Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
0-1 , 0-1
Ball State
1-0 , 1-0
Football Falls at Ball State, 38-20
8/31/2006 11:13:00 PM | Football
EMU quarterback Tyler Jones racks up 310 total yards and two touchdowns
Box score.
Photo Gallery.
MUNCIE, Ind. – The Eastern Michigan University football team dropped a 38-20 Mid-American Conference West Division decision to Ball State University in the 2006 season opener here tonight at Scheumann Stadium. EMU enjoyed a 10-7 second quarter lead, but Ball State outscored the Eagles, 28-10, over the contest's final 40:28. With the loss, EMU drops to 0-1 overall, 0-1 in the Mid-American Conference and Ball State moves to 1-0 and 1-0 in the MAC standings.
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Tyler Jones ran for 164 yards on 22 carries and a touchdown, while completing 11-of-16 passes for 146 yards and a touchdown. Redshirt freshman Andy Schmitt added 7-of-12 for 63 yards and an interception. Senior wide receiver Eric Deslauriers caught 10 balls for 127 yards and a touchdown, while Trumaine Rilery added three catches for 27 yards.
The Cardinals were paced by senior quarterback Joey Lynch who passed for 122 yards on 10-of-20 passes and true freshman Nate Davis was 7-of-8 for 108 yards and three touchdowns.
The Eagles opened the game by driving all the way to the Ball State 32-yard line but three offensive penalties stalled the drive. Following a punt by Andrew Wellock down to the five-yard line, the host Cardinals responded by driving out to midfield before the drive ended with a punt back to EMU.
The early season jitters showed for both teams as neither team was able to move the ball much following the first drive of the game. Following two short drives for Eastern, Jones rolled off a 30-yard run to get the Eagles out of the shadows of their own goal post. The chains continued to move for head coach Jeff Genyk's crew, as Jones took another keeper and ran 42 yards down to the one-yard line. Two plays later, the redshirt sophomore signal caller from Belleville, Mich. put EMU on the scoreboard with a six-yard scamper for the touchdown with 2:05 remaining in the first quarter. A Wellock PAT followed to give the Eagles a 7-0 advantage.
Ball State returned the favor with a nine-play, 66-yard drive, capped off by a 15-yard touchdown pass from Lynch to Darius Hill on a 4th down and 1 play with 13:03 showing on the clock in the second quarter.
EMU's spread offense began to click as Jones once again drove 77 yards in 10 plays, culminating in a 20-yard field goal by Andrew Wellock with 8:31 left in the second period to give EMU a 10-7 lead. With the field goal, Wellock become the school's all-time leader in points with 240, surpassing fellow place kicker Justin Ventura's mark of 239 set in 1998.
The Cardinals took the lead for the first time on a little trick play, utilizing a double-pass as Nate Davis hooked up with a streaking Louis Johnson for the 46-yard touchdown with 6:55 to play in the half. A Brian Jackson PAT followed to give BSU a four-point margin, 14-10.
The momentum was starting to swing Ball State's way, as Jackson tacked on a 46-yard field goal with 1:46 left in the second quarter to make it 17-10.
Wellock pulled Eastern Michigan back within four, 17-13, with a 31 yard field goal as time expired.
In the second half Ball State used good starting field position, as Lynch found Love for a nine-yard touchdown strike just 5:31 into the third quarter to give the Cardinals their biggest advantage of the game at 24-13. BSU would tack on another six-yard touchdown pass from Davis to Hill at the 2:24 mark on the third quarter to make it 31-13.
After forcing the Cardinals to punt from their own end zone, Eastern used great starting position and was able to capitalize as Jones found Deslauriers for a 20-yard touchdown completion with 11:51 left in the fourth quarter to pull the Eagles within 11, 31-20.
But once again Ball State was able to respond with a 31 yard touchdown rush by Love and the Jackson PAT to seal the 38-20 victory.
The Eagles open non-conference action Saturday, Sept. 9, in East Lansing, Mich. versus Michigan State University. Kick off is set for 3:30 p.m.
Team Stats
EMU 7, BSU 0
EMU - JONES, Tyler 6 yd run (WELLOCK, Andrew kick), 6 plays, 88 yards, TOP 1:58
EMU 7, BSU 7
BSU - HILL, Darius 15 yd pass from LYNCH, Joey (JACKSON, Brian kick) 9 plays, 66 yards, TOP 3:39
EMU 10, BSU 7
EMU - WELLOCK, Andrew 20 yd field goal 10 plays, 77 yards, TOP 4:32
EMU 10, BSU 14
BSU - JOHNSON, Louis 46 yd pass from DAVIS, Nate (JACKSON, Brian kick) 3 plays, 65 yards, TOP 1:33
EMU 10, BSU 17
BSU - JACKSON, Brian 46 yd field goal 8 plays, 25 yards, TOP 3:09
EMU 13, BSU 17
EMU - WELLOCK, Andrew 31 yd field goal 9 plays, 68 yards, TOP 1:36
EMU 13, BSU 24
BSU - LOVE, Dante 9 yd pass from DAVIS, Nate (JACKSON, Brian kick) 4 plays, 30 yards, TOP 2:08
EMU 13, BSU 31
BSU - HILL, Darius 6 yd pass from DAVIS, Nate (JACKSON, Brian kick) 6 plays, 57 yards, TOP 1:46
EMU 20, BSU 31
EMU - DESLAURIERS, E. 20 yd pass from JONES, Tyler (WELLOCK, Andrew kick) 1 plays, 20 yards, TOP 0:11
EMU 20, BSU 38
BSU - LOVE, Dante 31 yd run (JACKSON, Brian kick), 8 plays, 69 yards, TOP 3:24
