The Northeastern football all-time scoring record now belongs to senior kicker Miro Kesic. With 12 points in the win over Towson Saturday, the Ohio native broke the record set by Dave Klemic in 2000. The connection between these two men goes beyond the football field.
“Klemic is my future brother-in-law, so this is bragging rights for the rest of my life,” Kesic said. “He called me immediately after the game and told me ‘It sucked my record was broken but at least it stayed in the family.’ I just keep telling him that he will be second for the rest of our lives.”
A 41-yard field goal with 1:33 remaining in the first quarter gave the Huskies a 17-0 lead and Kesic a spot in the record books. Kesic’s 270 career points earned him the title of The Northeastern News Player of the Week.
Entering the game Kesic was four points behind Klemic’s record of 262, and he was completely aware of it.
“I knew I was close but I had to keep it out of my head. I couldn’t start worrying about records and lose focus because we needed the win,” he said.
Breaking the record this early in the season wasn’t a surprise to Kesic.
“Our offense is so strong that we should score at least three points in every possession ,so I have had a lot of scoring opportunities in my career,” Kesic said.
The 56-41 win snapped the Huskies’ three game losing streak and ended the Huskies worst start since 1994.
“The talent is there but in the first three games we couldn’t put it all together,” Kesic said. “It took four games to get the ‘W’ but now we have proved to ourselves that we can do it.”
Northeastern took a 17-7 lead into the third quarter before Towson scored 28 points to cut down the Husky lead.
“The game should have been put away in the third quarter. They shouldn’t have gotten that close, but Jamil Young’s interception gave us our swagger back and allowed us to stay ahead,” Kesic said.
Kesic is the first NU kicker to receive all-conference honors, which he accomplished in both the 2002 and 2003 seasons. He is second in school history in field goals with 41 and holds the record for consecutive extra points with 57. Kesic also holds the record for the longest Atlantic-10 field goal at 57 yards.
Coach Rocky Hager made sure Kesic focused on the games and not the record.
“He just told me to keep focused and do my job,” Kesic said.
Kesic came to Northeastern with plenty of experience at St. Ignatius High (Rocky River, Ohio). He made 17 of 21 career field goals at the school, including a career-best 43-yarder in the 1999 state final.
Kesic was also a linebacker, earning All-Northeast honors as a senior. St. Ignatius, ranked No. 2 in the nation by USA Today in his senior year, named him Special Teams Player of the Year in 2000.
— Compiled by staff writer Erika Carrubba.
