The Beacon News

The Beacon News: English helps defense make early statement

The heat was on, Larry English said.

And he and his defensive teammates, especially those on the line, were feeling it, the Marmion Academy graduate admitted Saturday night after NIU's 31-13 win over Buffalo.

English, a sophomore, made a statement early, breaking through the Bulls' line on the first play from scrimmage to nail Buffalo quarterback Drew Willy for a 6-yard sack. In the third game of the season, the Huskies finally had a sack.

The defense forced three-and-outs on the visiting Bulls' first two possessions, which helped the Huskies jump out to a 17-0 lead.

The Beacon News: Sweet relief

After striking out twice against teams from Ohio to start the season, the Northern Illinois University football team took a bite out of a team north of the Big Apple on Saturday and got its first win. The Huskies beat an improved Buffalo team 31-13.

"We needed that," NIU coach Joe Novak acknowledged after his team took advantage of big plays to roll up a 500-349 advantage in total yards. "There's still plenty of stuff to work on and lots of things to improve. ... It's good to get that good taste in everybody's mouth again."