Needing someone to step up to beat Bowling Green, NIU’s Gill-Howard and Holst answer the bell

As Saturday’s game between Bowling Green and NIU went on, it became more and more apparent that someone was going to have to step up for the Huskies.

They started the game without Antario Brown. And as if being without their leading rusher wasn’t enough, starting quarterback Ethan Hampton left the game with an injury as well.

Someone had to do something. Skyler Gill-Howard answered the bell.

Gill-Howard took over on defense, then backup quarterback Josh Holst came up with a pivotal touchdown run. It all added up to a 17-7 win over the Falcons and a much-needed MAC win.

After the game, coach Thomas Hammock said Holst has great anticipation and great touch. His ability to run makes him more of a threat. He showed off that ability early in the fourth.

The Huskies trailed 7-6 and were trailing most of the game. The offense wasn’t doing much when Hampton was in, and for the first few drives they weren’t any more efficient with Holst. But the redshirt freshman from Marengo orchestrated a seven-play, 46-yard drive that he capped with a 22-yard scramble around the right side for a touchdown.

The drive to that point had been all on the ground – and all but one rush by Gavin Williams – until on a third-and-6 from BG’s 30, Holst found Cam Thompson for 8 yards and a first down. Next play, Holst runs. Touchdown.

To keep the theme of unlikely results going, the 2-point conversion was a pass from tight end Grayson Barnes to long snapper Isaac Hatfield. You know, as is totally normal. That gave the Huskies a 14-7 lead, and they’d tack on a late field goal by Kanon Woodill for good measure, his third make in four attempts.

But the Huskies were only in the game thanks to their defense. And they had such good field position on the pivotal drive thanks to Gill-Howard.

Hammock said the redshirt junior is a consummate leader. He didn’t play in 2022 after transferring from Upper Iowa but was a rotational player last year.

He had his biggest game as a Huskie on Saturday. He had many big plays throughout the day, but he stopped backup quarterback Lucian Anderson III on a scramble, hitting him for a 2-yard loss that pinned the Falcons all the way back at their own 9.

NIU took over at the BG 46, then Holst’s scramble turned the tide. He finished the game with 89 passing yards, completing 10 of 14 passes. Most importantly, neither he nor Hampton were intercepted and the Huskies were plus-two in the turnover department.

Holst also ran for 47 yards on eight carries, providing a second option to Gavin Williams, who ran 29 times for 102 yards with both Brown and Jaylen Poe missing.

Howard had two sacks, one of five Huskies to combine on six sacks. He had six tackles, three for a loss – one of seven Huskies to combine on 10 TFLs. And while Nate Valcarcel had a late interception to end any chance of a Bowling Green rally, Roy Williams had a sack that led to Jalonnie Williams recovering a fumble in the second quarter, the first forced turnover for NIU.

NIU held Bowling Green to 210 yards. Bowling Green tight end Harold Fannin Jr. had been putting up numbers this year that made him the second coming on Tony Gonzalez. After an early touchdown, the Huskies clamped down. He finished with four catches for 25 yards.

Hammock mentioned earlier this week how the Huskies, at 0-1, were last place in the MAC. After the win, he said they were out of the cellar, which two conference games into the year is true. But it’s shaping up to be a weird season, as Buffalo, picked near the bottom of the MAC standings, beat Toledo Saturday after beating NIU earlier this season.

With the Rockets coming to DeKalb next week and the list of injuries growing, things may get even stranger, but that just gives someone else the chance to step up.