HOUSTON – Northern Colorado jumped out to an early lead and went on to a 45-13 victory over HBU in an FCS non-conference matchup Saturday night at Husky Stadium.
 
HBU sophomore quarterback Blaise Bentsen completed 19-of-38 passes for 207 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. Freshman Charles King made five catches for 78 yards and a touchdown, while sophomore Branden Walker had four catches for 46 yards.
 
Senior linebacker Brennan Young made 11 tackles and had two quarterback hurries for the Huskies (0-2). Senior safety Coi Miller, junior defensive lineman Kyler Baugh and freshman linebacker Rodney Dansby each made nine stops. Junior kicker Gino Garcia made both of his field goal attempts.
 
Conor Martin completed 9-of-14 passes for 128 yards and two touchdowns, while Dylan McCaffrey completed 9-of-16 for 63 yards. Gene Sledge Jr rushed 16 times for 84 yards and a pair of scores and Jullen Ison rushed six times for 65 yards and a touchdown. Jonah Morris made eight catches for 74 yards and a touchdown.
 
Jace Bobo lead the Bears (1-1) with nine tackles and David Hoage made eight tackles, three sacks and recovered two fumbles. Aaron Harris made two interceptions, returning one for a touchdown.
 
The Bears had 391 yards of total offense, 182 on the ground and 209 passing, while the Huskies had 266 total yards, 59 rushing and 207 passing. Each team had 17 first downs, UNC was penalized eight times for 90 yards and HBU was penalized four times for 35 yards.
 
UNC scored twice in the first quarter, first on Sledge's 11-yard run, then took advantage of an HBU muffed punt as Sledge ran it in from four yards out for a 14-0 lead.
 
HBU got on the board in the second quarter on Garcia's 24-yard field goal with 8:33 remaining. The Huskies forced a three-and-out and Bentsen led another field-goal drive, with Garcia connecting from 36 yards out.
 
After forcing another punt, HBU took over at the 33, but Bentsen threw an interception Harris returned 35 yards for a touchdown. The Bears then forced a three-and-out and looked to get the ball back in good position, but Brady Buell unloaded a 79-yard punt that went out of bounds at the UNC 1. The kick was the second-longest in HBU history.
 
HBU got a stop and UNC only got a 27-yard punt, setting up the Huskies at the 35, but Bentsen threw another interception and the Bears took a 21-6 lead into halftime.
 
UNC opened the second half with Martin finding Darren DeLaCroix for a 57-yard touchdown pass to lead 28-6 with 11:58 to go in the third. Martin hit Morris for a 39-yard gain down to the HBU 10, but the Bears settled for Ben Raybon's 33-yard field goal and a 31-6 advantage.
 
Later in the quarter, Sledge had a 29-yard run to the HBU 6, setting up Morris' 7-yard touchdown reception as the Bears extended their lead to 38-6 lead with 3:07 on the clock.
 
The Huskies quickly answered with Bentsen completing a 20-yard pass to Walker, then a 40-yard touchdown to King with 1:29 left in the third.
 
Ison had a 22-yard run for a touchdown for the only score of the fourth quarter.
 
The Huskies return to action when they travel to face Prairie View A&M Saturday, Sept. 18 at 6 p.m. in Prairie View, Texas.