Eastern Michigan Athletics
Friday, September 23
Rynearson Stadium
7:30 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
3-1
27
vs
24
Wyoming
2-2
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Wyoming
10
7
0
7
24
Eastern Michigan
3
14
3
7
27
Photo by: Steve King/KingStudios
Late Rally Lifts Eastern Michigan Past Wyoming, 27-24
9/24/2016 12:08:00 AM | Football
The Eagles closed their non-conference schedule with a record of 3-1
Photo Gallery.
Video Highlights of the Game.
Postgame Press Conference Video.
Audio Highlights.
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University football team closed its non-conference schedule with a come-from-behind 27-24 home victory over the University of Wyoming Friday, Sept. 23, at Rynearson Stadium. The Eagles move to 3-1 on the season and are out to their best start since the 1995 season.
As a team, Eastern notched a total of 500 offensive yards, including 239 on the ground with an average rush of 5.1 yards per carry. Additionally, the Green and White threw for 261 yards, with four receivers notching three receptions or more. The Eagle defense had a spectacular game, holding the Cowboy (2-2) offense to just one offensive touchdown and one field goal throughout the game.
Leading the EMU offensive attack was redshirt sophomore Ian Eriksen (Clarkston, Mich. – Clarkston), who totaled a career-high 120 yards on the ground, along with the go-ahead touchdown. Redshirt freshman Breck Turner (Norwalk, Ohio – Norwalk) had a break out game on the ground as well, posting a 50-yard rush for a touchdown in the second quarter.
Behind center, junior Todd Porter (O'Fallon, Ill. – O'Fallon (Western Kentucky – Garden City C.C.)) totaled 214 passing yards with one touchdown. It was his third straight 200-yard passing effort. Redshirt freshman Nigel Kilby (Fort Wayne, Ind. – Northrop) tallied a career-best 84 yards receiving on four receptions, while junior Johnnie Niupalau (San Mateo, Calif. – San Mateo (College of San Mateo)) notched 34 yards and one touchdown.
On the defensive side of the ball, EMU held the Cowboys to just 313 offensive yards, highlighted by only 79 rushing yards on 38 attempts. It was the second time EMU has held its opponent to fewer than 100 yards this season, both coming at home. The Eagle defense forced three turnovers throughout the game, including two fumble recoveries and a clutch interception in the final moments of the game.
Leading the strong Green and White defense was redshirt sophomore Jeremiah Harris (Lambertville, Mich. – Bedford Senior), who had a spectacular game with one sack and a blocked field goal. Freshman Vince Calhoun (Middletown, Ohio – Middletown) had a great game as well, forcing a fumble and securing the key interception in the fourth quarter. Finally, redshirt junior Derric Williams (Lake Orion, Mich. – Lake Orion) totaled nine tackles, along with forcing a fumble.
The Eagles won the toss to begin the game, and elected to kick and begin the game on defense. The Cowboys picked up a quick first down, but the Eagle defense clamped down, as a sack by redshirt freshman Maxx Crosby (Colleyville, Texas – Colleyville Heritage) and redshirt sophomore Chris Hendricks (Fruitport, Mich. – Fruitport) put a stop to the drive. After the punt pinned the Green and White at the seven, the EMU offense took the field.
Eastern came out with a balanced attack, quickly advancing to the 35-yard line on four plays. On third down, Porter rifled an accurate pass to Niupalau to keep the drive moving. However, a Porter pass was then intercepted by the Cowboys and returned for a touchdown, putting the Eagles in an early 7-0 hole.
The Eagles retook the field on offense, and Eriksen got the drive started with a bang, running for 27 yards. Immediately after, Porter completed a long pass to Kilby for 32, quickly putting the Eagles in Cowboy territory. On third down, Porter attempted a home-run ball to junior Sergio Bailey III (La Mesa, Calif. – Olympian (Grossmont College)), who made an acrobatic catch on the sideline, but was ruled out of bounds. However, the Eagles did not leave the drive empty-handed, as redshirt freshman Paul Fricano (Rochester, N.Y. – Churchville-Chili) converted a career-long 46-yard field goal. With 5:38 remaining in the first quarter, the Eagles trailed 7-3.
