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DeKalb, Ill. — Rocky Lombardi threw for 192 yards, and Northern Illinois used a balanced running attack to hold off Eastern Illinois 34-27 in a season opener Thursday night.
The Panthers scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter and threatened at game’s end. The Huskies’ Josh Richardson missed a 43-yard field-goal attempt to the right with 58 seconds left, killing a chance for a 10-point lead.
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EIU quarterback Jonah O’Brien then led a six-play, 39-yard drive to get the Panthers to the Northern Illinois 44-yard line before time ran out. A sophomore, O’Brien threw for 276 yards and three scores and two interceptions.
The Huskies never trailed. They built a 21-6 halftime lead and extended it to 28-6 when Lombardi threw a 13-yard score to Liam Soraghan to end an eight-play, 64-yard drive with 5:59 left in the third.
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O’Brien responded heading scoring drives of 85 and 74 yards, respectively. He threw a 13-yard score to Justin Thomas with 9:58 left and an 8-yarder to Jay Vallie with 2:04 remaining.
