Ethan Hampton threw four of his five touchdown passes in the first half as Northern Illinois rode a 28-point second quarter to a 54-14 victory against Western Illinois in the season opener Saturday in DeKalb.
After holding Western Illinois to a three-and-out on the game’s opening possession, Hampton needed just two plays to get the Huskies into the end zone
After Antario Brown ran 23 yards on first down, Hampton fired a 23-yard touchdown pass to Dane Partridge. The point-after kick was missed.
Antonio Chadha got the Leathernecks on the scoreboard with a 44-yard field goal to close out the first quarter.
Hampton hit Cam Thompson for an 11-yard touchdown to open the scoring in the second quarter. Trayvon Rudolph broke for a 60-yard scoring run and Hampton followed with an 11-yard TD toss to Keyshaun Pipkin. Hampton hit Rudolph for a 43-yard score in the final minute before halftime.
Hampton opened the second half with a 60-yard scoring strike to Grayson Barnes. Jaylen Poe scored on a 7-yard run late in the third, but Mayo Bola blocked Kanon Woodill’s kick and Fredrik Greenhoward scooped up the loose ball and scored for a defensive PAT.
Nathan Lamp got Western Illinois in the end zone with a 27-yard pass to Torrance Farmer Jr. with three minutes left in the game.
Hampton finished 18 of 20 for 328 yards. Brown carried eight times for 69 yards as the NIU ground game amassed 312 yards on 41 carries.
Lamp completed 17 of 29 passes for 204 yards, while the Leathernecks were held to 94 yards on 29 carries.