FAST START FUELS HUSKIES
Bouagnon rushes for 134 yards, 3 TDs; Lurry gets 7th pick
OXFORD, Ohio — Northern Illinois took an early lead and earned its first road victory of the season, beating Miami (Ohio) 45-12 on Saturday.
The Huskies (4-3, 2-1 Mid-American Conference West) scored touchdowns on three of their first four possessions to build a 21-0 lead after one quarter.
NIU quarterback Drew Hare went 17-for-26 for 203 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions. His favorite target once again was Kenny Golladay, who hauled in six catches for 73 yards, giving him three consecutive game with six receptions.
Running back Joel Bouagnon ran for 134 yards on 14 carries (9.6 average) and three touchdowns. It was his third consecutive 100-yard game and fifth this season with multiple touchdowns.
“I have confidence in myself, but I just look at each game,” Bouagnon said of his hot stretch. “Just not getting ahead of myself. I don’t like looking into stuff that much.”
Defensively, cornerback Shawun Lurry had his seventh interception of the season, tops in the nation. He has had a pick in five consecutive games. Against the RedHawks, Lurry intercepted a pass in the end zone and returned it 47 yards.
“Watching Lurry is amazing,” said linebacker Bobby Jones, who finished with a team-high 13 tackles and had a sack and two tackles for loss. “I keep telling every- body that he’s going to get an interception every week because I’ve seen him do it in practice every day since he’s been a freshman. It’s not surprising me.”
On the next play, Bouagnon scored on a 53-yard run for his third touchdown of the game.
The victory over the RedHawks (1-6, 0-3 MAC East) snapped the Huskies’ three-game road skid. They lost to Ohio State, Boston College and Central Michigan by a combined 20 points.
It was the first time the Huskies had lost their first three road games in a season since 2005.
The Huskies’ offense picked up where it left off last week in a 59-41 victory over Ball State at Huskie Stadium. Its three scoring drives in the first quarter lasted no longer than 1 minute, 41 seconds.
Bouagnon had two 22yard touchdown runs, and Hare found senior Tommylee Lewis for a 32-yard score. The touchdown was the first since 2013 for Lewis, who finished with four catches for 50 yards.
“Everybody was doing their job, from the linemen to Drew to the running backs to the receivers,” Lewis said of the Huskies’ best first quarter of the season. “It just worked out perfectly.”
The second half had a bizarre start, with NIU kick returner Aregeros Turner giving Miami two points after taking a step into the field of play before taking a knee in the end zone.
Running back Jordan Huff had 12 carries for 64 yards and added a threeyard touchdown up the middle in the fourth quarter to make it 38-12. Marcus Jones capped the Huskies’ scoring with a 73-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter.
The Huskies continued their dominance over the MAC East in regular-season play. The victory was their 16th in a row in crossover games, a streak that dates to 2009.
NIU returns home to host Eastern Michigan at 2:30 p.m. Saturday. The Eagles lost 63-20 to No. 22 Toledo to fall to 1-6 overall and 0-3 in MAC West play.