Turning around to the other side of the ball, EMU quickly forced a three-and-out, capped off by a sack from Harris, which was the team's second of the day. The stop allowed the Eagles to get the ball back on offense with good field position, as they would begin their drive from their 45. EMU quickly picked up a first down, with Porter looking comfortable in the pocket and firing a third-down pass to Kilby for 11. His next pass, however, was intercepted, giving the ball back to Wyoming.
The Cowboys were able to advance downfield after a personal foul penalty on the Eagles, putting them at the EMU 24 with 1:38 to go in the opening quarter. The defense was able to stop the drive however, forcing a fourth and six at the 20. The Cowboys attempted a field goal, knocking it through to tack on three more. At the conclusion of the first quarter, Eastern trailed Wyoming, 10-3.
The second quarter began with a beautiful short pass to Kilby, who was able to pick up 25 after a Wyoming defender was unable to bring him down on first contact. On the other side of the 50, Porter picked up his third interception of the game on a diving catch from a Cowboy defensive back. Wyoming was then able to pick up consecutive first downs, taking advantage of short curl routes in the passing game.
On third-and-three, Wyoming was stopped just short of the marker, and elected to sneak for it on fourth down, ultimately converting and picking up another fresh set of downs. A holding penalty on the Cowboys put Wyoming back 10-yards, but they quickly regained the difference on a 16-yard pass. From there, a pass interference penalty on EMU put the Cowboys at the five, and they then punched it in to go up 17-3 with 9:05 left in the half.
The Eagles got some momentum back on the kickoff, as redshirt sophomore Blake Banham (St. Paul, Minn. – Cretin-Derham Hall) returned the kick to the 38 after finding a gap through defenders. Strong rushes from Eriksen picked up a first down for EMU, after which Turner found a crease and blazed 50-yards down the field for the first Eagle touchdown of the day, as well as the first of his young career. After Fricano's PAT, the Eagles trailed by seven, 17-10, with 7:49 left to play before halftime.
After nearly picking up a first down on their first pass, redshirt senior Pat O'Connor (Chicago, Ill. – Saint Rita) erupted through the line to bring down the running back for a loss of four. The Cowboys were able to pick up the first on the following play, however, putting Wyoming at their own 46. Eastern's defense then forced another fourth-down, as senior DaQuan Pace (Detroit, Mich. – Cass Tech) broke up a pass near the sideline. The breakup, which was the 18th of his career, moved him into a tie for the EMU program record. After a Wyoming punt, the Eagles took over at their 18. The Green and White were unable to move the ball, however, going three-and-out and punting the ball back to the Wyoming 39.
Eastern's defense got off to a strong start on the ensuing drive, dropping the Wyoming running back behind the line for a loss of three. Like before, the Cowboys ran a short curl route, picking up the first down at midfield. A few plays later, Wyoming threw a screen pass and the receiver was quickly engulfed by Calhoun, who forced a fumble that was picked up by fellow freshman Kevin McGill (Waldorf, Md. – Westlake).
Beginning their drive with good field position, the Green and White had nearly 1:30 left in the half to tie the game up. The Eagles did just that, notching three straight plays of nine yards or more, ultimately culminating in a seven-yard touchdown pass to Niupalau. Fricano's PAT then tied the game up at 17 with just 18 seconds before halftime. Wyoming elected to kneel out the half, and the two squads went into the locker room tied at 17.
The Eagles began the second half receiving the ball, immediately converting on a third-and-three after Porter scampered for nine yards to the EMU 41. Porter then followed that up with a quick 14-yard pass to Niupalau, moving Eastern to the other side of the 50. From there, redshirt freshman Isaac Holder (Tampa, Fla. – Sickles) notched a catch of 17 to bring the Eagles to the Wyoming 26, after which Eriksen bulldozed his way through the line for a pickup of 11, bringing EMU into the red zone. The Green and White were unable to find the end zone, but Fricano gave the Eagles a 20-17 lead after knocking down a 29-yarder.
