Box score.
Click Here to Watch Highlights of the Game.
Click Here to Watch Head Coach Jeff Genyk's Postgame Press Conference.
Click Here for a Photo Gallery of the Game.
YPSILANTI, Mich. - The Eastern Michigan University football team used a high-powered offense and a stifling defense to hand a visiting Indiana State University squad a 52-0 shutout here Thursday night (Aug. 28) in Rynearson Stadium in the season opener for both teams. It was the first shutout for EMU since the Eagles defeated Akron, 45-0, Oct. 18, 1997.
With the win, the Eagles start the season 1-0 for the first time since 2004, while Indiana State drops to 0-1 to start the 2008 season.
EMU piled up a team-record 637 yards of total offense, including 413 on the ground. Senior tailback Terrence Blevins (Detroit, Mich.-Denby) racked up 176 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Eagles' ground attack. Sophomore Dwayne Priest (Roanoke, Va.-Fleming-Fork Union) rushed for 39 yards and two scores on just eight rushing attempts. Junior quarterback Andy Schmitt (St. John's Mich.-St. John's) completed 15-of-20 passes for 160 yards and a touchdown through the air, while rushing for 33 yards and a score on the ground.
Defensively, senior Jermaine Jenkins (Saginaw, Mich.-Saginaw) turned in two interceptions for the Green and White, while safety Dwayne Harrison (North Miami Beach, Fla.-North Miami Beach) picked off one as well. The Eagles yielded only 132 yards of total offense to the Sycamores, allowing ISU just seven first downs on the evening.
The Eagles took little time getting on the board, taking the ball on their first possession and driving 80 yards in just nine plays to go up 7-0 on a Blevins four-yard carry and a Joe Carithers (Dacula, Ga.-Dacula-Palomar (Calif.) J.C.) PAT.
ISU punted on its ensuing possession, giving the Eagles back the ball just over a minute later. On the first play of the drive, Blevins broke through the line, taking it 61 yards to the end zone. Another Carithers' PAT staked the Eagles to a 14-0 lead, just eight minutes into the game.
EMU continued to increase its lead in the second quarter, tacking another 14 points on the board before halftime. Senior wide receiver Tyler Jones (Belleville, Mich.-Belleville) reeled in a 14-yard pass from Schmitt to give the Eagles a three-touchdown lead. Jenkins' first interception with 9:20 to go in the second quarter set up another scoring drive for the home team, with Priest finding the end zone just over two minutes later.
EMU entered halftime with a 28-0 lead, allowing the Sycamores just 95 yards of total offense, while the Eagles totaled 365 yards of their own in the first 30 minutes of the contest.
Following halftime, EMU continued to roll. Schmitt rushed for his first touchdown of the season, escaping a tackle behind the line and turning it into six points. Carithers once again added the PAT to put the Eagles on top, 35-0. After forcing another three-and-out by the Sycamores, EMU put together a seven-play scoring drive, highlighted by true freshman Marvon Sanders' (Ypsilanti, Mich.-Ypsilanti) 51-yard run, going on top, 42-0.
The Eagles put another three points on the board when Carithers hit his first EMU field goal, putting the home team on top 45-0. Redshirt freshman Jason Williams (Dayton, Ohio-Miamisburg) completed the scoring for the home team when he rushed for his first career score and Zach Johnson (Springsboro, Ohio-Springsboro) added the PAT, pushing the score to 52-0.
The Eagles are back in action next weekend when they travel to East Lansing, Mich. to take on the Michigan State Spartans, Saturday, Sept. 6, at 1 p.m. The game can be seen on the Big Ten Network, channel 65 in the Ypsilanti area.
