Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
Central Michigan
Eagles Head to Mount Pleasant for Intra-State Battle with the Chippewas
10/5/2009 12:15:19 PM | Football, E-Gridiron Group
The EMU-CMU game set for Saturday, Oct. 10, will be televised live on ESPN Plus and locally on WMYD (MyTV 20) in Detroit.
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EMU VS. CMU: CMU and Eastern Michigan will be meeting for the 87th time in school history, the longest-running series in EMU history. Central Michigan holds a 53-27-6 edge in the series, but Eastern Michigan has won four of the last five meetings, including a thrilling, 56-52 shootout, Nov. 28, 2008, in Ryearson Stadium in Ypsilanti. The Eagles have won the last two meetings in Mount Pleasant, 48-45, Nov. 16, 2007, and 23-20 in overtime, Sept. 24, 2005.
TELEVISION TIME: The EMU-CMU game set for Saturday, Oct. 10, will be televised live on ESPN Plus and locally on WMYD (MyTV 20) in Detroit. The game will be carried on 26 outlets in 24 markets, mostly in the Midwest and East. The game can also be seen online on ESPN360. Game time is set for 12:05 p.m. with Michael Reghi on play-by-play and Doug Chapman as the analyst.
McMAHON STRONG IN RETURN: When the 2009 season started, EMU Head Coach Ron English planned to redshirt quarterback Kyle McMahon (Rochester Hills, Mich.-Pontiac Notre Dame Prep) to give him two years of eligibility left to play in both 2010 and 2011. When starter Andy Schmitt (St. Johns, Mich.-St. Johns) went down with a knee injury at Michigan (Sept. 19), English called on true freshman Alex Gillett (Green Springs, Ohio-Clyde) to play with hope that Schmitt would be able to return. When Schmitt was diagnosed with a torn ACL in his right knee, it was determined that McMahon would be called on as the replacement. The 6-foot-3, 204-pound McMahon started last weekend, Oct. 3, against Temple, his first action since being sidelined with a shoulder injury Sept. 27, 2008 against Northern Illinois. He responded with a strong effort against Temple, completing 25-of-36 passes for 230 yards.
EAGLES STAY AT THE TOP: The Eagles enter the Central Michigan game, Oct. 10, still ranked as the No. 1 pass defense in the nation at 89.25 yards per contest.
STONE SOLID: Senior wide receiver Jacory Stone (Cleveland, Ohio-Glenville) saw his consecutive streak for pass receptions end at 15 games after he was held without a catch in the Sept. 19 game at Michigan. The Eagles were idle, Sept. 26, and Stone made the most of the off date, recording a game-high eight catches for 85 yards against Temple Saturday, Oct. 3. Stone has now played in 40 games for the Eagles, turning in 33 starts with 171 catches for 1,747 yards and eight receiving touchdowns during his career. Stone is now ranked third in EMU history in career receptions and fifth in receiving yards.
DOWNS DOES DEFENSE: EMU senior co-captain Brandon Downs (Springfield, Ohio-Kenton Ridge) came up with an outstanding effort Saturday, Oct. 3, against Temple. Downs turned in five tackles, 1.5 sacks for 19 yards and 2.5 tackles-for-loss for 22 yards with two quarterback hurries.
DOWNARD DOWN: EMU junior starting strong safety Ryan Downard (Lima, Ohio-Shawnee) has been lost for the season with a broken left arm. Downard, who started the first three games this season and was fifth on the team in tackles with 13 and also had one interception, suffered the broken arm during practice last week heading into the Temple game, Oct. 3.
DOUBLE-DIGIT STOPS: EMU senior linebacker Andre Hatchett (Indianapolis, Ind.-Warren Central) turned in the sixth double-digit tackle game of his career with 10 stops against Temple, Oct. 3. The 5-foot-11, 221-pound Hatchett is EMU's leading tackler this season with 38 through four games. He has 219 career tackles in 39 career games.
BACK TO FORM: EMU senior place-kicker Zach Johnson (Springboro, Ohio-Springboro) continues to be one of the bright spots of the kicking game for the Eagles through the first four games this season. Johnson was one of the top punters in the nation in both 2006 and 2007 and was a semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award as the nation's top punter, in 2006. He had a sub-par 2008 while dealing with injury. He opened 2009 with a bang, however, kicking six times for 281 total yards and a 46.8 yard average and has continued that first-game outing with two strong showings in two consecutive weekends in Big Ten stadiums. At Northwestern, Sept. 12, Johnson had four punts for a 40.0 yard averaged with a long of 53 and three of the four inside the 20-yard line. In the Michigan game, Sept. 19, Johnson had seven punts for a 42.4 yard average with a long of 54 and two inside the 20. After the Eagles took a week off, Sept. 26, they returned to action Saturday, Oct. 3, against Temple and Johnson recorded six punts for a 40.7 yard averaged with a long of 52 and three dropped inside the 20-yard line. Johnson has now played in 36 games, 33 as a starter, and has punted 168 times for 6,808 yards and a 40.5 average. He has also been extremely consistent in dropping punts inside the 20-yard line, performing that a whopping 61 times.
