Eagles Fall Short to Northern Illinois at the Factory

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YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) — Eastern Michigan University's football team dropped a close battle against Mid-American Conference foe Northern Illinois University Saturday, Oct. 25, at The Factory inside Rynearson Stadium. The Eagles fell 28-17 to the Huskies, but were within seven points until the fourth quarter when back-to-back touchdowns propelled NIU to its victory. With the loss, the Eagles fall to 2-6 (1-3 MAC), while the Huskies advance to 6-2 (3-1 MAC).

The Eagles were led by another career performance by Reginald Bell Jr. (Los Angeles, Calif.-Susan Miller Dorsey). The redshirt-freshman surpassed his previous personal best in pass completions, going 16-for-34 for a total of 124 yards. Bell had another superb effort rushing the ball, going 133 yards and one touchdown on 25 attempts. He was joined by Ryan Brumfield (Chester Springs, Pa.-Owen J. Robert) in the century club, who rushed for 112 yards on 18 carries while picking up a touchdown of his own. The pair of 100-plus-yard rushers marks the 12th time in EMU history that two Eagles have surpassed the century mark, the last time being Nov. 9, 2013 in the victory over Western Michigan University.

Defensively, the Green and White was paced by Kevin Johnson (McKeesport, Pa.-McKeesport) and Great Ibe (Hanover, Md.-Meade). Johnson racked up 13 tackles to lead the Eagles, while Ibe added 11 stops.

Northern Illinois was led by Drew Hare, who went 8-for-14 and also led the Huskies in rushing with 168 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. Cameron Stingily scored two touchdowns for NIU off 64 yards of rushing, while Joel Bouagnon found the endzone once and ran for 85 yards. Rasheen Lemon was the only Huskie with 10 tackles, but the NIU defense combined for four sacks and eight tackles for loss.

After the Green and White was unable to convert on its first drive, Owen Dubiel (East Jackson, Mich.-East Jackson) pinned the Huskies at their own 16-yard line with a 52-yard punt. Despite starting inside the NIU red zone, Hare maneuvered his way through the defensive line and sprinted off to paydirt for a 78-yard rush as the Eagles quickly found themselves at a seven-point disadvantage less than four minutes into the contest,

Though not as swift as the Huskies in their opening strike, the Eagles moved the chains at a steady pace backed by Bell fanning out his options between Tyreese Russell (Chicago, Ill.-Walther Lutheran), Tyler Allen (Lansing, Mich.-Eastern), and Brumfield On a third-down conversion, Brumfield put on a spectacle for the home crowd with a 32-yard scamper along the left sideline. Though the senior was dragged down on the four-yard line, he finished what he started with a spinning rush into the endzone, after which Dylan Mulder (Saline, Mich.-Saline) sailed the extra point through the posts to equalize the score, 7-7, with 7:20 to play in the first quarter.

Neither team was able to score in the next few possessions until NIU posted another touchdown from Stingily, taking the ball three yards in to the endzone while losing a shoe in the process. With 11 seconds remaining in the quarter, the Eagles once again found themselves down by seven points at 7-14.

The Eagles could not muster any luck to start out the second quarter, as Bell was victim to a pair of sacks that would force a punt to Northern Illinois. The Green and White defense reciprocated pressure on the quarterback when Mike Steals (North Braddock, Pa.-Woodland Hills) and Arron Pipkins (Maple Heights, Ohio-Maple Heights) teamed up on replacement quarterback Anthony Maddie on a rush attempt. Unfortunately, a pair of penalties between two plays gave the Huskies a 30-yard advancement down the field. The team kept its intensity up on defense and pressured NIU into attempting a field goal. Not wanting to give up the 23-yarder, Steals blocked Tyler Wedel's field goal attempt to keep the one-score deficit and start the EMU offense up on the 20-yard line at 7:51.

A ground attack was the course of action for the Eagles on the ensuing drive, with Bell and Brumfield racking up 33 yards in the opening plays. Bell turned to his left to find Darius Jackson (Sparta, Ill.-Sparta) for an additional first down off an 11-yard lob, but the offense came to a halt with 37 yards to goal and NIU regained control with three minutes remaining in the half.

With Hare back in the game, the NIU quarterback attempted to take the ball downfield on consecutive attempts, but was stopped on each try by Anthony Zappone (Westlake, Ohio-Westlake) and Ibe. Wedel surrendered the punt to the Eagles, who were able to move the chains immediately off a 10-yard pass to Allen. Bell found an opening and took off down the middle of the field for a 43-yard rush into the red zone, and the redshirt-freshman stayed aggressive with a pair of rushes to take the Green and White to the four-yard line with 13 seconds on the clock. The Eagles took a timeout to strategize with Head Coach Chris Creighton, but could not make their way into the endzone. With just seconds remaining, Mulder went in to land a 21-yard field goal, bringing the scoring gap to just four points as the Eagles trailed 10-14 heading into the locker room.

