NIU falls to Ball State on last-second FG
DeKALB - Ball State got a late field goal and capitalized on three fumbles by NIU quarterback Rocky Lombardi for a 20-17 win Tuesday.
In a 17-17 tie, NIU (4-6, 3-3 Mid-American Conference) took over with 3:36 left at its 28-yard line. But on the third play of the drive, quarterback Rocky Lombardi fumbled for the third time. It was recovered by Kyron Mims.
Ball State (3-7, 2-5) then converted a third-and-6 with just more than a minute left to get into field-goal range. They kept the ball on the ground, moving closer and closer until they got a 36-yard field goal from Jackson Courville.
The Huskies had the ball with less than eight minutes and a 17-10 lead, but Lombardi lost a fumble for the second time in the game. That set up the Cardinals at their own 32.
Facing third-and-8 on the NIU 20, Ray Thomas was called for tripping after the Huskies had an apparent sack. That led Kiael Kelly to find Tanner Koziol in the end zone to tie things up 17-17 with 3:47 left. It was Kelly's first touchdown pass.
After a scoreless third kept the score 10-10, Ball State opened the fourth quarter with a 38-yard field goal, attempting to take the lead for the third time. Instead the Cardinals missed, and NIU took the lead on the next drive.
Things started with a 12-yard run by Antario Brown out of the Wildcat and ended with a 35-yard run with Trayvon Rudolph at quarterback. He took the sweep around the right side, then accelerated past the defense or the 17-10 lead with 10 minutes left. The drive went 80 yards in eight plays, eating 4:57 off the clock.
The Huskies also converted a third-and-13 on a pass interference call. The Cardinals picked up a first on the next drive but punted the ball back with eight minutes left.
Down 7-0, the Huskies tied the game with a 13-play, 98-yard drive that spanned 7:02 between the first and second quarters. Facing a fourth-and-1 at the Ball State 24, the Huskies got a 20-yard run from Lombardi. Two plays later, Lombardi scrambled in from the 4-yard line from the score.
Before the drive NIU had 25 yards on its first two possessions, including a turnover.
At the break the Huskies had 207 yards of total offense. They got 168 of those yards on their two scoring drives - a 98-yard scoring drive in the first quarter and a 70-yard drive that ended with a field goal in the second quarter.
On that field goal drive, the Huskies were down 10-7 and took over with 57 seconds left. Gavin Williams picked up 15 yards on third-and-6, while Dane Pardridge and Trayvon Rudolph had big pickups.
NIU got as close as the 10, but with just one timeout, the clock was an issue. The Huskies ended up taking a 27-yard field goal from Kanon Woodill to tie things at 10.
The Huskies had one of their traditional slow starts. The Cardinals went 65 yards in seven plays to go up 7-0 after the opening drive, facing third down only once and converting on a third-and-goal from the 6. Quarterback Kiael Kelly ran it in for the score.
Lombardi fumbled on the fourth play of the first NIU drive, and even though the Huskies held Ball State, the offense went three-and-out on its next possession.