One might ask: What happens next for the Northeastern football team?
The team has played like a winner in its first four games, but the overall record stands for what it is: 2-2 and a place in the middle of the Atlantic-10 standings.
The Huskies were in Williamsburg, Va. on Saturday as they faced off against the College of William ‘ Mary Tribe, who came in with an identical record of 2-1 (1-0 A-10) behind their star quarterback Lang Campbell.
Showing signs of their 28-24 loss to the Naval Academy, the Huskies played a back-and-forth contest, grabbing the lead at various times before witnessing a strong comeback and 38-35 overtime win from the Tribe.
“From the time we finished the Towson game, we knew it was going to be a tough row,” said Huskies coach Rocky Hager, whose team dropped to an even 1-1 in the A-10. “We knew that William ‘ Mary was going to be difficult. We felt it was a task that was do-able. We were within a whisker of being able to grasp what had previously been un-doable. We missed several opportunities to seize the win.”
A host of challenging matchups for the Huskies await, including Villanova University this Saturday at Parsons Field, and then road games against Harvard University and the University of Maine.
“Anytime you lose, that’s a piece of adversity you have to overcome,” Hager said. “The way you overcome adversity is that you have to recommit to the things you stand for and that you do. It’s recommit to the offensive and defensive design, and recommit to fix things that are fixable and stay together as a team.”
Northeastern had a one-point lead (28-27) in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter, but an interception by Tribe strong safety Jonathan Shaw in the end zone prevented a touchdown and saved the game for William ‘ Mary.
Campbell and wide receiver Dominique Thompson then combined for the play of the game on their ensuing drive — a 77-yard bomb that put the Tribe back in the lead with 2:34 remaining.
“Turning the ball over, the one we had was really ill-timed,” Hager said. “But if we didn’t throw the football, they were doing some things that lended us to need to throw the football, and Shawn Brady did a pretty darn good job of throwing it.”
With a two-point conversion, William ‘ Mary’s difference over the Huskies was a touchdown (35-28). Brady and wide receiver Quintin Mitchell responded accordingly with 42 seconds remaining for a three-yard touchdown pass and sent the game into overtime.
The Huskies had the ball in the overtime period, but wasted their opportunity after an 11-yard sack from lineman Adam O’Connor pushed any scoring chance out of their hands.
Kesic missed a desperation 53-yard field goal, and the Tribe capitalized.
An eight-yard Campbell pass to Joe Nicholas continued to move the ball up to the NU 14. After two quick rushes, Greg Kuehn ended the first overtime game for the Huskies since 1999 with a 28-yard field goal.
Brady committed himself again, throwing for a career-high 301 yards, the first 300-plus yard game for a quarterback since Jason Quinlan’s 348-yard performance against the Tribe in 1999.
Wide receivers Cory Parks and Mitchell threw off William ‘ Mary defenders throughout the day, as Parks caught consecutive touchdown passes in the second quarter while receiving 170 yards on the day. Mitchell added 86 in a balanced attack.
Campbell was the difference in the game, however, performing outstandingly in the air and on the run. He out-did Brady with 378 yards throwing, while connecting for a score.
On the ground, he gained 19 and added another 12 with two rushing touchdowns. His first touchdown came at 4:27 of the first quarter from two yards out.
Northeastern ended their brief scoring drought with 27 and 23-yard touchdown passes from Brady to Parks in the second quarter, the latter coming with 1:53 remaining to put the Huskies in the lead (14-7).
Campbell then closed out the half with another two-yard touchdown run, a game-tying score with 27 seconds remaining.
The teams exchanged rushing touchdowns from the Tribe’s Elijah Brooks and NU’s James West (in place of an injured Anthony Riley, Lateral Collateral Ligament in the knee). A Kuehn field goal put William ‘ Mary in the lead at 24-21 with 5:24 remaining in the third quarter.
Freshman Maurice Murray prevailed on a one-yard run, before Kuehn kicked another field goal to cut the NU lead to one (28-27) with 6:57 in the half.
“We didn’t sack their quarterback but one time,” Hager said. “Our defensive front can, needs to, should and will play better. It comes down to some place along the way, a play here, a play there, a Husky needs to make the play, as opposed to allowing them to finish what they designed.”
NU was also hurt by two missed field goals by Kesic in regulation, including a 49-yarder in their opening drive, and one from 32 yards out at the beginning of the fourth.
“Either one of the two in regulation get made, we don’t have overtime,” Hager said. “Kesic is a great football player, he had a tough day. Those things can and do happen.”
Game Notes: The injury to Riley is preventing full mobility, Hager said. The tailback is hopeful to return within the next two weeks … The Huskies last lost in overtime to Delaware on Oct. 25, 1999, 37-34 … The team is now 1-3 in overtime games.
