Joe Summins: October 2011 Archives There is a great story in the Rockford Register Star today by Matt Trowbridge on Northern Illinois quarterback Chandler Harnish. A first team All-MAC selection in 2010, Harnish has been the face of NIU football for the last two seasons and he is looking to close out his final campaign with a MAC championship. Be sure to check it out. One of Chandler Harnish's favorite groups to work with in the DeKalb-Sycamore area is the Cornerstone Christian Academy. Harnish took part in a fundraiser at the school Wednesday which as of Wednesday had raised $25,000 for tuition assistance to Cornerstone Christian Academy. The Daily-Chronicle was out at CCA and caught up with the Huskie signal caller in this piece. Mike Salerno is back kicking in the Chicago area. The Orland Park native signed a deal to kick for the Chicago Rush of the Arena Football League. Salerno, who kicked for NIU from 2008-09, scored 184 points hitting 73 extra points and going 19-of-25 on field goals. He kicked a career long 52 yarder for the Huskies in 2008.The Rush will be Salerno's third AFL team. He kicked for the Kansas City Command in 2011 and the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz in 2010. Salerno and the Rush open their 2012 season Sunday, March 11th against the Tampa Bay Storm.  From the where are they now file, I received this note from former Huskie center McAllister Collins Saturday afternoon. Collins, who played for the Huskies from 1997-2000, was a first team All-Mid-American Conference selection in 2000 and he was teammates with Huskie greats Justin McCariens, Ryan Diem and Thomas Hammock.Collins, who is attending the prestigious Royal Military Academy - Sandhurst, met up with another former Huskie last week - Chad Spann. Spann, who had just signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week, was on the trip to London where the Buccaneers faced off against the Chicago Bears. It was a reunion of sorts as the two had met before Spann had attended Northern Illinois.
 The Northern Illinois University defense has shown vast improvements in the last two games, allowing an average of 16 points per game and keeping teams under 200 yards of total offense. That's quite a change from the 39.6 points and 499.8 yards of total offense allowed a game in the first five contests. Mike McGraw of the Daily Herald breaks down the Huskies' improvement on the defensive side of the ball in this article in today's paper.  Chandler Harnish's double-double Saturday was an amazing feat. He became just the 10th player in NCAA FBS history to rush for 200 yards and pass for 200 yards tallying 229 yards rush and 203 yards passing. As Fred Mitchell of the Chicago Tribune writes, Harnish, the Huskies' leading rusher with 671 yards, is just as dangerous with his legs than he is his arm. Ryan Wood of the Daily Chronicle also offered his take on Harnish's running ability in this story found in today's paper.  Many teams in college football are employ a two quarterback offense and
Northern Illinois University is no exception. Chandler Harnish and
Jordan Lynch provide a nice one-two punch for the Huskie offense. As
Rick Armstrong of the Beacon News writes, the playing time Lynch is receiving now is not only paying dividends this season, but it will also pay off in the future. There are a pair of stories in the Rockford Register Star today Huskie fans might be interested in. Jay Taft talks about how Chandler Harnish and the Huskies' performance Saturday against Western Michigan has vaulted them back into MAC title contention. Taft's colleague, Matt Trowbridge, filed this story on the guys that protect Harnish and open holes for Huskie running backs.  Another former Northern Illinois University football player was signed by an NFL squad. A week after Tracy Wilson was signed to the New York Jets practice, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced the signing of Chad Spann to the Buccaneer practice squad. Spann was on the team flight to London, England where the Bucs will face the Bears. Good thing Spann had his passport in order after the Huskies trip to Toronto for the 2010 International Bowl. Chandler Harnish's performance Saturday against Western Michigan made national news for the senior signal caller. It made Mark Schlabach's On the Mark portion of his column on ESPN.com today.
 Many of the experts predicted a high-scoring game before Northern Illinois University's game with Western Michigan Saturday, but no one expected it to be so lopsided. The Huskies delivered an impressive 51-22 victory over the Broncos in NIU's 105th Homecoming game. In addition to complete coverage on NIUHuskies.com, several area papers were at the game. Most of the stories centered around NIU's amazing offensive explosion, keyed by the incredible performance by NIU quarterback Chandler Harnish. Below are the links to all the game recaps. Chicago Tribune: NIU routs Western Michigan 51-22 Sun Times: NIU's Chandler Harnish runs for 229 yards, throws for 203 Beacon News: Harnish no one-trick pony Daily Chronicle: The adjustment bureau Daily Chronicle: Huskies get defensive in win Rockford Register Star: Chandler Harnish, Huskies steamroll key conference foe  As Mike McGraw of the Daily Herald writes in his preview today, Saturday's 105th Homecoming Game between Northern Illinois and Western Michigan is going to be a showcase for two of the best quarterbacks in the nation. WMU's Alex Carder and Chandler Harnish are 1-2 in the MAC in total offense. It's also a big game for both team's hopes of reaching Detroit for the MAC Championship game.Rick Armstrong of the Beacon News gave his take on the quarterback duel in this preview that appeared in today's edition.
Congratulations go out to former Northern Illinois University safety Tracy Wilson, who was signed to the Jets practice squad. He originally signed with the Jets Aug 24 as an undrafted free agent. Wilson appeared in the final two preseason games for New York. Wilson played three years at NIU, tallying 171 tackles in 32 games played.
 The Northern Illinois University defense turned in its best performance of the season, giving up three points and allowing 64 yards of total offense, including one yard rushing, in the Huskies' 40-10 victory over Kent State. As Fred Mitchell of the Chicago Tribune writes, maintaining that level of play will be the key for the Huskies' success against Western Michigan. Northern Illinois University placekicker Mathew Sims was named a "Star of the Week" by the Lou Groza National Collegiate Place-Kicker Award. The sophomore from Hannibal, Mo. was a perfect four-for-four Saturday in NIU's 40-10 victory over Kent State. Sims connected on field goals of 31, 32, 44 and 34. I was his second consecutive four field goal performance and the first four-for-four day of his career. His 44-yarder ties a career high set earlier this season against Cal Poly. Sims is now 10-of-13 on the season in field goals and is 26-of-27 on PATs.
Part II of Ryan Wood's two-part story on the journey Donovan Gordon and Tim Semisch took to Northern Illinois University after the football program at Nebraska-Omaha was cut. As the story points out, both men arrived at NIU, but took different paths to get here.
 Ryan Wood of the Daily Chronicle sat down with a pair of unlikely Huskies, Donovan Gordon and Tim Semisch. Both were football players at Nebraska-Omaha until the school decided to cut its successful football and wrestling programs.When the two were looking for schools to further their education and football playing careers, they chose Northern Illinois. Thursday's story is part one of a two-part story on the events that transpired to bring the two to NIU. As Ryan Wood of the Daily Chronicle writes in this feature, Dave Doeren is adjusting well to his role as a head coach. Doeren, who came to NIU after serving as defensive coordinator at Wisconsin is in his first head coach position and understands his role.
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