Football Team Opens With 31-27 Loss to Army

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YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) — The Eastern Michigan University football team saw a fourth-quarter comeback topped by Army in a heartbreaking 31-27 loss in a non-conference game here Saturday night, Sept. 4, in Rynearson Stadium in the 2010 season opener for both teams.

The Eagles rallied to take a 27-24 lead with just 2:59 left in the game on a 10-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Alex Gillett (Green Springs, Ohio-Clyde) to senior tight end Ben Thayer (Kalamazoo, Mich.-Hackett Catholic Central) followed by the extra point kick by newcomer Sean Graham (Commerce Township-Orchard Lake St. Mary's).

Army would spoil the Eagles' chance at the win, however, scoring on a seven-yard touchdown run by Jared Hassin and the PAT by Alex Carlton with just 38 seconds left in the game for a 31-27 Army lead.

EMU would manage to march all the way to the Army 32-yard line, but the last play of the game was an incomplete pass, giving the Black Knights the victory.

Both teams were reliant on the time being kept on the field after a blown transformer shut down the scoreboard from midway through the second quarter through the entire second half. A portable scoreboard was placed near the northeast end zone for the fourth quarter.

The Eagles' had two players go over the100-yard rushing mark with Priest turning in a career-best 142 yards on 26 rushes and Gillett gaining 126 yards on 18 carries. For Priest it was his third 100-yard game, with two of them coming against Army in the series. Gillett has now rushed for 100 yards three times.

Army was led by Patrick Mealy who rushed for 81 yards on 14 carries. Malcolm Brown, Jared Hassin and Brian Cobbs each rushed for 68, 68 and 60 yards, respectively, as the Black Knights tallied 309 yards on 55 carries as a team.

Eastern turned in an impressive scoring drive on the opening series, rolling 66 yards on 11 plays, culminating in a five-yard touchdown run by Priest. The PAT kick by Graham gave the Eagles the early 7-0 lead at the 9:07 mark of the first quarter. Priest carried six times for 37 yards during the drive.

The EMU defense then forced Army to punt on its first offensive possession, but the visitors turned in the game's first turnover on the Eagles' second offensive drive, forcing a Priest fumble at the home 15-yard line.

The Black Knights capitalized quickly on that turnover, with Jared Hassin scoring on a three-yard run on the fourth play of the drive. Alex Carlton added the PAT kick to tie the game at 7-7 with 2:47 left in the first quarter.

The second quarter was briefly interrupted by a 10-minute power outage in the bank of lights on the west-side of the stadium. The play clocks were still functional and the game officials called for a resumption of play with the available lights working in the rest of the stadium.

With the west-side lights slowly returning to full power, Army attempted a 41-yard field goal that was short and to the right.

While the scoreboard stayed dark due to that blown transformer, the Black Knights went 55 yards in plays, to gain a 14-7 lead with just 40 seconds left in the second quarter on a three-yard run by Hassin and a PAT boot by Carlton.

Army was penalized for a personal foul at the end of the touchdown run and the Black Knights were forced to kick from their own 15-yard line.

The Eagles made the visitors pay for that indiscretion, with Corey Welch (Akron, Ohio-Green) bobbling the kickoff before picking it up and racing 26 yards all the way to the Army 39-yard line.

Four plays later, Priest rumbled five yards for his second touchdown of the game with just 15 seconds remaining in the half. Graham added his second PAT to knot the game at 14-all. The half ended with that score intact.

Army took the second-half kickoff 75 yards in nine plays with Patrick Mealy running 11 yards for a touchdown at the 10:33 mark of the third quarter. Carlton added the PAT kick for a 21-14 Army lead.

The Black Knights then forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, recovering on the EMU 32-yard line. The EMU defense stiffened at that point and held Army to three points on a 42-yard field goal by Carlton with 8:28 left in the third quarter for a 24-14 lead.

Eastern bounced right back with a score of its own, cutting the lead to 24-20, with 2:29 left in the third on a one-yard run by Gillett. The Eagles could not get the PAT snap and hold attempt completed and an attempted drop-kick on the play by Jay Karutz (North Ryde, Australia-Holy Cross) was short.

The Eagles went on top, 26-24, with 2:59 left in the game when Gillett found Thayer in the left corner of the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown pass. The PAT attempt this time split the uprights for the two-point lead.

Army answered back in short time with an eight-play, 72-yard drive that was capped with a seven-yard rushing touchdown by Hassin with just 38 seconds remaining to add the final tally in thrilling come-from-behind fashion. The Eagles made a last ditch attempt in the final seconds with the ball at Army's 32-yard line, but Gillett's pass soared over the out-stretched hands of Thayer and into the back of the end zone as time expired.

EMU will be back in action next Saturday, Sept. 11, as it takes on Miami in the Mid-American Conference opener in Oxford, Ohio. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Yager Stadium.

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Team Stats

Alex Gillett

Players Mentioned

Alex Gillett

Sean Graham

Jay Karutz

Ben Thayer

Corey Welch

Players Mentioned

Alex Gillett

Sean Graham

Jay Karutz

Ben Thayer

Corey Welch

Eastern Michigan Athletics