It would stand to reason that the Northeastern football team, fresh off a heart-wrenching loss to UMass that ended any hopes of a repeat as Atlantic-10 champions or of returning to the NCAA playoffs, wouldn’t be too jazzed up to play Saturday against second-ranked Delaware at Parsons Field.
NU’s convincing 24-14 win over the Blue Hens, however, lobs that line of thinking out the window.
“I would say this might be the single greatest achievement in the history of the program,” said NU coach Don Brown. “It motivated us that [college football writer for The Sports Network] Tony Moss said we could never get it up for a game like this after last week. Our guys just like playing these games.
“I’m just proud of this football team,” Brown added. “We drew from that a little. We wanted to prove that we’re a good football team. I’m proud of our football team. They give everything they’ve got on a week-to-week basis.”
In the last two seasons, the Huskies are 11-1 at the cozy confines of the 6,000 seat capacity Parsons Field. Saturday’s game, in which Delaware fans outnumbered NU supporters nearly two-to-one, extended a rather unusual streak at a field not known for generating noise from the home stands. At kickoff, NU fans could’ve been counted on a pair of hands, while the scene at the end of the game wasn’t much different. For a team lacking fan support, the Huskies seem more than happy to play at home.
“We just seem to come out and play well here,” linebacker Liam Ezekiel said after his 11-tackle performance. “I’m damn sure it’s not because of the crowd noise. We play football because we like to play football, not because of who’s in the stands. As long as my mother and family are there, I really don’t care.”
When asked at the post-game press conference if Saturday’s victory was the sweetest they’d ever experienced, quarterback Shawn Brady, Ezekiel, receiver Cory Parks and running back Tim Gale all affirmed the inquiry instantly.
With the score knotted at 14 just a minute into the fourth quarter, NU embarked on the first of back-to-back scoring drives that sent the nation’s second-ranked team home with the first blemish on their 2003 record, at 9-1 overall, 6-1 conference.
On the first, a 10-play, 81-yard drive that ran 4:24 off the clock, Northeastern benefited from a pair of Delaware penalties before Brady connected with Parks on a 14-yard score. Parks cut across the field draped by a DU defensive back before diving towards the goal pylon and reeling in the toss while managing to somehow avoid the left sideline. It was the second Brady-to-Parks scoring connection of the game.
“On the second [touchdown], I threw a duck and Cory just went and got it,” the junior quarterback said.
After the stingy Northeastern defense forced a punt three plays later, the offense chewed up five minutes of game time on an 11-play, 73-yard drive that netted them three points when Miro Kesic booted a 23-yard field goal.
“All I know is that in the fourth quarter, when we had to get it done, we got it done,” Brown said.
Delaware advanced the ball on the last possession of the game to the NU one-yard line with 45 seconds left, but were unable to punch it in. On the final play of the drive, senior quarterback Andy Hall tossed a pass three feet above the head of a wide-open receiver in the end zone.
“That last play was very indicative of the whole game for us,” said Delaware coach K.C. Keeler. “We just did not make plays. We missed two open touchdowns and couldn’t make the plays we needed to make.”
“There’s a focus thing there, maybe we felt too good about ourselves,” he added. “They were better than we were today, that’s about it.”
Northeastern led after an odd first half of football, 7-0, on account of a one-yard run from Gale (21 carries, 124 yards). Neither team earned a first down until four minutes into the first quarter, when Brady hit Quintin Mitchell on a 26-yard pass.
The teams traded punts until Tim Gale blasted a one-yard run in with 2:36 left in the half.
Delaware, usually deadly through the air, had four balls bounce off receivers’ hands in the opening half. Each team also missed what are normally routine field goals, with Kesic pushing a 32-yarder wide left, and Delaware’s Brad Shushman misfiring on a 25-yard attempt.
Delaware tied the game at 11:04 of the third quarter, when Hall hit wide open Joe Bleymaier on a 37-yard pass. Bleymaier, who caught the ball after NU safety Anthony Nolen fell while covering him, trotted in after catching a slant pass at the 20-yard line.
Northeastern answered on the next possession, with Brady hitting Parks on a four-yard pass to end a nine-play, 70-yard drive.
Delaware’s scoring ended at the 13:54 mark of the fourth quarter, when running back Germaine Bennett tripped the goal line on a 10-yard run. Bennett carried the ball eight times on the 10-play drive, including the last six plays.
Northeastern, now at 6-4, 4-3 conference, will take on Richmond Saturday at Parsons Field. Kickoff is slated for 12:30 p.m.
