NORTHERN ILLINOIS NOTES: Seniors break through in last home game

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DeKALB – Senior wide receiver Preston Williams waited almost five years to make his first catch for Northern Illinois.

He made it count in a big way.

Williams hauled in a 9-yard touchdown pass from DeMarcus Grady at the 7:26 mark of NIU’s 26-20 victory against Ball State on senior night Thursday at Huskie Stadium. The catch tied the game at 7 after Ball State had a blistering start with a four-play touchdown drive.

“Five years pushing through the grind and to have it come on senior night makes it that much more special,” Williams said. “I credit Grady for finding me in the end zone and keeping the play alive.”

Williams slipped past the Ball State secondary and stood in a back corner of the end zone, so wide open he was doing jumping jacks to get Grady’s attention.

“I felt like the ball was in the air a little bit longer than it actually was,” Williams said. “But I’m just glad he found me.”

Senior Marcus Lewis also caught his first touchdown pass on a 6-yard touchdown from Chandler Harnish.

Injury update: Running back Chad Spann was sidelined in the third quarter with a shoulder injury and Me’co Brown came off the field in the fourth quarter with an ankle injury.

Spann’s final run came on a 6-yard rush on the opening drive of the third quarter. Brown’s last run came midway through the fourth quarter on a 5-yard rush. Spann was standing on the sidelines at the end of the game and Kill said he didn’t know if Spann could have played at that point or not.

“It was a significant enough shoulder injury,” Kill said, “that I think you take a chance of putting him back in... I’ll know more tomorrow.”

Senior Justin Anderson came in and finished with one carry for zero yards, but Kill said Anderson did a nice job in pass protection.

“If we go to Ohio (Nov. 21) and Justin has to play or he’s our starter, I’ll feel good about it,” Kill said. “I really will. We’ll just have to see.”

Trophy time: With the victory, NIU now owns “The Bronze Stalk,” a traveling trophy designed by DeKalb artist Renee Bemis, which depicts a corn stalk. This is the second year of the trophy. Kill said the team council will decide where the trophy goes.

Under pressure: Ball State coach Stan Parrish said quarterback Tanner Justice “was running for his life” against the NIU defense. The Huskies finished with four sacks and forced a Justice fumble that resulted in a Jake Coffman safety.

“The whole week, [defensive line] coach [Jeff] Phelps told us that if we don’t get pressure, something’s wrong,” said Progar, who had 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble. “I’m not trying to down their o-line, but want to have the best defensive line in the MAC, which has to do with pressure, which also has to do with run stopping. I knew if we would stop the run we would have all day to get after [Justice], and that’s what we did.”

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