ATHENS, Ohio — Sam Wiglusz leaped high to pull in a 22-yard pass from Kurtis Rourke over an outstretched defender in the end zone for the deciding fourth-quarter touchdown as Ohio pulled out a 24-17 win over Northern Illinois on Saturday.
Roarke also found Wiglusz for an 8-yard touchdown pass to cap the game’s opening drive and nosed in from the 1 with 4 minutes, 16 seconds left in the third quarter to give the Bobcats (5-3, 3-1 MAC) a 17-9 lead.
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Kacper Rutkiewicz scored the Huskies’ lone touchdown on an 11-yard run with 1:31 left in the third, and Nate Valcarcel threw to Cole Tucker for the two-point conversion to tie the game at 17.
John Richardson kicked field goals from 38, 27 and 45 yards to keep Northern Illinois (2-6, 1-3) within 10-9 with just less than 11 minutes left in the third quarter.
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Rourke was 14-of-26 passing for 200 yards and two touchdowns and led the Bobcats with 64 rushing yards on seven carries, breaking free for a 61-yard dash. Wiglusz finished with six catches for 69 yards.
Antario Brown had 160 yards on 16 carries to lead Northern Illinois. Justin Lynch completed half of his 18 pass attempts for 110 yards.