Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
Central Michigan
Football Closes Out 2007 at Central Michigan
11/12/2007 5:09:00 PM | Football
Game time set for 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 16, in Mount Pleasant
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85th MEETING: Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan will be squaring off for the 85th time in history when they meet Friday, Nov. 16, at 7 p.m. in CMU's Kelly/Shorts Stadium in Mount Pleasant, Mich. CMU leads the series, 53-25-6. Central won last year's contest, 24-17, in overtime, Sept. 23, in Ypsilanti. The Eagles recorded a 23-20 overtime decision the last time the two teams met in Mount Plesant, Sept. 24, 2005.
COMCAST LOCAL TV: The EMU-CMU game Friday, Nov. 16, will be televised live on Comcast Local with Ben Holden handling the play-by-play duties and Rob Otto serving as the game analyst.
MICHIGAN MAC SHOWDOWN: Friday's, Nov. 16, EMU-CMU game will be a 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. With the 19-2 win over Western Michigan (Oct. 27) the Eagles moved into the early lead for the trophy. Central then handed Western a 34-31 setback in Kalamazoo (Nov. 6) which knocked Western out of the running at 0-2 and left EMU and CMU tied at 1-1.
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS: For the second consecutive week the Eastern Michigan University football team will play under the lights on a Friday night. The Eagles hosted Bowling Green last Friday (Nov. 9) in Rynearson Stadium and fell, 39-32, to the visitors on a late fourth-quarter rally. This time around it will be a trip to Mount Pleasant Friday (Nov. 16) for the season finale at 7 p.m.. The Eagles head into the game with a 3-8 overall record and a 2-4 Mid-American Conference mark. The Chippewas have captured the MAC West Division title with a 5-0 overall record and a 4-0 divisional mark. The EMU-CMU series is the longest in EMU history, with 84 games played and Central holding a 53-25-6 advantage. The game will be a battle for the Michigan MAC 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. With the 19-2 win over Western Michigan (Oct. 27) the Eagles moved into the early lead for the trophy. Central then handed Western a 34-31 setback in Kalamazoo (Nov. 6) which knocked Western out of the running at 0-2 and left EMU and CMU tied at 1-1. EMU won the trophy in 2004, Western won in 2005 and Central captured the trophy last year.
EAGLES SIXTH IN THE NATION IN NET PUNTING: EMU is currently ranked sixth in the nation in net punting at 38.85 yards per game. Auburn is the leader at 39.70. The Eagles also have several individuals ranked near the top of the latest national statistical report. Redshirt freshman Ryan Downard (Lima, Ohio-Shawnee) is tied for eighth in the country in interceptions with .55 per game, senior defensive tackle Jason Jones (Southfield, Mich.-Lathrup) is tied for 11th in tackles-for-loss at 1.55 per game, and junior middle linebacker Daniel Holtzclaw (Enid, Okla.-Enid) is tied for 15th in tackles at 10.64 per game. Downard's six interceptions is also the best for an EMU player since Terry Reed recorded six in 1997. Bob Navarro is the EMU single-season interception lead with 12 in 1989. On the team front, in addition to the sixth spot in net punting, EMU is 23rd in turnover margin at .64 per contest.
WALKER ON THE TRIFECTA: Senior tailback Pierre Walker (Detroit, Mich.-Central) not only set a personal career rushing mark against Bowling Green last weekend (Nov. 9), but also made it three consecutive strong outings. Walker set his career-best with 151 yards on 33 rushes in a 19-2 win over Western Michigan (Oct. 27). He came right back with 93 yards gained on 22 carries and three touchdown runs at Toledo (Nov. 3). He then bettered his single-game best with a 155 yards on 31 carries with one touchdown last week against BGSU. For his career, Walker has rushed 283 times for 1,084 yards and 10 touchdowns.
SCHMITT PICKS UP THE PACE: Sophomore redshirt quarterback Andy Schmitt (St. Johns, Mich.-St. Johns) turned in a strong all-around game last weekend (Nov. 9) against Bowling Green. Schmitt completed 12-of-18 passes for 134 yards and two touchdowns, of 29 yards to Tyler Jones (Belleville, Mich.-Belleville) and five yards to Ken Bohnet (Grand Ledge, Mich.-Grand Ledge). Schmitt also rushed four times for 24 yards and scored two rushing touchdowns, on runs of three and eight yards.
BIG ON "O": The Eagles have turned in three consecutive outstanding offensive efforts. In a 19-2 win over Western Michigan (Oct. 27) the Eagles had 392 yards in total offense and at Toledo (Nov. 3) Eastern had 417 yards in total offense. Last weekend (Nov. 9) the Eagles piled up 403 yards in total offense.
JUST MISSING THE SHUTOUT: The EMU defense pitched a shutout against Western Michigan (Oct. 27) but the visiting Broncos managed two points, against EMU's offense, on a safety in the second quarter. The last time EMU had a shutout was the 1997 season when the Eagles won a 45-0 decision over Akron (Oct. 18).
CAREER BEST: Redshirt sophomore Zach Johnson (Springboro, Ohio-Springboro) turned in outstanding efforts in both the punting and place-kicking games in the 19-2 win over a visiting Western Michigan team (Oct. 27). Johnson booted a career-best 50-yard field goal and also had five punts for 198 yards, including four inside the 20-yard line. Johnson's 50 yarder ties for eighth longest field goal in EMU history.
THIRD STRAIGHT FOR HOMECOMING: EMU's 19-2 win over Western Michigan (Oct. 27) marked the third consecutive Homecoming win for the Eagles. Eastern won the 2006 Homecoming tilt, 17-13, (Oct. 21) against Toledo and the Eagles also captured the 2005 Homecoming game, 27-20, over Kent State (Oct. 1).
GAGE SETS EMU AND MAC RECORD: Redshirt sophomore wide receiver-kick return specialist Dontayo Gage (Pontiac, Mich.-Northern) broke the EMU single-season kickoff return yardage record when he had three returns for 105 yards against Northwestern University (Oct. 19). The 105 yards against the Wildcats give Gage 784 yards on 30 returns this season, breaking the mark of 725 yards in returns by Trumaine Riley in 2003. Through 11 games, Gage has now accumulated 924 yards on 38 kickoff returns, breaking WMU's Rashad McDade MAC mark of 898 kickoff return yards in the 1999 season. Gage is currently the 2007 kickoff return leader at 924 followed by CMU's Antonio Brown at 891, Ball State's Dante Love at 864 and WMU's Brandon West at 824.
MID-SEASON ACCOLADES: Five EMU players have earned mention on Phil Steele's College Football Preview magazine mid-season All-American and All-Mid-American Conference rankings. Senior defensive tackle Jason Jones (Southfield, Mich.-Lathrup) was chosen fourth-team All-American on the mid-season list. In addition, Jones, Khalid Walton (Southfield, Mich.-Southfield) and Daniel Holtzclaw (Enid, Okla.-Enid) were all named mid-season first-team All-MAC while Andy Fretz (Kalamazoo, Mich.-Central) and Darran Matthews (Redford, Mich.-Thurston) were selected to the All-MAC second team.
TURNING THEM OVER: The Eagles came up with six turnovers in a 19-2 win over Western Michigan (Oct. 27). The Eagles added one fumble recovery at Toledo (Nov. 3), and added one interception and one fumble recovery against BGSU (Nov. 9) an
