIU’s total 191 rushing yards. Arkee Whitlock led the Salukis with 96 of the team’s total 172 yards.

“They just plain ran the football better than we did,” SIU coach Jerry Kill said. “What makes their offense so great is their offensive line. That big back with the strong offensive line is hard to stop.”

In the third quarter, a touchdown from Harris was called back after a whistle was blown in the east stands. Some players mistook the whistle for an official stopping the play and Harris reached the endzone.

“It was a little frustrating,” Harris said of the play “I have to say I was kind of mad, but we didn’t let it phase us.”

The Huskies, who lost 23-20 to Maryland last weekend, managed to overcome a late Saluki comeback.

“We feel very fortunate to win,” Novak said. “I was more nervous about this game than any in the last four years. I knew they’d come in loaded.”

SIU, which lost 19 straight games to Division I-A opponents, were the top-ranked team in Division I-AA before the game.

SIU managed to come back from a 23-9 deficit in the second half and looked as though its momentum might have been enough to snarl the win.

The Salukis scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to tighten the gap, but fatigue played a factor when Kill opted to attempt a two-point conversion instead of going into overtime with an extra point.

SIU quarterback Joel Sambursky threw an incomplete pass to Chris Kupec in the back corner of the end zone.

“We made some mistakes,” Sambursky said, “but I can’t imagine an NIU fan walking away without having a great deal of respect for the Salukis.”

The spotlight was placed on each team’s respective kickers throughout much of the game. NIU freshman kicker Chris Nendick made three of his four field-goal attempts and SIU kicker Craig Coffin scored 10 of the Saluki’s points, including a career-high 52-yard field goal in the first quarter.

“We’re going to have to have that type of performance to do well,” Kill said. “We all know the importance of the kicking game. People don’t realize how important those guys are.”