Wyoming's first drive of the second half came up empty, only picking up a pair of first downs. The Cowboys were forced to punt from the EMU 48, and Banham fair caught the ball at the nine to give the Eagles another opportunity at putting points on the board. A pump fake from T. Porter caught the Wyoming defense off guard on the second play of the drive, as the O'Fallon, Ill. native was able to escape the pocket and run for 30. Eastern was unable to pick up another first, however, and redshirt junior Austin Barnes (Fairview Heights, Ill. – O'Fallon) was forced to punt, ultimately pinning the Cowboys at their own 21.
Wyoming quickly picked up a big chunk of yardage, completing a 42-yard pass down the sideline into EMU territory, after which the Cowboys nabbed another 20 on the next play. The Eagles mounted a tough defensive stand, stopping the Cowboys at the one-yard line after a reviewed play. Wyoming elected to go for it on fourth, and the Cowboys were called for a false start penalty, moving them back to the six. Wyoming then elected to go for the field goal, but Harris managed to get a hand on the ball and block the kick to stop the Cowboy threat.
On the first play of the ensuing drive, Porter fired a deep shot to freshman Matthew Sexton (Clinton, Mich. – Clinton), who came down with it for a career-long reception of 40 yards. After a short pass for five yards, the clock ticked down to signal the end of third quarter with EMU still clinging to a slim 20-17 lead. Unfortunately, the Eagles were unable to convert on a fourth down attempt, and the Cowboys took over at the Wyoming 47.
The Cowboys then began driving down the field, getting to the EMU 22. With Wyoming closing in on the red zone, Williams forced a big fumble, and redshirt junior Ikie Calderon (Neptune, N.J. – Neptune (College of the Desert) came up with it to put a halt to the drive. On the other end, Porter then promptly threw another interception, which was brought back for a touchdown, giving Wyoming a 24-20 lead with 12:45 remaining in the game.
A solid return gave Eastern the ball at the 30 to begin the drive, but they were unable to do anything on the offensive end. Barnes came back on to punt, and a friendly EMU bounce pinned Wyoming at the eight. The Cowboys began their drive with back-to-back first downs, but were then stopped near midfield to force a UW punt.
Beginning at their own 16, redshirt junior Brogan Roback (Maumee, Ohio – Toledo St. John's Jesuit) entered the game and rifled a pass to Bailey for a first down to the EMU 37. Eriksen picked up nine on the next two plays, after which Roback snuck through the line to pick up another first. After a sack and offensive pass interference penalty, the Eagles faced second and 35. Although Roback completed a pass to Kilby for a gain of 16, Eastern was still forced to punt the ball away, with Barnes booming a punt of 47 yards.
With just 4:10 remaining in the game, Eastern needed to get a stop on the defensive end to allow the offense a chance to retake the lead. Wyoming ran the ball on consecutive downs to drain clock. On third down, the Eagles blitzed the Cowboys, forcing an incomplete pass, which stopped the clock and also forced Wyoming to punt. With 2:37 left to go, the EMU offense retook the field for one last opportunity to get in the end zone.
Roback began the drive with a long pass attempt to Bailey, which fell incomplete, but a defensive pass interference penalty brought the Eagles to the Wyoming 29. Roback followed that up with a quick pass to the sideline, and Bailey was able to come up with it and step out of bounds to stop the clock again. The Eagles kept driving, with Eriksen notching another first down. On the very next play, Eriksen burst through the line with a quick jolt of speed, running untouched into the end zone for a clutch touchdown in the final two minutes of play. Following Fricano's PAT, Eastern retook the lead, 27-24, with 1:35 on the clock.
With a three-point lead, the Eagle defense needed to dig in and halt the Cowboys to secure the win. On the very first play of the drive, O'Connor and redshirt junior Luke Maclean (Grand Blanc, Mich. – Grand Blanc (Pittsburgh)) burst through the line to sack the Wyoming quarterback for a loss of eight yards. From there, the Wyoming quarterback lofted up a long pass down field, and Calhoun came down with it to give Eastern their third turnover on the day, this one coming at a very clutch moment of the game.
