NILES — For part of the first half, the Niles football team was playing nose-to-nose with what many believe to be the best team in the entire SMAC conference — Portage Northern.

Then came a fumble on its own 18-yard line that changed the entire complexion of the game.

The Huskies capitalized on the Niles mistake and went on to rout the Vikings 63-14.

At the time of the fumble, Niles trailed Portage Northern 14-7.

After the Huskies’ Tyler Amos scored on a 60-yard run to make it 7-0, Niles’ Javond Ball raced 56 yards through the heart of the Huskies’ defense to tie the score at 7-7 following Drew Gourlay’s extra point kick.

Another long run, this one 57 yards by Anthony Tyus III, gave Portage Northern the lead for good. Following the ensuing kickoff, Niles fumbled and Amos scored to make it 21-7.

Game over.

“That could be,” answered Niles coach Joe Sassano about the turnover being the key to the game. “But I have to tell you. They are a really good football team too. They are I believe the best team in the conference.”

Despite the lopsided final score, Sassano was happy to see his team play hard to the final whistle. That could be important as the Vikings have three games left in the season, all of which are winnable, according to the veteran coach.

“I like the way our kids did not quit,” he said. “They played hard, and they played with heart. We were just outmatched.”

There were moments that give hope for Niles moving forward. Ball had another good game for the Vikings, finishing with 82 yards on 12 carries for an average of 6.8 yards per carry.

Brayden Lake had his moments as well, including a touchdown pass to Nate Goins where he dropped the ball over the top of the defender into the waiting arms of the Niles receiver.

Lake finished the nine 7-of-17 for 135 yards. Goins wound up with three receptions for 79 yards and Ryan Franco two catches for 58 yards.

The Huskies running game was too much for the Niles defense as it finished the night with 499 yards on 46 attempts.

Defensive leaders for the Vikings were Ball with eight and a half tackles, Jason Matlock with six and Brandon Crawford with fife and a half tackles. Jamison Zimmerman finished with five stops.

Next up for the Vikings is Kalamazoo Central Friday night.

“We have three winnable games,” Sassano said. “We still have three Centrals to play. We will just continue to work hard. Our goal now is to win four games.”