Wright, Johnson Jr. combine for 266 yards rushing, lead Northern Illinois over Ball State 21-7

Chavon Wright and Telly Johnson Jr. combined for 266 yards rushing and a touchdown to lead Northern Illinois to a 21-7 victory over Ball State on Saturday.

Johnson broke loose on a 53-yard touchdown run on the opening drive for Northern Illinois (2-6, 1-3 Mid-American Conference). Josh Holst added a 7-yard touchdown run in the third quarter and a 14-yard TD pass to DeAree Rogers in the fourth for the Huskies, who ended a six-game losing streak.

Wright had 166 yards rushing on 37 carries. Johnson ran the ball 15 times for 100 yards. Holst completed 6 of 11 passes for 65 yards with 36 yards on the ground.

"When you get in the flow of the game, it doesn’t feel like 37 carries," Wright said. "You just get in a rhythm where you want the ball in your hands."

Kiael Kelly was 10-of-23 passing for 136 yards and threw a touchdown pass and two interceptions, and led Ball State (3-5, 2-2) with 86 yards rushing on 27 carries.

Drew Cassens' 1-yard TD catch ended an 11-play, 80-yard drive for Ball State that tied it 7-7 early in the second quarter.

What they're saying:

"I’m tremendously proud of our players and coaching staff," said head coach Thomas Hammock. "I like the character of these young men. They stay in it. When outside noise is saying things, the guys are doing the right things. We had moments where it wasn’t going our way but we built some positive momentum."

"Today we showed we have the ability to run the football," Hammock said. "We still have confidence in our passing game. There are still some things we need to clean up in the critical moments."