With the less than 1:30 to play, the Eagles continued to run the ball and drain clock. Unable to pick up a first down, Eastern called a timeout with 25 seconds remaining before punting the ball away. Barnes booted the ball into the end zone, and the Cowboys took over at their 25 with 18 seconds on the clock. Wyoming's first pass fell incomplete after the quarterback was hurried. On the next play, he was flushed from the pocket and forced to run out of bounds after a pickup of seven. The final play of the game featured repeated lateral attempts, but the Cowboys were unable to move forward, with the Eagles bringing down the ball carrier and securing the victory.
The Eagles will begin Mid-American Conference play next week, heading south for a showdown with the Bowling Green Falcons. Kickoff from Doyt Perry Stadium is slated for 3 p.m., and the game can be viewed on ESPN3.
OTHER NOTES:
-EMU held Wyoming to just 134-yards of total offense in the first half. Wyoming rushed for 31-yards on 22 attempts, and 103-yards through the air.
-With 13:26 remaining in the game, Ikie Calderon forces his first career fumble.
-Ian Eriksen rushes for a 15-yard touchdown with 1:35 remaining in the game to give the Eagles a 27-24 lead.
-Freshman, Mathew Sexton records his longest reception of his career, hauling in a 40-yard pass from Todd Porter.
-Brogan Roback sees his first snap of the 2016 season, going 3-for-6 for 47-yards.
-Maxx Crosby has a career high game for tackles, with 7 tackles.
-Breck Turner has a career high game scoring his first career touchdown, and a career long rush of 50-yards.
-Vince Calhoun had a career high of 8 total tackles (prev. high 5 vs. Charlotte 2016), and his first career interception came with 1:19 remaining in the game.
-Nigel Kilby recorded a career high game with 84-yards receiving with 4 receptions.
-Ian Eriksen rushes for a career high 122-yards, and also rushed for a touchdown.
-Derric Williams has a career high game with 9 total tackles, beating his previous career high that came against Wyoming in 2015 with 7.
Video Highlights of the Game.
Postgame Press Conference Video.
Audio Highlights.
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University football team closed its non-conference schedule with a come-from-behind 27-24 home victory over the University of Wyoming Friday, Sept. 23, at Rynearson Stadium. The Eagles move to 3-1 on the season and are out to their best start since the 1995 season.
As a team, Eastern notched a total of 500 offensive yards, including 239 on the ground with an average rush of 5.1 yards per carry. Additionally, the Green and White threw for 261 yards, with four receivers notching three receptions or more. The Eagle defense had a spectacular game, holding the Cowboy (2-2) offense to just one offensive touchdown and one field goal throughout the game.
Leading the EMU offensive attack was redshirt sophomore Ian Eriksen (Clarkston, Mich. – Clarkston), who totaled a career-high 120 yards on the ground, along with the go-ahead touchdown. Redshirt freshman Breck Turner (Norwalk, Ohio – Norwalk) had a break out game on the ground as well, posting a 50-yard rush for a touchdown in the second quarter.
Behind center, junior Todd Porter (O'Fallon, Ill. – O'Fallon (Western Kentucky – Garden City C.C.)) totaled 214 passing yards with one touchdown. It was his third straight 200-yard passing effort. Redshirt freshman Nigel Kilby (Fort Wayne, Ind. – Northrop) tallied a career-best 84 yards receiving on four receptions, while junior Johnnie Niupalau (San Mateo, Calif. – San Mateo (College of San Mateo)) notched 34 yards and one touchdown.
On the defensive side of the ball, EMU held the Cowboys to just 313 offensive yards, highlighted by only 79 rushing yards on 38 attempts. It was the second time EMU has held its opponent to fewer than 100 yards this season, both coming at home. The Eagle defense forced three turnovers throughout the game, including two fumble recoveries and a clutch interception in the final moments of the game.
Leading the strong Green and White defense was redshirt sophomore Jeremiah Harris (Lambertville, Mich. – Bedford Senior), who had a spectacular game with one sack and a blocked field goal. Freshman Vince Calhoun (Middletown, Ohio – Middletown) had a great game as well, forcing a fumble and securing the key interception in the fourth quarter. Finally, redshirt junior Derric Williams (Lake Orion, Mich. – Lake Orion) totaled nine tackles, along with forcing a fumble.
