For the second time in three games, the Northern Illinois Huskies waited out a lightning delay Saturday night.
The difference was that this time, tailbacks Charles Talley and Brian Grimes, quarterback Aaron Gilbert and other Huskies generated some power and energy as well as the storm.
Two weeks ago, Northern lost 29-9 after a 39-minute wait during an electrical storm at Southwestern Louisiana. Saturday, after a 28-minute delay for lightning in the first half, the Huskies struck for big plays in a 49-17 victory over outmanned Eastern Illinois.
A crowd, held down by the weather to 11,464 fans, saw Northern (1-3) jump to a 28-3 halftime lead and up the spread to 35-3 on its first offensive play of the second half-a 75-yard touchdown dash by Grimes.
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Later in the third period, Gilbert passed 31 yards to flanker Ralph Strickland for his second TD pass of the night and a 42-3 lead. Eastern dropped to 1-3.
Grimes rushed for 121 yards and one TD in eight carries. His backup, Talley, gained 141 yards and scored twice on 18 carries. Gilbert completed 10 of 13 for 174 yards and two TDs.
Talley and Gilbert made most of the big plays, as Northern took a 28-3 halftime lead. The Huskies scored two TD’s before the lightning delay and two after the 28-minute delay.
Talley, a 5-foot-11-inch, 227-pounder from Pontiac, Mich., gained 102 yards in 11 carries and twice scored on 3-yard runs in the first half. Gilbert completed 9 of 12 passes for 143 first half yards, including his 48-yard scoring pass to Vaurice Patterson.
Northern coach Charlie Sadler opened the game by alternating quarterbacks Gilbert and Sean Allgood on almost every play. Gilbert was in strickly to pass, Allgood to run.
Allgood broke a 24-yard run to key a 36-yard march to the game’s first TD and a 7-0 lead. C.J. Rose recovered Pete Mauch’s fumble to start the short drive.
Strickland scored on a 5-yard reverse. Moments later, Eastern defensive end Kevin Zeng recovered Gilbert’s botched lateral on the Huskie 16.
When Eastern could not advance the ball, Steve Largent booted a 25-yard field goal to trim the lead to 7-3.
With Gilbert passing and Allgood and Brian Grimes running, NIU marched 60 yards to the Panthers’ 20. However, after a series of errors ending with a 16-yard loss on a botched attempted field goal, the Panthers took over on their 41. High’s hard running moved Eastern to first down on the Huskie 5-yard line. Cortnerback Scott Caringella made a key stop on the 1-yard line, as the Huskies stacked High short of the goal on three rushes.
On fourth down from the 1-yard line, Mauch passed into the end zone where Greg Parrish intercepted the ball to kill the threat. Early in the second quarter, Talley and Gilbert substituted big plays for mistakes, and the Huskies marched 80 yards in eight plays to a 14-3 lead.
Talley broke his career long rush for 41 yards, and Gilbert passed 26 yards to Strickland on the 3-yard line. Talley cracked through the right side for the TD on the next play.
Northern marched to the Eastern 7 with 4:24 left in the half when game officials delayed play because of the lightning
When play resumed after 28 minute minutes, Northern scored its third touchdown and took a 21-3 lead in just three plays. Talley tallied his second 3-yard TD. The Huskies weren’t through.
They scored once more before the end of the half when Patterson raced into the end zone and clutched a 48-yard bull’s-eye from Gilbert.