Eastern Michigan Athletics
Football Faces Central Michigan Saturday in Home Opener
9/18/2006 2:36:30 PM | Football
Game time set for 3:30 p.m.
Complete Release (PDF).
Listen to the Game via WEMU.
EMU VS. CMU
The CMU-EMU rivalry is the longest in Eastern football annals as the two teams have met 83 times dating back to the 1902 campaign. The Chippewas hold a 52-25-6 advantage, but the Eagles have won the last two in a row.
The last time the two teams met was in Mount Pleasant, as EMU captured a 23-20 overtime victory, Sept. 24, 2005. The last time EMU last knocked off CMU at Rynearson Stadium was a 31-15 decision, Nov. 4, 2000.
BATTLE FOR THE MICHIGAN-MAC CHAMPIONSHIP
This afternoon’s game between EMU and CMU will start the 2006 battle for the Michigan-Mid-American Conference Trophy sponsored by the state of Michigan Sports Hall of Fame. The trophy is awarded to the Michigan-MAC school that holds the season’s advantage in football games played between Eastern Michigan, Central Michigan and Western Michigan. EMU won the battle of Michigan schools in 2004, the first year of the trophy, by winning both matchups with their Michigan counterparts. Last year’s trophy went to Western Michigan, which handled both the Chippewas and the Eagles. EMU and WMU are scheduled to play in Kalamazoo, Oct. 28, while CMU and WMU are slated to hook up Nov. 10 at Central.
THE HEAD COACHES
EMU Head Coach Jeff Genyk (Bowling Green, '82) is in his third year as head coach after serving the previous 12 years working for Northwestern University.
CMU Head Coach Brian Kelly (Assumption, ’83) is also in his third season.
115th SEASON
The 2006 season marks the 115th year of football at Eastern Michigan University. The first year of intercollegiate football in Ypsilanti was 1891 when the team posted an 0-2 record. EMU has fielded a team every year since 1891 with one exception, when the 1944 season was cancelled because of World War II.
JEFF GENYK RADIO SHOW SET
EMU head football coach Jeff Genyk will be the featured guest on the Sunday morning radio show, "Green Eggs and Coffee", from 9 a.m.-10 a.m. each Sunday of the football season. The shows, with WTKA radio’s Josh Vernier and WEMU radio reporter Brian Nemerovski serving as co-hosts, will be broadcast live from WTKA’s studio in Ann Arbor. The first show of the 2006 season was Sunday, Aug. 27.
COLLEGIATE CLASH SET FOR NOV. 11
For the third year in a row the EMU football team will be taking one of its home games on the road, hosting the United States Navel Academy in the third annual Collegiate Clash at Ford Field, home of the Detroit Lions, in Detroit. EMU will be the host team for the non-conference battle Saturday, Nov. 11, with game time set for 1 p.m. Tickets for the game are $20 each. The Eagles hosted Central Michigan in the inaugural Collegiate Clash, Nov. 6, 2004, and Eastern won a thriller, 61-58, in four overtimes. Last year Eastern tangled with Western Michigan, Nov. 5, 2005, but this time it was the Broncos that walked away with a hard-fought 44-36 decision.
CAPTAINS NAMED
EMU will have two captains for the 2006 season. Senior wide receiver Eric Deslauriers (Gatineau, Quebec, Ontario, Canada-Lennoxville College Prep) and senior defensive end Kevin Howe (Fruitport, Mich.-Grand Haven) have been voted by their teammates to serve as captains.
WELLOCK SETS ANOTHER MARK
Senior kicker Andrew Wellock (North Canton, Ohio-Green) continued his assault on the EMU record book in the Aug. 31 opener at Ball State. Wellock, who entered the game with the career record of 53 field goals, added to that mark with kicks of 20 and 31 yards for 55 total. He added two PAT’s to give him eight points on the evening and 244 for his career, breaking the career record of 239 points by Justin Ventura (1995-98). At Michigan State (Sept. 9) Wellock improved on those marks with field goals of 38 and 41 yards to go along with two PAT’s for an eight-point evening, giving him 252 total career points and 57 career field goals. Last weekend at Northwestern (Sept. 16) Wellock stayed perfect on the season with field goals of 47 and 30 yards to give him 59 career field goals and 258 points.
