DeKalb took the lead on Sycamore in the third quarter with some flashy plays on both sides of the ball.

But the Spartans ended up winning the contest thanks to a business-like drive that iced the final 8:13 off the clock in a win over the rival Barbs at NIU’s Huskie Stadium.

“It’s amazing. It’s a hard-fought victory,” said Sycamore offensive lineman Owen DePauw, the lead blocker most of the night for the Spartans as they amassed over 300 rushing yards. “It’s kind of euphoric fighting this hard and then, in my career, three-peating on them. It’s just amazing.”

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The Barbs (0-1) led 21-15 going into the fourth quarter after the Spartans (1-0) turned the ball over on their first two possessions of the second half.

The Spartans used an 80-yard scoring drive that included a 14-yard run by Kevin Lee and a pair of big runs by Caden Ralph to bookend the drive. He went for 20 yards on the first play and scored from 11 yards out early in the fourth, staking the Spartans to a 22-21 lead.

“We just liked his spark,” Sycamore coach Joe Ryan said of Ralph, who didn’t have a carry in the first half. “Dylan [Curtis] ran really well early, then Caden came in, blocked really well and so we left him in there. He did a nice job.”

The Barbs got to their own 42 on the ensuing drive, but were forced to punt when facing a fourth-and-10.

Sycamore took over on its own 17 with 8:13 left.

“It was a tough decision to punt there on fourth-and-10,” DeKalb coach Derek Schneeman said. “Usually I’d go for it. I thought if we could pin them deep, Jayden did a good job punting all night and then make them execute down the field. I thought our defense had a great shot to get off the field.”

The final drive was mostly on the ground, although the second play was a deep pass attempt from Griffin Larsen to Ralph for 24 yards. Lee converted a fourth and 2 run from the 44, then with 1:34 left Cooper Bode picked up 2 yards on third and 1 to ice the game.

It was the fourth win in a row for the Spartans against DeKalb and the second in a row by a single score - Sycamore won 35-28 last year after trailing in the fourth.

The Barbs were playing without starting quarterback Cole Latimer in the game, with LeBron Carrington taking over. They trailed 15-6 at the break but opened the third quarter with a 6:18 scoring drive to pull within two.

They converted a fourth and seven when punter Jayden Maldonado scrambled 22 yards on a fake punt from midfield. As they entered the red zone, Carrington was shaken up and had to leave, bringing on third-string quarterback and regular wide receiver Derrion Straughter. He snuck in from a yard out to cut the deficit to 15-13. Carrington returned later in the game.

On the second play of the ensuing Sycamore drive, Davon Grant came up with a fumble recovery and returned it 57 yards for a touchdown as DeKalb went ahead 21-15.

On the next Sycamore drive, DeKalb defensive lineman Travis Moore made a leaping, one-handed interception of a Larsen pass, although the Barbs could not score on the offensive end. Sycamore got the touchdown from Ralph on its next possession.

“We have to find a way to put it in the end zone there after Travis’ interception,” Schneeman said. “We kept the door open and they took advantage.”

The Spartans scored on the first drive of the game on a 34-yard fourth-and-4 pass from Larsen to Cooper Bode. DeKalb got inside the 10 but Carrington was intercepted by Josiah Mitchell.

Sycamore couldn’t move the ball, and a bad snap on a punt gave the ball to the Barbs at the Sycamore 1. Offensive lineman Owen Sisson ran the ball in for the touchdown, cutting the Sycamore lead to 7-6.

“We kept persevering because there were some ugly moments,” Ryan said. “Turnovers and mess-ups on special teams. And we’re usually good on special teams so we’ll get that cleaned up for sure.”

Bode added a 4-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to push the lead to 14-6. Lee ran 17 times for 102 yards, Dylan Curtis added 83 yards on the ground, and Ralph had 80.

Sycamore outgained DeKalb 307-83 on the ground and 405-193 overall. Grant had 13 rushing yards, 41 receiving yards, and 36 passing yards.

“Last year, we felt like what happened in Week 1 in some ways beat us in Week 2,” Schneeman said. “These kids have worked too hard to let that happen again. I have all the confidence in the world in them. I know we’re going to turn the page and put our best foot forward against Phillips.”