The Eagles won the toss to begin the game, and elected to kick and begin the game on defense. The Cowboys picked up a quick first down, but the Eagle defense clamped down, as a sack by redshirt freshman Maxx Crosby (Colleyville, Texas – Colleyville Heritage) and redshirt sophomore Chris Hendricks (Fruitport, Mich. – Fruitport) put a stop to the drive. After the punt pinned the Green and White at the seven, the EMU offense took the field.
Eastern came out with a balanced attack, quickly advancing to the 35-yard line on four plays. On third down, Porter rifled an accurate pass to Niupalau to keep the drive moving. However, a Porter pass was then intercepted by the Cowboys and returned for a touchdown, putting the Eagles in an early 7-0 hole.
The Eagles retook the field on offense, and Eriksen got the drive started with a bang, running for 27 yards. Immediately after, Porter completed a long pass to Kilby for 32, quickly putting the Eagles in Cowboy territory. On third down, Porter attempted a home-run ball to junior Sergio Bailey III (La Mesa, Calif. – Olympian (Grossmont College)), who made an acrobatic catch on the sideline, but was ruled out of bounds. However, the Eagles did not leave the drive empty-handed, as redshirt freshman Paul Fricano (Rochester, N.Y. – Churchville-Chili) converted a career-long 46-yard field goal. With 5:38 remaining in the first quarter, the Eagles trailed 7-3.
Turning around to the other side of the ball, EMU quickly forced a three-and-out, capped off by a sack from Harris, which was the team's second of the day. The stop allowed the Eagles to get the ball back on offense with good field position, as they would begin their drive from their 45. EMU quickly picked up a first down, with Porter looking comfortable in the pocket and firing a third-down pass to Kilby for 11. His next pass, however, was intercepted, giving the ball back to Wyoming.
The Cowboys were able to advance downfield after a personal foul penalty on the Eagles, putting them at the EMU 24 with 1:38 to go in the opening quarter. The defense was able to stop the drive however, forcing a fourth and six at the 20. The Cowboys attempted a field goal, knocking it through to tack on three more. At the conclusion of the first quarter, Eastern trailed Wyoming, 10-3.
The second quarter began with a beautiful short pass to Kilby, who was able to pick up 25 after a Wyoming defender was unable to bring him down on first contact. On the other side of the 50, Porter picked up his third interception of the game on a diving catch from a Cowboy defensive back. Wyoming was then able to pick up consecutive first downs, taking advantage of short curl routes in the passing game.
On third-and-three, Wyoming was stopped just short of the marker, and elected to sneak for it on fourth down, ultimately converting and picking up another fresh set of downs. A holding penalty on the Cowboys put Wyoming back 10-yards, but they quickly regained the difference on a 16-yard pass. From there, a pass interference penalty on EMU put the Cowboys at the five, and they then punched it in to go up 17-3 with 9:05 left in the half.
The Eagles got some momentum back on the kickoff, as redshirt sophomore Blake Banham (St. Paul, Minn. – Cretin-Derham Hall) returned the kick to the 38 after finding a gap through defenders. Strong rushes from Eriksen picked up a first down for EMU, after which Turner found a crease and blazed 50-yards down the field for the first Eagle touchdown of the day, as well as the first of his young career. After Fricano's PAT, the Eagles trailed by seven, 17-10, with 7:49 left to play before halftime.
After nearly picking up a first down on their first pass, redshirt senior Pat O'Connor (Chicago, Ill. – Saint Rita) erupted through the line to bring down the running back for a loss of four. The Cowboys were able to pick up the first on the following play, however, putting Wyoming at their own 46. Eastern's defense then forced another fourth-down, as senior DaQuan Pace (Detroit, Mich. – Cass Tech) broke up a pass near the sideline. The breakup, which was the 18th of his career, moved him into a tie for the EMU program record. After a Wyoming punt, the Eagles took over at their 18. The Green and White were unable to move the ball, however, going three-and-out and punting the ball back to the Wyoming 39.
