Ball State University
Northern Illinois
Football Suffers 35-21 Loss to Northern Illinois
November 06, 2014 | Football
MUNCIE, Ind. -- Jahwan Edwards became the Ball State football team's all-time leading scorer Wednesday night, but the Cardinals fell 35-21 to Northern Illinois at Scheumann Stadium.
Ball State overcame an early 14-point deficit to pull even by halftime but was ultimately derailed by four turnovers. The Cardinals dropped to 3-6 (2-3 Mid-American Conference) with their first loss in the past three games, while Northern Illinois improved to 7-2 (4-1 MAC).
“I thought the defense played well enough for us to win,” Ball State head coach Pete Lembo said. “The bottom line in this game was bad field position and not staying on the field long enough offensively.”
Northern Illinois turned a 14-14 game at the half into a 28-14 lead early in the fourth quarter after a Cameron Stingily touchdown run and Anthony Brooks' 21-yard interception return for touchdown.
Ball State answered when Horactio Banks capped a 54-yard drive with a TD run to pull within one possession again. Darnell Smith then recovered a fumble to give Ball State possession near midfield, but the Cardinals turned it right back to NIU when the Huskies intercepted a deflected pass.
It remained a seven-point game until Stingily scored his third touchdown of the game with 2:45 left for the final 14-point margin.
Stingily ran for 148 yards, including more than 100 in the second half as Northern Illinois used the ground game to control the action.
Edwards ran for 92 yards and scored his 48th career touchdown to move into a tie for seventh on the all-time MAC list with former NIU quarterback Jordan Lynch. Edwards' TD, Ball State's first of the night, moved him into the top spot on Ball State's career scoring list with 288 points.
Jack Milas hit Jordan Williams on a 38-yard scoring strike for Ball State's second first half touchdown to bring the Cardinals even before halftime. Williams led all receivers with 95 yards on five catches.
Four Ball State defensive players recorded at least 13 tackles in the game, including 15 for Martez Hester. His 15 tackles were the most in a game for the Cardinals since 2011.
Ball State will be back in action Wednesday, traveling to Amherst, Mass., to take on UMass in an 8 p.m. contest televised on ESPNU.
