Chris Finlen knows the NIU football team took a big step in the right direction Saturday.

With NIU’s 20-12 victory over Western Michigan Saturday, Finlen and the Huskies snapped an 11-game losing streak against the big three teams in the Mid-American Conference since rejoining the MAC back in 1997.

After losing to Marshall and Toledo this year, Western Michigan was the last chance for Finlen to beat one of the MAC’s finest.

“We took a big step today,” the senior captain said of his first win against the Broncos. “We are extremely excited about this win.”

NIU dominated the clock in the early part of Saturday’s game. The first quarter saw the Huskies rush 16 times for 74 yards on their way to nine minutes of possession. But NIU still found itself down 7-0 at the end of the first quarter.

WMU backup quarterback Jon Drach played in place of starter Jeff Welsh, who was out with a partial collapsed lung, and engineered an eight-play, three-minute drive capped by a 13-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Micah Druhl. Drach was 2-3 on the drive for 45 yards.

The start of the second quarter put the Huskies on the verge of disaster.

After a three-yard Michael Turner run and a sack of Chris Finlen, the Huskies were backed up to their own 10 yard line. On the next play, Finlen was flushed out of the pocket and sacked in his own end zone, resulting in a Western Michigan safety.

On the ensuing drive, the Broncos took advantage of good field position and marched all the way to the Huskies 17-yard line before the Huskies stopped the Broncos offense. Freshman Rob Menchinger calmly put the 35-yard field goal try through the uprights to give the visitors a 12-0 lead.

“You go down 12-0 and the kids could have pulled the tent, but they didn’t,” Novak commented. “They came back and got a big win.”

The comeback started with 7:04 left in the second quarter. When the Huskies could manage no yards after Menchinger’s field goal, NIU was forced to punt.

But it wouldn’t take long for the Huskies to get the ball back.

On their first play of the drive, the Broncos ran a draw and lost one yard. The second-and-long situation set up an incredible day for NIU defensive back Vince Thompson.

Backup Jon Drach dropped back on the second down play looking to the right sideline. What he found was NIU’s junior cornerback, as Thompson intercepted Drach’s pass, giving the Huskies good field position on the Broncos’ 41.

The Huskies then grabbed the momentum, taking the turnover 41 yards on 11 plays to get within five points.

Thomas Hammock rushed six times on the drive, highlighted by an off-tackle touchdown run with three minutes left in the first half.

Coming out of the half, the Huskies knew they had to set the tone defensively.

“We knew we had to come out and play physical,” linebacker Larry Williams said. “We knew that when we had an opportunity to make plays, we had to make plays.”

It didn’t take long for the Huskie defense to make those plays.

On the Broncos’ first drive of the second half, Thompson stepped in front of a Drach pass for his second interception of the day — fourth of the year — and took it 32 yards to the end zone. The touchdown gave the Huskies a lead they would never relinquish, taking the 14-12 lead.

“I just read the play and broke for the ball,” Thompson said of his second interception of the afternoon.

The Huskies defense was the story the rest of the way. Western did not cross midfield in the third quarter and could manage to cross that barrier three times in the fourth quarter. The only real scoring threat the Broncos posed the rest of the games was spoiled when freshman linebacker Brian Atkinson picked off a Drach pass at NIU’s 12 yard line.

Steve Azar added two field goals, one in the third quarter and one in the fourth to finish the scoring for the Huskies.

One of the many bright spots for the Huskies Saturday was the re-emergence of running back Thomas Hammock. The junior rushed for only 120 yards combined in the last three games before rebounding for 139 against Western.

“Thomas ran the ball real well for us today,” Novak said. “He is a very prideful young man and I thought he played excellent today. He was a real key to our victory.”