Eastern Michigan Athletics
Saturday, October 30
Rynearson Stadium
4 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
vs
Toledo
Photo by: Scott Olmstead
Football Hosts Toledo on Band Day
10/25/2010 2:57:17 PM | Football, E-Gridiron Group
Locally and throughout the state of Michigan, the contest will be televised on Comcast Michigan (Digital Cable Channel 900)
Click Here for the Complete Release (PDF).
Click Here to Watch on All-Access.
Click Here for Live Stats.
Click Here to Listen.
THE TEAMS: After three consecutive road games, the Eastern Michigan University football team returns home Saturday, Oct. 30, to Rynearson Stadium for a Mid-American Conference West Division battle with the University of Toledo. Saturday's contest is Band Day, with 12 high school bands performing as one during a special halftime concert. Toledo is tied with Northern Illinois for the MAC West lead with identical 4-0 marks.
Locally and throughout the state of Michigan, the contest will be televised on Comcast Michigan (Digital Cable Channel 900). Additionally, the game will also be shown on Sports Time Ohio, ESPN Game Plan and ESPN3.com.
ALL-TIME VS. TOLEDO: Toledo and Eastern Michigan will be meeting for the 38th time in school history. The Rockets hold a 26-11 edge in the series, including winning nine of the last 10 meetings in the series dating back to the 2000 campaign. The Eagles' last victory over the Rockets occurred Oct. 21, 2006, when EMU escaped with a 17-13 victory. With EMU clinging to a 9-7 lead late in the fourth quarter, Toledo missed a field goal that would have put them ahead by one but a personal foul penalty for roughing the center by the Eagles gave the Rockets a second chance that they would take advantage of with a score. UT quarterback Clint Cochran connected with tight end Josh Powell on a four-yard touchdown strike to give Toledo a 13-9 lead with just 3:11 left in the game. On the ensuing two-point conversion attempt, EMU defensive end Kevin Howe forced a fumble by Cochran which was picked up and returned by Darran Matthews for two points to cut the Rocket lead to 13-11.
Trumaine Riley then returned the ensuing kick off 45 yards to the EMU 46-yard line. The Eagles then put on a game-winning march, going 54 yards in five plays capped off by an 18-yard touchdown run by Pierre Walker with 36 seconds remaining to give the Eagles the come-from-behind victory.
LONG TD MARK: Freshman running back Javonti Greene (West Palm Beach, Fla.-Royal Palm Beach) has played in just five games at EMU, but turned in a record-setting performance in game five, at Virginia, Oct. 23. Greene, a 5-foot-10, 180-pound freshman, rushed for 155 yards on just eight carries at Virginia, Oct. 23, with touchdown runs of 55 and 53 yards. He became the first EMU runner in school history to record two 50-yard plus runs for scores in a game. He has rushed 39 times for 250 yards this season.
SEASON'S BEST RUSHING EFFORT: The EMU offense rolled up a season's best 290 rushing yards last weekend, Oct. 23, at Virginia. Freshman running back Javonti Greene (West Palm Beach, Fla.-Royal Palm Beach) led the way with 155 yards gained on eight carries while sophomore quarterback Alex Gillett (Green Springs, Ohio-Clyde) turned in 86 yards on 13 rushes. EMU's previous team best this season was a 285-yard effort in the season opener, Sept. 4, against Army.
NCAA FIRST: Not only was the EMU-Virginia game the 1,000th game in the history of the Eastern Michigan football program, it was also a noteworthy day for minority football coaches and athletic directors. Although no official NCAA record exists, the EMU-Virginia contest is believed to be the first football game on the Division I FBS level with the opposing head coaches, EMU's Ron English and Virginia's Mike London, and athletic directors, Dr. Derrick Gragg for EMU and Craig Littlepage at Virginia, all being African-Americans.
NATIONAL HONOR: Freshman running back Javonti Greene (West Palm Beach, Fla.-Royal Palm Beach) earned honorable mention running back of the week honors by collegefootballperformance.com for his outstanding rushing game at Virginia, Oct. 23. Greene, a 5-foot-10, 180-pound freshman, rushed for 155 yards on just eight carries at Virginia with touchdown runs of 55 and 53 yards.
RETURN TO VIRGINIA: EMU senior running back Dwayne Priest (Roanoke, Va.-Fleming-Fork Union Military), and redshirt sophomore linebacker Steve Brown (Charlottesville, Va.-St. Anne's Belfield) both played their high school football in Virginia and had good outings in their return to the Old Dominion State Saturday, Oct. 23, when the Eagles played Virginia. Priest returned from a two-game absence because of injury to rush eight times for 38 yards. Brown started at middle linebacker and recorded four tackles.
BIGGEST COMEBACK: EMU trailed by 21 points, Oct. 16, after Ball State raced out to a 21-point lead midway through the second quarter before the Eagles mounted the biggest comeback in a win in school history. Eastern rallied to out-score the Cardinals, 41-17, the rest of the way for the 41-38 overtime win. The only other EMU team to rally from a 20 points or more deficit in a win was the 2000 squad that trailed, 32-12, and scored 27 unanswered points to defeat Northern Illinois, 39-32, Nov. 11, in Rynearson Stadium.
