OXFORD, Ohio – After a slow start offensively, the Miami University football team put things together over the final three quarters to retain the Mallory Cup with a 27-24 victory over Northern Illinois Saturday. The RedHawks improve to 3-4 overall and 2-1 in the Mid-American Conference. The Huskies fall to 2-5 overall and 1-2 in the MAC.
Freshman quarterback
Brett Gabbert set a new career high with 273 yards passing. He finished 15-for-28 with one touchdown. His top target was redshirt sophomore wide receiver
Jalen Walker. He recorded his first career 100-yard game with seven catches for 138 yards.
The teams traded punts throughout the majority of the first quarter. Northern Illinois was able to get on the board first after a 39-yard completion to Cole Tucker set them up at first-and-goal at the five. Miami's defense held the Huskies to a 25-yard field goal, giving NIU a 3-0 lead with eight seconds remaining in the period.
Senior
Maurice Thomas closed the first quarter by returning the subsequent kickoff 84 yards to the 14-yard line of NIU. However, the RedHawks were unable to capitalize as they missed the 30-yard field goal.
The Huskies were able to get the first touchdown of the game with a 13-play, 43-yard drive that consumed 6:34 off the clock. A one-yard quarterback sneak by Marcus Childers followed by the extra point gave Northern Illinois a 10-0 advantage with 3:08 to go in the second quarter.
On its last drive before the half, Miami came out and played with a little more tempo. Gabbert found junior
Dominique Robinson for 26 yards to the NIU 49-yard line. Completions to redshirt-junior
Andrew Homer (18 yards) and Walker (23 yards) got the RedHawks into a goal-to-go situation. Facing fourth-and-goal on the one, junior
Jaylon Bester ran it in for the touchdown. The extra point from senior
Sam Sloman cut the Miami deficit to 10-7 going into the half.
The RedHawks received the opening kickoff of the third quarter. Gabbert continued to keep the offense moving by finding Walker for a 17-yard catch to the Miami 27. After some runs and short passes got the 'Hawks into NIU territory, Gabbert found freshman
James Maye streaking down the field for a 45-yard touchdown pass. The Sloman extra point completed an 8-play, 90-yard drive that made it 14-10 with 11:13 to go in the period.
Northern Illinois answered with an 8-play, 75 yard drive to regain the lead. A quarterback sneak from Childers followed by the extra point made it 17-14 with 6:47 to go in the third quarter.
On Miami's next drive Gabbert found Maye for a 20-yard pass that put the ball in Husky territory. He then hit Walker for a 40-yard gain that brought the ball to the one-yard line. On third-and-goal from the one, Bester scored his second touchdown of the day. The Sloman extra point made it 21-17 with 3:29 left in the period.
After forcing a Northern Illinois punt, a 14-yard completion to redshirt freshman
Tyre Shelton, followed by a 40-yard rush from Gabbert put the ball deep in Husky territory. As the fourth quarter began, Sloman drilled a 34-yard field goal to make it 24-17 with 14:21 to go.
Starting on its own 30 with 8:29 to go, Gabbert found Walker for a 25-yard catch to put the ball in Northern Illinois territory. Gabbert hit Walker for another 17 yards before the drive stalled at the NIU 19. Sloman punched through a 37-yard field goal from the left hash to increase the RedHawk lead to 27-17.
Northern Illinois quickly answered with a 13-play, 75-yard drive that took 3:13 off the clock. The score came when Childers hit Tucker for a 10-yard touchdown. The extra point cut the Miami advantage to 27-24 with 2:44 remaining in the contest.
The RedHawks were forced to punt after their next offensive drive. The Huskies had one final shot starting at their own 41 with 1:44 to go, but they came up one yard short as Miami forced the turnover on downs to secure the victory.
Gabbert finished as the RedHawks' leading rusher with 42 yards. Bester had 32 yards and two touchdowns. Maye had two catches for 65 yards and one touchdown. Redshirt sophomore
Ryan McWood led the Miami defense with 14 tackles.
The RedHawks hit the road next weekend as they travel to Kent State next Saturday. Kickoff is at 3:30 p.m. and it will air live on ESPN+
In 2008 the Mallory family, in conjunction with Miami Athletics, established the Coach Bill Mallory Football Scholarship to honor his legacy. This scholarship is awarded to a football student-athlete demonstrating dedication to the team through his commitment, unselfishness and caring attitude about the program and teammates and shall take great pride both on the field and in the classroom. Nothing exemplifies what Coach Mallory believed in more than that. We ask you to consider supporting the Coach Bill Mallory Football Scholarship by
CLICKING HERE and selecting that scholarship name from the options or entering that name in the notes section. Thank you!
