Football Drops a Halloween Night Contest at Arkansas

Box score.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University football team fell to the University of Arkansas, 63-27, in front of 62,501 here Saturday evening, Oct. 31, at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. The Razorback jumped to a 49-0 advantage and never looked back, as UA tallied 589 yards of total offense compared to 348 for the Eagles.

With the victory Arkansas improves to 4-4, while the Eagles drop to 0-8 on the season. The contest was the first venture west of the Mississippi River for the Eagles since the 2005 season when EMU traveled to the University of Louisiana-Lafayette, Sept. 30. Additionally, the loss brought Eastern's all-time record in games played on Halloween to 7-8, as the contest marked the first time the Green and White had played on the Oct. 31st date since 1992 at the Army.

Junior quarterback Kyle McMahon (Rochester Hills, Mich.-Pontiac Notre Dame Prep) went 10-for-19 for 224 yards and three touchdowns via the air. Freshman Kinsman Thomas (Bennettsville, S.C.-Marlboro County) caught one ball for 77 yards and his first career touchdown, while senior John Bonner (Dayton, Ohio-Chaminade Julienne) grabbed two passes for 66 yards and a score. Dwayne Priest (Roanoke, Va.-William Fleming-Fork Union Academy) also picked up 66 yards on 21 carries via the ground with a touchdown.

For Arkansas, Joe Adams caught three passes for 109 yards and two scores and Cobi Hamilton added three catches for 68 yards and a touchdown. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Ryan Mallett threw the ball 16 times for 248 yards and three touchdowns.

Eastern Michigan, the nation's top-ranked defense against the pass, gave up a total of 292 yards passing to Arkansas, the 13th ranked passing offense in the country.

The Hogs rushed out to a quick 14-0 edge with rushing touchdowns on their first two possessions of the contest. They tacked on another touchdown with 4:02 still showing on the first half clock, when Freddy Burton stepped in front of McMahon's pass and rumbled 50 yards to make it 21-0. A Mallett 11-yard touchdown strike to Adams upped the deficit to 28 with 12:21 left in the second quarter.

Things continued to roll in Arkansas's favor despite being backed up into the shadows of their own goal posts thanks to a great Patrick Treppa (Livonia, Mich.-Stevenson) punt. On the first play from scrimmage, Green cuts around the end and sprinted 99 yards to pay-dirt. The PAT followed to give the Razorbacks the 35-0 advantage midway through the second quarter.

Despite the huge deficit, the Eagles settled down in the third quarter for an offensive explosion of their own. After going without a first down until midway through the third quarter, Eastern was able to score on three consecutive drives in the frame. First, McMahon hit Ben Thayer (Kalamazoo, Mich.-Hackett Catholic Central) for the eight-yard touchdown at the 9:30 mark. He then heaved the longest pass of his young career, a 78 yard bomb to Thomas for the touchdown with 5:50 showings. Finally, McMahon closed it out with another touchdown via the air, this time to Bonner with 2:50 remaining in the period.

Eastern Michigan returns to Mid-American Conference action Thursday, Nov. 6, against West Division rival Northern Illinois University. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CST at Huskie Stadium. WEMU (89.1 FM) and WCHB (1200 AM) will carry the game on the radio with the ESPNU broadcasting on the television-side.

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Team Stats

Kyle McMahon

Alex Gillett

Players Mentioned

John Bonner

Kyle McMahon

Dwayne Priest

Ben Thayer

Kinsman Thomas

Patrick Treppa

Players Mentioned

John Bonner

Kyle McMahon

Dwayne Priest

Ben Thayer

Kinsman Thomas

Patrick Treppa

Eastern Michigan Athletics