Boston College erased a 14-point, fourth-quarter deficit solely to succumb to Northern Illinois, 27-24, in extra time within the season opener earlier than 30,122 on Saturday at Alumni Stadium.
The Eagles play the second of three straight dwelling video games once they host regional rival Holy Cross on Sept. 9. BC begins ACC play in opposition to No. 8 Florida State on Sept. 16.
BC floundered on either side of the ball in extra time. BC received the opening possession, failed to realize a primary down and settled for a 39-yard area purpose by Liam Connor. The Huskies ripped via the BC protection on their possession and secured the victory with a 1-yard keeper by quarterback Rocky Lombardi.
“We have specifically done overtime periods in camp and we’ve played in overtime games here,” mentioned BC center linebacker Vinny DePalma. “Guys knew what we were in for and guys were ready to play overtime.”
The recreation took an surprising twist at 3:04 of the primary when BC coach Jeff Hafley benched beginning quarterback Emmett Morehead and inserted sophomore switch Thomas Castellanos. Morehead appeared tentative within the Eagles first two possessions whereas going 3-of-6 for 14 yards.
Castellanos would play many of the the rest of the sport and accomplished 13 passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns. He additionally rushed for 67 yards on 9 carries and a landing.
“Thomas deserved to play,” mentioned Hafley. “Thomas has a really good training camp and Emmett did, too. But we felt Thomas deserved to play and it wasn’t indicative of how Emmett played.”
BC staged a comeback halfway via the fourth fueled by Castellanos’ twin menace athleticism and all of a sudden correct arm. BC crested the purple zone and caught a break when NIU cornerback JaVaughn Bond was flagged for cross interference in the long run zone. Castellanos minimize the result in 21-14 with a 2-yard sweep with 5:59 to play.
The Eagles received the ball again on their very own 17 with 3:23 to play. Castellanos went about tying the sport 21-21 on a six-play, 83-yard scoring drive. Castellanos prolonged the drive with a 22-yard connection to Ryan O’Keefe adopted by a 30-yard landing toss to Jaden Williams with 1:44 remaining.
“I think when plays break down, that gets scary for the defense because I feel I can scramble around and make plays for the offense,” mentioned Castellanos.
Rocky highway
Lombardi gained a measure of offensive traction on NIU’s fourth possession and drove the Huskies to the BC 7. NIU coach Thomas Hammock lifted Lombardi and despatched in working again Justin Lynch to take a direct snap. Lynch rolled proper and threw a landing cross to tailback Antario Brown, giving NIU a 7-0 lead with 2:44 to play within the second.
The origin of that play may be traced again to Philadelphia. Before transferring to NIU, Lynch performed in 11 video games as a quarterback for Temple in 2021, the place he accomplished 88-of-154 passes for 839 yards and 4 touchdowns.
“We had played against him at Temple so that play did not surprise us,” mentioned Hafley.
Heads up name
Northern Illinois gained the pre-game coin flip with a name of heads and elected to defer to the second half. That turned out to be a smart determination with game-altering penalties. The Huskies opened the third quarter with a 10-play, 75-yard, scoring drive that took 4:27 to finish. Brown scored on a 2-yard run for his second TD of the sport and a 14-0 lead with 10:33 to play.
Getting the drop
BC caught its largest break of the sport when Lombardi inexplicably let the ball slip from his grasp whereas working away from stress. BC gradate defensive deal with Kris Banks pounced on the ball and provides the Eagles a first-and-10 from NIU 25. BC minimize the result in 14-7 on an 11-yard cross from Castellanos to Lewis Bond with 4:48 to play within the third.
The giveaway
Turnover turnarounds are truthful play in school soccer. Castellanos underneath threw a wide-open Jaden Williams and the ball was picked off by Bond on the NIU 45. The Huskies the went 55 yards on 12 performs that consumed 7:04. The drive was prolonged by an egregious cross interference name in opposition to BC cornerback Elijah Jones on a fourth and 6. Fullback Brock Lampe punched it in from the one to make it 21-7 with 5:59 to play.
“That was a bad ball by me, I have to throw a better ball there,” mentioned Castellanos. “I was trying to be aggressive and make a play down the field and get the momentum going but that has got to be a better ball.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com