DURHAM, N.H. – Fueled by the slick running of junior tailback Tim Gale, Northeastern drove past the University of New Hampshire on Saturday, 49-17. After going into the half with a 21-17 lead, NU kicked into overdrive, scoring 28 unanswered points in the final 30 minutes.
Gale’s record setting day (33 carries for 219 yards, five touchdowns) proved too much for the Wildcats (3-7 overall, 2-6 conference) to handle. His five touchdowns were the most ever by a Husky in a single game. New Hampshire free safety Czar Wiley credited the Northeastern (9-2 overall, 6-2 conference) offensive line for the huge output.
“They could’ve put my sister back there with the holes their offensive line was able to create. Their running backs would hit the hole and have three choices about where to go,” he said.
NU coach Don Brown watched as Gale recorded his third consecutive 100-yard rushing game.
“The last couple of weeks we’ve been getting in the habit of giving the ball to the guy on my right [Gale], and he’s solved a lot of our schematic problems. He took all of last year off with knee surgery; we’ve been working him in slowly. Since we didn’t run him too much earlier in the year, we’ve really been making up for lost time.”
At halftime, however, it appeared as though Gale’s counterpart, UNH running back Stephan Lewis, was on his way to a career day. After just 30 minutes of football, the 5-foot 8, 200 pound force was able to scramble for 127 yards and two touchdowns. The second half was a much different story, though, as Lewis was only able to negotiate 32 yards from the stingy NU defense.
“I think at halftime we cleaned a lot of our defense up. They took advantage of us early with screen passes and absorbing our blitz,” Brown said. “I think we were able to make some adjustments at the half and got back to playing the style of play we are used to playing.”
Taking the second half kickoff, NU attempted to reverse the scoring trend that had seen UNH slash a comfortable 21-6 Husky lead to a narrow 21-17 advantage. Embarking on a drive from their own 32 yard-line, NU fed the Wildcats a steady dose of Tim Gale. Of the subsequent 14 plays on the drive, nine were runs by Gale. With the ball at the UNH five yard-line, Northeastern was faced with a fourth down, two yards shy of the first down marker. The ball went to Gale, and after being hit hard by one defender, he fell forward to the two yard-line. On the next play, the bruising runner punched in for his third touchdown of the day.
The march downfield ran off one half of the third quarter clock, and gave UNH coach Sean McDonnell an uneasy feeling.
“During that drive, I got the feeling that this was how the rest of the game was going to go,” he said. “They [Northeastern] are going to the playoffs. And if they stay healthy, they will cause a real problem for someone when they get there.”
UNH’s next possession lasted three minutes, but came to a lackluster conclusion when they were forced to punt at their own 32 yard-line. The Huntington Hounds got the ball back at the 16 yard-line, and never looked back. Five plays later, including outside bursts of 29 and 40 yards by Gale and freshman Anthony Riley, respectively, Gale dragged two Wildcat defenders with him on his fourth trip past the goal line.
“It feels good, but I’ve got to give all the credit to the offensive line,” Gale said of his career day. “We were able to push them back at the line, and created some huge holes to run through.”
By the fourth quarter, Gale’s white jersey was so soiled that it began to blend in with the black numbers. However, neither the mud, bitter wind, dusty snow or the Wildcats could stop him on the ground.
After exchanging punts, the Huskies got the ball on their own 45 yard-line. It would only take two hand-offs for Gale to finish his record-setting day. On the first, he plowed forward and scolded New Hampshire safety Brandon Taylor with a lick that sent the sophomore sprawling to the ground. On the next play, Gale took the hand-off and glided across the line of scrimmage freely. Three Wildcats impeded his progress 10 yards downfield, but the 235-pound tailback merely shrugged them off en route to a 44-yard score. His day–after 219 rushing yards, and five scores–was over.
“They were the best team we’ve played all year,” Wiley said. “They were more physical, more intense, and played harder than us. It’s disappointing to go out there and get outworked like that.”
McDonnell’s own sentiments mirrored those of Wiley.
“A physical football team took it to us in the second half,” he said. “It was 21-17 with 30 minutes in the books. Unfortunately for us, we didn’t play well on either side of the ball for the other 30. Gale is a great runner, and their offensive line was able to create some space for them. They play with great defense, and don’t make many mistakes on offense. This is a very good Northeastern football team.”
Riley finished off the Northeastern scoring when he was able to shake off two UNH defenders on his way to the goal line with just over two minutes remaining. His 16-yard jaunt was the seventh rushing touchdown of the day for the Huskies, and put Riley’s total rushing yards at 144. Gale and Riley were the first duo to post 100-yard games together since the 2000 season, when Gale teamed up with Kem Nwosu to accomplish the feat.
Next week the Huskies return home for the regular season finale against James Madison University. With a win, NU would clinch at least a share of the Atlantic Ten championship, and the school’s first trip to the NCAA Division 1-AA Championship tournament.
“Now we go back home for our last game against JMU this Saturday, and it’s for all the marbles. I’m so proud of my football team. We were picked tenth in the A-10, and certainly were able to put ourselves in position to overachieve according to some people,” Brown said.
