Usually trick-or-treat doesn’t begin till dusk.

But for NIU the treat came early, as the Huskies beat the Akron Zips 27-10.

“I’m certainly glad to get a win, and to get back-to-back wins,” said NIU head coach Jerry Kill. “We were able to come up and make some plays towards the end.”

This is only the second time this season that NIU (5-3 overall, 3-1 MAC) have put together back-to-back wins. But it didn’t look like the Huskies were going to win most of the game.

NIU jumped to an early 6-0 lead thanks to two field goals by place kicker Mike Salerno.

Akron (1-7, 0-4), however, started the third quarter with a 34-yard field goal of its own. Five minutes later, the Zips gave the Huskies a nasty trick.

Akron quarterback Patrick Nicely threw a quick pitch to running back Alex Allan. It’s something
Nicely did earlier on the Zips final drive of the first half. But instead of running with the ball, Allan
planted his feet and heaved the ball down field.

“They set it up pretty well,” said NIU defensive end Brandon Bice. “It was a cheap one.”

The trick play resulted in an 80-yard touchdown pass to Andre Jones and a 10-6 lead. Jones finished the day with 154 reception yards.

Although Akron held the lead till the fourth quarter, it couldn’t finish the game.

NIU running back Chad Spann broke through the Zips secondary on a 28-yard run to start the fourth quarter. Spann scored again in the final period on a two yard rush. The tailback led NIU with 21 rushing attempts for 125 yards.

But Spann wasn’t the only running threat for NIU.

Huskie quarterback DeMarcus Grady eclipsed the 100-yard rushing mark, by gaining 109 yards on 20 attempts.

“You’ve got a quarterback - that changes things,” said Akron head coach J.D. Brookhart. “You have to respect the pass, but you have to commit to the run - the quarterback run.”

Grady completed 10-of-18 passes for 62 yards. While the redshirt sophomore did not throw a touchdown, he also did not turn the ball over.

Akron’s freshman quarterback was sacked for the first time in his career against the Huskies. In all, Nicely was taken down three times. This includes once when Bice stripped the ball. The
fumble was recovered by NIU safety Tracy Wilson.

Overall Nicely completed 11-of-27 passes for 124 yards, but without a touchdown.

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