Police are investigating a beatdown that occurred at Huskie Stadium resulting in a 50-6 NIU victory over Eastern Michigan Thursday night.

Suspected in the crime are NIU running back Chad Spann, quarterback DeMarcus Grady, wide receiver Landon Cox and an NIU defense that allowed 182 yards of total offense.

The victim is Eastern Michigan. They were pronounced 0-9 after the loss.

“I was very excited about how the youngsters played,” said NIU head coach Jerry Kill. “They played hard all four quarters; that’s what I ask them to do, and I thought we played fast.”

The win also made the Huskies bowl-eligible for the second season in a row. The Huskies have outscored the Eagles 87-6 in the past two meetings.

It was the Huskies day from the opening kick off, literally. Kick returner Tommy Davis returned the opening kick for an 86-yard touchdown. It wouldn’t be the last big gain of the night.

Spann, on his first two touches of the game, had runs of 65 and 79 yards, both for touchdowns.

The junior finished with 174 yards and two touchdowns on the night.

“Up front, our O-line started off, did a great job as always,” Spann said. “Our receivers did a great job down the field. It’s my job to get to the second level. I just turn on the speed and try and get to the end zone.”

Joining Spann in the offensive slaughter of the Eagles defense was Grady.

When NIU got the ball back in the first quarter after EMU roughed punter Mike Salerno,, Grady threw his first pass for a 30-yard touchdown to Cox on a post route.

On Grady’s second pass, he threw another post route, this time for 31 yards to Cox for another touchdown. Two passes, two touchdowns.

“Those were plays that were open, and I just tried to take advantage of it,” Grady said.

He would finish with 119 throwing yards on 4-of-5 completions with two touchdowns. He also added 104 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown. Third-string quarterback Ryan Morris replaced him in the fourth quarter.

The Huskies finished the night with 537 yards of total offense.

The defense played a role in the butchery too. Eagles’ quarterbacks Kyle McMahon and Alex
Gillett combined for 82 passing yards and one interception. They were under duress all evening, scrambling like made men from a defensive line hungry for blood. The Huskies had two sacks and countless hurries on the night.

“We are building right now. I feel bad for the university and the players because they want to do well and we just have to do better as a program,” said EMU head coach Ron English. “Jerry [Kill] has done a great job and he is a great guy and I am happy for him. I know our day will come, we just have to keep working on it.”

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