Bronson Hill Shines in Eastern's Loss to the Bobcats

Box score.	Postgame Audio Coach English.	Postgame Audio Bronson_Hill.	Photo Gallery.	Matt and Rob Recap the Game.
Game Highlights (Part 1)		Game Highlights (Part 2)

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) — The Eastern Michigan University football team dropped a cross-divisional Mid-American Conference matchup in its third home game of the 2013 season to Ohio University. The Eagles, though at one point were neck-and-neck with the Bobcats knotting the score at 21-21, faltered in the second half as OU ran away with the game, 56-28.

With the loss Eastern falls to 1-6 overall on the season and 0-3 in the MAC, while Ohio improves to 5-2 overall and 2-1 in the conference.

The Green and White had to take on the Bobcats in a way in which no team would wish to; yesterday, Oct. 18, the squad lost a teammate when Demarius Reed (Chicago, Ill.-Simeon Academy) tragically passed away. The wide receiver was a leader on and off the field for the Eagles, and the team paid tribute to his memory by brandishing the No. 2 on their helmets and wristbands for the games.

The Eagles offense was led by Bronson Hill (Grand Rapids, Mich.-Catholic Central), who had 23 carries for a season-high 257 yards and one touchdown. His effort ranks third in the EMU laurels for rushing in a single game, and this marks the seventh time in Hill's career that he has surpassed the century mark and the second time he rushed for more than 200 yards. Dustin Creel (Industry, Pa.-Western Beaver) led the receiving effort, bringing in five catches for 53 yards and one touchdown, while junior tight end Tyreese Russell (Chicago, Ill.-Walther Lutheran) added three catches for 76 yards and a touchdown of his own. Redshirt-junior quarterback Tyler Benz (Park Ridge, Ill.-Maine Township South) was 12-for-22 with 151 yards, two of which resulted in touchdowns.

Defensively, sophomore linebacker Ike Spearman (Saint John, Ind.-Lake Central) tied a career-best 10 tackles and recorded his first career interception to lead the Green and White, followed by senior defensive back Mycal Swaim (Chico, Calif.-Pleasant Valley (Butte C.C.)), who also had a career game with nine tackles.

Tyler Tettleton went 23-for-30 with 375 passing yards for the Bobcats, and two players accrued over 100 receiving yards apiece. Josh Kristoff led all players with 11 tackles on the afternoon.

As the sideline held up two fingers commemorating Reed's jersey number, junior Tyler Allen (Lansing, Mich.-Eastern) took off on a 90-yard dash to the Ohio end zone for his first touchdown on a kickoff return. It was also the first special teams score of the season for Eastern, which gave the Eagles an early 7-0 lead within the first 13 seconds of the matchup. Allen's return tied the longest kickoff return in Rynearson Stadium history. Dontayo Gage completed had a 90-yard return against Ball State University, Sept. 8, 2007.

After scoring in their first offensive drive of the game on a strike from Tettleton to Mario Dovell, the game was knotted up at seven points apiece. In the ensuing EMU possession, the Bobcats forced a fumble and quickly jaunted 30 yards down the field and Tettleton connected with Matt Waters for a score, giving Ohio a 14-7 advantage.

The Green and White had difficulties moving the ball across the gridiron in the next possession, and despite a second chance to keep the ball after an Ohio penalty was called for roughing the Eagles' punter, Austin Barnes (Fairview Heights, Ill.-O'Fallon), the Bobcats once again forced a turnover in which Travis Carrie would sprint 79 yards on the punt return to the EMU eight-yard line. The Bobcats took advantage of their favorable position and rushed the ball in for their third touchdown of the afternoon, jumping ahead 21-7.

In the second quarter, the Eagles were once again forced to turn the ball back over to the Bobcats despite a pair of first-down catches by Creel. However, the defensive front found its spark when sophomore defensive lineman Arron Pipkins (Maple Heights, Ohio-Maple Heights) produced a tackle-for-loss for the Green and White, after which the squad forced two incomplete passes from the Bobcats to regain control of the ball. Benz found sophomore wide receiver Jay Jones (Pickerington, Ohio-Central) on the 50-yard line to put the team in strong position going into the second quarter. After a series of carries by sophomore running back Darius Jackson (Sparta, Ill.-Sparta) for 23 yards and two first-downs, Benz launched a 14-yard pass to find Creel in the end zone at 11:46, inching the Eagles back into the game, 21-14.

Two offensive penalties by Ohio resulted in a loss of over 30 yards for the Bobcats, which they were unable to recover and conceded a punt to Jones who scrambled 13 yards down the center of the field to start the next EMU drive. Unfortunately the Green and White was unable to convert on the possession, and a long Barnes punt put Ohio on their own seven-yard line.

After the Bobcats traveled up the gridiron thanks in large part to a quartet of passes for over 80 yards, Spearman put a stop to the Ohio drive by nabbing his first career interception off a pass by Tettleton with just over two minutes remaining in the quarter. The Eagles were unable to score with the remaining time, but were able to keep the Bobcats scoreless for almost 20 minutes to end the first half.

Ohio started off the second half with the ball, but after a read on the play by Spearman resulted in a tackle and a fourth-down turnover punt, the Eagles had a formidable challenge ahead of them with 99 yards of field between them and the end zone. Benz passed a 14-yard lob to Creel to kick off the Green and White's first drive of the half. Hill broke through the Ohio defensive line and later made a scramble to the left sideline for a total gain of 23 yards. Benz then found his favorite target of the season, Russell, who ran the ball into the end zone, fending off a diving tackle attempt by Josh Kristoff, for a career-high 62 yards that knotted the score, 21-21, with 8:19 remaining in the quarter.

Following a series of incomplete passes, the Eagles had a chance to score again in rapid fashion. Hill churned out the longest rush of the season with 64 yards to carry the ball well up the field. With position to pull down a catch in the end zone, Bobcat cornerback Devon Bass threw a wrench in the gears of the Eagles offense and came away with an interception for Ohio. The Bobcats soon found themselves on the leading side of the scoreboard after an 80 yard pass to Cochran for a touchdown. With the remaining 4:58 in the quarter, Ohio found itself inside the EMU end zone twice more, giving the squad a 42-21 advantage.

Freshman quarterback Brogan Roback (Maumee, Ohio-St. John's Jesuit) took over duties leading the offense to close out the quarter, as he handed it off to Hill, who would tie his career-high 70 yards and surpass the 200-yard rushing mark for the second time in his career. Within the starting minutes of the final quarter, Hill closed out the EMU drive with an 11-yard rush for a touchdown and started to close the gap as the Eagles still trailed 42-28.

Ohio's scoring continued through the remainder of the matchup, notching two more touchdowns, ending the contest with a 56-28 decision.

EMU will travel to DeKalb, Ill. for their next matchup against Northern Illinois University. Kickoff at Huskie Stadium is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 26, at 2:30 p.m. CT.

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Team Stats

Tyler Benz

Brogan Roback

Players Mentioned

Tyler Allen

Austin Barnes

Tyler Benz

Dustin Creel

Bronson Hill

Darius Jackson

Jay Jones

Arron Pipkins

Demarius Reed

Brogan Roback

Tyreese Russell

Ike Spearman

Mycal Swaim

Players Mentioned

Tyler Allen

Austin Barnes

Tyler Benz

Dustin Creel

Bronson Hill

Darius Jackson

Jay Jones

Arron Pipkins

Demarius Reed

Brogan Roback

Tyreese Russell

Ike Spearman

Mycal Swaim

Eastern Michigan Athletics