Late pickoff allows Huskies to hang on, collect 1st victory

Northern Illinois quarterback Marcus Childers threw for three touchdowns, and a late interception preserved the Huskies’ 24-16 victory over Central Michigan on Saturday in both teams’ MidAmerican Conference opener in DeKalb.

With Central Michigan at the Huskies 15-yard line, Vinny Labus intercepted Tommy Lazzaro’s pass that bounced off the hands of Cameron Cole with 20 seconds remaining.

Lazzaro replaced starter Tony Poljan in the third quarter with the Chippewas trailing 21-3 and scored on a 6-yard run. On Central Michgian’s next possession, he completed a 73-yard drive with a 4-yard scoring pass to Julian Hicks that made it 24-16 with 9:43 left.

Childers threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Spencer Tears to put the Huskies (1-2) ahead 7-3 with 4:03 left before halftime. Jack Sheldon’s punt block then set the Huskies up at the Chippewas 22, and Childers threw a 7-yard scoring pass to Dennis Robinson before the break.

Lazzaro, who finished with 128 passing yards and 55 on the ground, threw a third-quarter touchdown pass to D.J. Brown.