THAYER WINS MACKEY AWARD: EMU senior tight end Ben Thayer (Kalamazoo, Mich.-Hacket Catholic Central) turned in the first two-touchdown reception day of his career when he had a 33-yard touchdown pass and a 12-yard TD strike, the last the game-winning score, in a 41-38 overtime win over Ball State, Oct. 16. For his efforts, Thayer was named the weekly recipient of the John Mackey National Tight End of the Week Award. Thayer has played in 44 games for the Eagles, earning 20 starts and has caught 55 career passes for 633 yards and five touchdowns.
MOVING UP: Senior tailback Dwayne Priest (Roanoke, Va.-Fleming-Fork Union Academy) is moving up in several EMU career rushing categories. He has played in 40 games for the Eagles, earning 19 starts in the past four years. He has rushed 416 times for the 10th spot and his 1,741 yards gained is also 10th in history. His 19 touchdowns, 17 by rush and two by reception, are tied for 11th.
GILLETT WINS THREE AWARDS FOR BALL STATE PERFORMANCE: Sophomore quarterback Alex Gillett (Green Springs, Ohio-Clyde) turned in a record-setting performance against Ball State University Saturday, Oct. 16, and he was rewarded for his efforts with three weekly football awards. Gillett was named the Mid-American Conference West Division Offensive Player of the Week, was chosen rivals.com MAC Player of the Week and was an honorable mention Quarterback of the Week selection by collegefootballperformance.com.
RECORD-SETTING EFFORT: EMU sophomore quarterback Alex Gillett (Green Springs, Ohio-Clyde) turned in a record-setting effort to lead the Eagles to their first win of the season, Oct. 16, in Muncie, Ind. against the Ball State University Cardinals. Gillett set EMU QB records for most rushes (35) and net rushing yards (189)while scoring two rushing touchdowns and also completing 10-of-18 passes for 225 yards and three touchdowns in EMU's 41-38 come-from-behind overtime win. Gillett scored on touchdown runs of six and two yards and threw touchdown passes of 73, 33 and 12 yards, with the last one a 12-yard TD throw to tight end Ben Thayer (Kalamazoo, Mich.-Hacket Catholic Central) in overtime to give EMU the 41-38 victory. Gillett's 35 rushes is the 17th best in EMU history and the most ever by a QB while his 189 net rushing yards is the 18th best effort in school history, and also the most ever by a QB. Gillett led EMU back from an early 21-0 deficit to gain the win, the Eagles' first of the season. He had 53 total offensive plays and 414 yards in total offense, the ninth best single-game effort in school history.
Click Here to Watch on All-Access.
Click Here for Live Stats.
Click Here to Listen.
THE TEAMS: After three consecutive road games, the Eastern Michigan University football team returns home Saturday, Oct. 30, to Rynearson Stadium for a Mid-American Conference West Division battle with the University of Toledo. Saturday's contest is Band Day, with 12 high school bands performing as one during a special halftime concert. Toledo is tied with Northern Illinois for the MAC West lead with identical 4-0 marks.
Locally and throughout the state of Michigan, the contest will be televised on Comcast Michigan (Digital Cable Channel 900). Additionally, the game will also be shown on Sports Time Ohio, ESPN Game Plan and ESPN3.com.
ALL-TIME VS. TOLEDO: Toledo and Eastern Michigan will be meeting for the 38th time in school history. The Rockets hold a 26-11 edge in the series, including winning nine of the last 10 meetings in the series dating back to the 2000 campaign. The Eagles' last victory over the Rockets occurred Oct. 21, 2006, when EMU escaped with a 17-13 victory. With EMU clinging to a 9-7 lead late in the fourth quarter, Toledo missed a field goal that would have put them ahead by one but a personal foul penalty for roughing the center by the Eagles gave the Rockets a second chance that they would take advantage of with a score. UT quarterback Clint Cochran connected with tight end Josh Powell on a four-yard touchdown strike to give Toledo a 13-9 lead with just 3:11 left in the game. On the ensuing two-point conversion attempt, EMU defensive end Kevin Howe forced a fumble by Cochran which was picked up and returned by Darran Matthews for two points to cut the Rocket lead to 13-11.
Trumaine Riley then returned the ensuing kick off 45 yards to the EMU 46-yard line. The Eagles then put on a game-winning march, going 54 yards in five plays capped off by an 18-yard touchdown run by Pierre Walker with 36 seconds remaining to give the Eagles the come-from-behind victory.
LONG TD MARK: Freshman running back Javonti Greene (West Palm Beach, Fla.-Royal Palm Beach) has played in just five games at EMU, but turned in a record-setting performance in game five, at Virginia, Oct. 23. Greene, a 5-foot-10, 180-pound freshman, rushed for 155 yards on just eight carries at Virginia, Oct. 23, with touchdown runs of 55 and 53 yards. He became the first EMU runner in school history to record two 50-yard plus runs for scores in a game. He has rushed 39 times for 250 yards this season.