The EMU defense clocked in early at the start of the second half, shutting down the Huskies at the EMU 45-yard line. NIU attempted to take the ball just one yard off a fourth-down, but were stopped and gave the Eagles a short field to play. In a turn of events, Bell was picked off by Dechan Durante on a pass that traveled just out of reach of his intended target on the NIU 10-yard line.

Possession did not stay with the Huskies for long thanks a nearly impenetrable wall of defense with Ibe picking up a pair of stops as the Eagles allowed just two yards of offense in a minute and a half of play.

Brumfield returned to the field in the ensuing possession to guide the Green and White into Huskie territory, but back-to-back penalties drove the line of scrimmage back 15 yards. The Eagles handed over the ball to the Huskies, who quickly moved into the red zone before being stopped and deciding to attempt a field goal from the 32-yard line. EMU kept Wedel 0-for-2 on field goal attempts with yet another blocked attempt, this time coming from Willie Creear (Seattle, Wash.-Lindbergh). With the score stagnant throughout the third quarter at 10-14 with 5:34 to play, the Eagles took possession once more.

Trouble seemed to be brewing for the Green and White as it was quickly put in a third-and-seven situation, but Russell was able to pull in a 19-yard pass off a deflection to give the Eagles an indisputable first down. Bell broke free of the Huskie defense once more, this time for a gain of 26 yards along the sideline instead of his usual dash down the center of the field. Brumfield used an eight-yard carry to get the squad within a yard of the red zone, and Bell looked to find Kris Strange (Pickerington, Ohio-Central) in scoring territory to end the drive. Though Strange did not muster a reception, Logan Paris was charged with an interference penalty that put the Eagles on the three-yard line. The clock expired for the third quarter as the Eagles held on to the ball at third-and-three going into the final quarter of competition.

The Eagles needed just four seconds to light up the scoreboard once more, as Bell rolled to the right and muscled his way through the NIU line with an arm outstretched to cross the plane of the goal line. With a rushing touchdown by the redshirt-freshman and a Mulder extra point, the Green and White flipped the lead and took a 17-14 lead over the Huskies. The advantage marked the first time that the Eagles have held a lead over NIU since Sept. 15, 2007, when the Eagles slipped away with a 21-19 win in DeKalb, Ill.

Northern Illinois stepped up its pace, going 65 yards in just under three minutes to score and flip the lead back in their favor off a 24-yard rush by Joel Bouagnon. With 11:55 remaining in the contest, Eastern trailed 17-21.

Brumfield passed the century mark for the second time in his career with a nine-yard carry to give the Eagles a first down coming off the kickoff. The Green and White moved the chains a few more times, with a clutch catch by Cole Gardner (Batavia, Ill.-Batavia) on a third-down conversion to put the Eagles on the 37-yard line. With another third down and 10 yards to go, Bell tried to find Russell on his right, who juggled the ball in the air but ultimately was unable to pull it in for a first down. The team tried once more to move down the field for a first down, but could not convert and handed the ball over to NIU with 6:46 remaining.

The Huskies took off on another powerful drive, with Hare putting up a 32-yard rush to the one-yard line before Stingily traversed the short distance into the end zone. NIU gained its largest lead of the game, as Eastern trailed 17-28 with 3:26 to play.

In the face of a 10-point deficit, the Green and White remained relentless in its play. Bell found Russell on two passes for a combined 20 yards before posting a pair of rushes totaling 29 yards. A penalty moved the Eagles up an additional 12 yards to the NIU 13, and Bell tried to find David Gibson (Cleveland, Ohio-Solon) twice for a touchdown, with both efforts ending fruitlessly. Bell tried to scramble to find an open teammate but was pushed back to the NIU 31 before being taken down. Facing heavy winds, Mulder's 48-yard field goal attempt fell short and the clock expired with the Eagles falling to NIU, 17-28.

The Eagles will remain home for their next contest, hosting Central Michigan University in a Saturday afternoon affair, Nov. 1 at 1 p.m. The matchup will also be EMU's Band Day, in which local high school bands will perform together as one to support the Eagles. Saturday's game will be broadcast on ESPN3 as well as the airwaves of WEMU 89.1.

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Team Stats

Reginald Bell

Players Mentioned

Tyler Allen

Reginald Bell

Ryan Brumfield

Willie Creear

Owen Dubiel

Cole Gardner

David Gibson

Great Ibe

Darius Jackson

Kevin Johnson

Dylan Mulder

Arron Pipkins

Tyreese Russell

Mike Steals

Kris Strange

Anthony Zappone

Players Mentioned

Tyler Allen

Reginald Bell

Ryan Brumfield

Willie Creear

Owen Dubiel

Cole Gardner

David Gibson

Great Ibe

Darius Jackson

Kevin Johnson

Dylan Mulder

Arron Pipkins

Tyreese Russell

Mike Steals

Kris Strange

Anthony Zappone

Eastern Michigan Athletics