Eastern Michigan Falters in MAC Opener

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) — The Eastern Michigan University football team dropped a 51-20 decision to Ball State University Saturday, Sept. 21, at Rynearson Stadium. The Eagles were able to score the first touchdown of the Mid-American Conference opening matchup, but four turnovers plagued the Eagles in EMU's homecoming game.

Redshirt junior quarterback Tyler Benz (Park Ridge, Ill.-Maine Township South) led the Eagles in passing, connecting on 22-of-32 attempts for 212 yards and one touchdown, while junior running back Bronson Hill (Grand Rapids, Mich.-Catholic Central) rushed for 126 yards on 21 carries. Sophomore wide receiver Dustin Creel (Industry, Penn.-Western Beaver) led EMU in receiving, racking up 60 yards on a career-high five catches to go with one touchdown, and junior Demarius Reed (Chicago, Ill.-Simeon Academy) added 55 yards.

Defensively, Great Ibe (Hanover, Md.-Meade) and Mycal Swaim (Chico, Calif.-Pleasant Valley) tied their career tackles records with nine and eight, respectively. Anthony Zappone (West Lake, Ohio-West Lake) and Arron Pipkins (Maple Heights, Ohio-Maple Heights) each added their first career sacks.

With the loss Eastern falls to 1-3 overall on the season and 0-1 in the MAC, while Ball State improves to 3-1 overall and 1-0 in conference play.

On the Ball State side, quarterback Keith Wenning threw for 317 yards, tossing two touchdowns. Jahwan Edwards and Horactio Banks led in rushing, gaining 83 and 65 yards, while Willie Snead headed the receiving core with 175 yards on nine catches.

The first quarter started out with a smooth jaunt up the field by the Eagles when a 17-yard pass to Reed from Benz gave the Green and White a fourth-conversion down, followed by a seven-yard rush by sophomore Darius Jackson (Sparta, Ill.-Sparta) to put EMU on the board with 11:27 left. The extra point attempt was blocked by BSU's Nick Miles, leaving the Eagles with a 6-0 lead.

The command of the scoreboard was short-lived, as Edwards was able to capitalize on a breakaway 36-yard rush to score for the Cardinals. Ball State's 70 yards within six plays gave them a 7-6 lead over the home team.

Eastern's offense was unable to answer back, as Benz was brought down twice within two plays by the formidable Cardinals. BSU found itself with the ball once again and halfback Horactio Banks was able to find a seam along the right sideline and rush for 43 yards to the end zone, scoring on just the second play of the possession. A fumbled snap on the extra point made it 13-6.

After a staunch defensive effort by the Cardinals, the Eagles turned the rock over on Jackson's second fumble. A lofty 31-yard pass by Wenning found Williams in the end zone to bring BSU up 27-6 over EMU with 1:46 left in the quarter, earning the Cardinals the entirety of their points for the quarter in just over seven minutes.

Going into the second quarter, Ball State did not let up on their defensive effort. After an attempted 40-yard pass by Benz, BSU's Ben Ingle forced a fumble to regain the ball for the Cardinals. Senior defensive end Kalonji Kashama (Brampton, Ontario-Brampton) was able to give EMU the first stop against Ball State.

In the ensuing possession, Benz was able to get the Eastern offense rolling with a 30-yard lob to junior Tyreese Russell (Chicago, Ill.-Walther Lutheran), taking the Eagles to a first down after converting off of a fourth-and-inches situation. Junior Ryan Brumfield (Chester Springs, Pa.-Owen J. Robert) followed up with a one-yard scramble into the opponent's end zone with seven minutesleft in the half, closing the gap 27-13.

Eastern seemed to regain composure as it once again kept Ball State to a short possession, but the Cardinal defense came back in full force as the Green and White was reined back, gaining only eight yards in five plays.

A break toward the left sideline plus a 27-yard rush by Jamill Smith gave the Cardinals their last touchdown of the half, resulting in a 34-13 BSU edge as the two teams headed to the locker rooms.

In the first offensive play of the second half, Wenning launched a 51-yard pass to Snead. EMU's defense was able to keep BSU's players away from the end zone, but the Cardinals came close enough to allow kicker Scott Secor to place the ball between the posts for a 35-yard field goal, giving BSU a 37-13 lead.

Hill awakened on the offensive front; following an 11-yard rush he ran the ball 35 yards through the center of the field, all the while avoiding a slew of Ball State defenders for his longest carry of the season. Benz then found Creel in the end zone off a 24-yard toss to bring the Green and White to within 17 points. As they were able to gain 65 yards in three plays and one minute of possession time, it was the quickest scoring drive of the game.

The Cardinals answered back with a quick score of their own. After a deep 50-yard throw by Wenning to Williams, Jahwan Edwards rushed an additional 10 yards to up the lead to 44-20.

The run of misfortune only continued for the Eagles, as a Benz pass intended for Creel was intercepted by Martez Hester. Another long lob by Wenning and a series of small rushes brought the Cardinals to within reach of another scoring opportunity. A penalty on senior Ja'Ron Gillespie (Washington, D.C.-Friendship Collegiate) after an attempted touchdown gave BSU first and goal, and the Cardinals did not shy away from their chance to score as Edwards rushed three yards and allowed the Cardinals to take the 51-20 victory over the Eagles.

EMU will have a bye week and will return to the gridiron in two weeks on Saturday, Oct. 5, when they travel to Buffalo, N.Y to take on the Bulls in MAC competition. Kickoff is slated for noon.

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Team Stats

Tyler Benz

Players Mentioned

Tyler Benz

Ryan Brumfield

Dustin Creel

Ja'Ron Gillespie

Bronson Hill

Great Ibe

Darius Jackson

Kalonji Kashama

Arron Pipkins

Demarius Reed

Tyreese Russell

Mycal Swaim

Anthony Zappone

Players Mentioned

Tyler Benz

Ryan Brumfield

Dustin Creel

Ja'Ron Gillespie

Bronson Hill

Great Ibe

Darius Jackson

Kalonji Kashama

Arron Pipkins

Demarius Reed

Tyreese Russell

Mycal Swaim

Anthony Zappone

Eastern Michigan Athletics