SEASON'S BEST RUSHING EFFORT: The EMU offense rolled up a season's best 290 rushing yards last weekend, Oct. 23, at Virginia. Freshman running back Javonti Greene (West Palm Beach, Fla.-Royal Palm Beach) led the way with 155 yards gained on eight carries while sophomore quarterback Alex Gillett (Green Springs, Ohio-Clyde) turned in 86 yards on 13 rushes. EMU's previous team best this season was a 285-yard effort in the season opener, Sept. 4, against Army.
NCAA FIRST: Not only was the EMU-Virginia game the 1,000th game in the history of the Eastern Michigan football program, it was also a noteworthy day for minority football coaches and athletic directors. Although no official NCAA record exists, the EMU-Virginia contest is believed to be the first football game on the Division I FBS level with the opposing head coaches, EMU's Ron English and Virginia's Mike London, and athletic directors, Dr. Derrick Gragg for EMU and Craig Littlepage at Virginia, all being African-Americans.
NATIONAL HONOR: Freshman running back Javonti Greene (West Palm Beach, Fla.-Royal Palm Beach) earned honorable mention running back of the week honors by collegefootballperformance.com for his outstanding rushing game at Virginia, Oct. 23. Greene, a 5-foot-10, 180-pound freshman, rushed for 155 yards on just eight carries at Virginia with touchdown runs of 55 and 53 yards.
RETURN TO VIRGINIA: EMU senior running back Dwayne Priest (Roanoke, Va.-Fleming-Fork Union Military), and redshirt sophomore linebacker Steve Brown (Charlottesville, Va.-St. Anne's Belfield) both played their high school football in Virginia and had good outings in their return to the Old Dominion State Saturday, Oct. 23, when the Eagles played Virginia. Priest returned from a two-game absence because of injury to rush eight times for 38 yards. Brown started at middle linebacker and recorded four tackles.
BIGGEST COMEBACK: EMU trailed by 21 points, Oct. 16, after Ball State raced out to a 21-point lead midway through the second quarter before the Eagles mounted the biggest comeback in a win in school history. Eastern rallied to out-score the Cardinals, 41-17, the rest of the way for the 41-38 overtime win. The only other EMU team to rally from a 20 points or more deficit in a win was the 2000 squad that trailed, 32-12, and scored 27 unanswered points to defeat Northern Illinois, 39-32, Nov. 11, in Rynearson Stadium.
THAYER WINS MACKEY AWARD: EMU senior tight end Ben Thayer (Kalamazoo, Mich.-Hacket Catholic Central) turned in the first two-touchdown reception day of his career when he had a 33-yard touchdown pass and a 12-yard TD strike, the last the game-winning score, in a 41-38 overtime win over Ball State, Oct. 16. For his efforts, Thayer was named the weekly recipient of the John Mackey National Tight End of the Week Award. Thayer has played in 44 games for the Eagles, earning 20 starts and has caught 55 career passes for 633 yards and five touchdowns.
MOVING UP: Senior tailback Dwayne Priest (Roanoke, Va.-Fleming-Fork Union Academy) is moving up in several EMU career rushing categories. He has played in 40 games for the Eagles, earning 19 starts in the past four years. He has rushed 416 times for the 10th spot and his 1,741 yards gained is also 10th in history. His 19 touchdowns, 17 by rush and two by reception, are tied for 11th.
GILLETT WINS THREE AWARDS FOR BALL STATE PERFORMANCE: Sophomore quarterback Alex Gillett (Green Springs, Ohio-Clyde) turned in a record-setting performance against Ball State University Saturday, Oct. 16, and he was rewarded for his efforts with three weekly football awards. Gillett was named the Mid-American Conference West Division Offensive Player of the Week, was chosen rivals.com MAC Player of the Week and was an honorable mention Quarterback of the Week selection by collegefootballperformance.com.
RECORD-SETTING EFFORT: EMU sophomore quarterback Alex Gillett (Green Springs, Ohio-Clyde) turned in a record-setting effort to lead the Eagles to their first win of the season, Oct. 16, in Muncie, Ind. against the Ball State University Cardinals. Gillett set EMU QB records for most rushes (35) and net rushing yards (189)while scoring two rushing touchdowns and also completing 10-of-18 passes for 225 yards and three touchdowns in EMU's 41-38 come-from-behind overtime win. Gillett scored on touchdown runs of six and two yards and threw touchdown passes of 73, 33 and 12 yards, with the last one a 12-yard TD throw to tight end Ben Thayer (Kalamazoo, Mich.-Hacket Catholic Central) in overtime to give EMU the 41-38 victory. Gillett's 35 rushes is the 17th best in EMU history and the most ever by a QB while his 189 net rushing yards is the 18th best effort in school history, and also the most ever by a QB. Gillett led EMU back from an early 21-0 deficit to gain the win, the Eagles' first of the season. He had 53 total offensive plays and 414 yards in total offense, the ninth best single-game effort in school history.
EMU Football Pregame Press Conference: Week 9 vs. Ohio
Monday, October 20
2025 Football Week 8 Hype vs. Miami
Friday, October 17
EMU Football Pregame Press Conference: Week 8 at Miami
Monday, October 13
Northern Illinois: Cinematic Recap
Sunday, October 12