Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
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Western Michigan
Football Falls to Western Michigan, 31-10
11/1/2008 5:58:00 PM | Football, E-Gridiron Group
Western rolls up 502 total offensive yards to record the win
Box score. KALAMAZOO, Mich. — The Eastern Michigan University football team could not take advantage of trips to the red zone and dropped a 31-10 decision to Western Michigan University here Saturday, Nov. 1, in a Mid-American Conference West Division game played in Waldo Stadium. The Eagles made it to the red zone four times, but scored just 10 points on those chances to fall to 2-8 overall and 1-5 in MAC action while Western improves to 7-2 overall and 5-1 in league action. On offense, junior quarterback Andy Schmitt (St. John's Mich.-St. John's) went 21-of-35 for 272 yards in the air. Sophomore Dwayne Priest (Roanoke, Va.-William Fleming-Fork Union) and senior tailback Terrence Blevins (Detroit, MIch.-Denby) led the Eagles in rushing with 52 yards each while Blevins scored the Eagles' lone touchdown on a 19-yard run. Defensively, the Eagles were led by senior linebacker Jermaine Jenkins (Saginaw, Mich.-Saginaw) with 11 stops on the afternoon, while safety Jacob Wyatt (Lansing, Mich.-Sexton) added nine tackles. Western opened the scoring on its first offensive possession of the game when Hiller found a streaking Juan Nunez for a 45-yard touchdown pass at the 10:35 mark of the first quarter. John Potter added the PAT kick for the 7-0 lead. The Broncos made it 10-0 with 1:10 left in the first quarter when place-kicker John Potter booted a 32-yard field goal. Eastern cut the Wester deficit to three, 10-7, when Blevins burst through the left side of the line for a 19-yard scoring run. Joe Carithers (Dacula, Ga.-Dacula-Palmomar J.C.) added the PAT kick for the Eagles. Western answered with 10:00 on the clock on a seven-yard touchdown pass from Hiller to Schneider Julien as Potter added the PAT for a 17-7 WMU advantage. With Western threatening to score from the one-yard line late in the first half the EMU defense came up with the first of two huge efforts. Senior middle linebacker Daniel Holtzclaw (Enid, Okla.-Enid) forced a fumble that was recovered by senior defensive tackle Josh Hunt (Jackson, Mich.-Lumen Christi) with just 00:55 left on the clock. A 15-yard WMU penalty gave Eastern the ball at the16-yard line. EMU moved it down near midfield before getting stopped on downs. Western looked like it might get in position to score at that point, but safety Chris May (Jupiter, Fla.-Dwyer) forced a fumble and recovered it at the EMU 20-yard line. The Eagles took a knee on the next play to end the half with the Broncos on top, 17-7. Carithers opened the second half scoring on a 28-yard field goal at the 1:21 mark after Spenser Smith (Detroit, Mich.-Mackenzie) forced a Bronco fumble which was recovered by Arrington Hicks (Orlando, Fla.-Edgewater). The score pulled the Eagles within seven, 17-10. Western would bounce right back, however, going up 24-10, on a one-yard run by Brandon West with 13:16 left in the game. The Broncos would add one more score in the game, on a 34-yard pass from Hiller to Branden Ledbetter. Eastern, meanwhile, moved it down to the Bronco two-yard line twice late in the game, but failed to convert on its chances.