Eastern's defense got off to a strong start on the ensuing drive, dropping the Wyoming running back behind the line for a loss of three. Like before, the Cowboys ran a short curl route, picking up the first down at midfield. A few plays later, Wyoming threw a screen pass and the receiver was quickly engulfed by Calhoun, who forced a fumble that was picked up by fellow freshman Kevin McGill (Waldorf, Md. – Westlake).
Beginning their drive with good field position, the Green and White had nearly 1:30 left in the half to tie the game up. The Eagles did just that, notching three straight plays of nine yards or more, ultimately culminating in a seven-yard touchdown pass to Niupalau. Fricano's PAT then tied the game up at 17 with just 18 seconds before halftime. Wyoming elected to kneel out the half, and the two squads went into the locker room tied at 17.
The Eagles began the second half receiving the ball, immediately converting on a third-and-three after Porter scampered for nine yards to the EMU 41. Porter then followed that up with a quick 14-yard pass to Niupalau, moving Eastern to the other side of the 50. From there, redshirt freshman Isaac Holder (Tampa, Fla. – Sickles) notched a catch of 17 to bring the Eagles to the Wyoming 26, after which Eriksen bulldozed his way through the line for a pickup of 11, bringing EMU into the red zone. The Green and White were unable to find the end zone, but Fricano gave the Eagles a 20-17 lead after knocking down a 29-yarder.
Wyoming's first drive of the second half came up empty, only picking up a pair of first downs. The Cowboys were forced to punt from the EMU 48, and Banham fair caught the ball at the nine to give the Eagles another opportunity at putting points on the board. A pump fake from T. Porter caught the Wyoming defense off guard on the second play of the drive, as the O'Fallon, Ill. native was able to escape the pocket and run for 30. Eastern was unable to pick up another first, however, and redshirt junior Austin Barnes (Fairview Heights, Ill. – O'Fallon) was forced to punt, ultimately pinning the Cowboys at their own 21.
Wyoming quickly picked up a big chunk of yardage, completing a 42-yard pass down the sideline into EMU territory, after which the Cowboys nabbed another 20 on the next play. The Eagles mounted a tough defensive stand, stopping the Cowboys at the one-yard line after a reviewed play. Wyoming elected to go for it on fourth, and the Cowboys were called for a false start penalty, moving them back to the six. Wyoming then elected to go for the field goal, but Harris managed to get a hand on the ball and block the kick to stop the Cowboy threat.
On the first play of the ensuing drive, Porter fired a deep shot to freshman Matthew Sexton (Clinton, Mich. – Clinton), who came down with it for a career-long reception of 40 yards. After a short pass for five yards, the clock ticked down to signal the end of third quarter with EMU still clinging to a slim 20-17 lead. Unfortunately, the Eagles were unable to convert on a fourth down attempt, and the Cowboys took over at the Wyoming 47.
The Cowboys then began driving down the field, getting to the EMU 22. With Wyoming closing in on the red zone, Williams forced a big fumble, and redshirt junior Ikie Calderon (Neptune, N.J. – Neptune (College of the Desert) came up with it to put a halt to the drive. On the other end, Porter then promptly threw another interception, which was brought back for a touchdown, giving Wyoming a 24-20 lead with 12:45 remaining in the game.
A solid return gave Eastern the ball at the 30 to begin the drive, but they were unable to do anything on the offensive end. Barnes came back on to punt, and a friendly EMU bounce pinned Wyoming at the eight. The Cowboys began their drive with back-to-back first downs, but were then stopped near midfield to force a UW punt.
Beginning at their own 16, redshirt junior Brogan Roback (Maumee, Ohio – Toledo St. John's Jesuit) entered the game and rifled a pass to Bailey for a first down to the EMU 37. Eriksen picked up nine on the next two plays, after which Roback snuck through the line to pick up another first. After a sack and offensive pass interference penalty, the Eagles faced second and 35. Although Roback completed a pass to Kilby for a gain of 16, Eastern was still forced to punt the ball away, with Barnes booming a punt of 47 yards.
With just 4:10 remaining in the game, Eastern needed to get a stop on the defensive end to allow the offense a chance to retake the lead. Wyoming ran the ball on consecutive downs to drain clock. On third down, the Eagles blitzed the Cowboys, forcing an incomplete pass, which stopped the clock and also forced Wyoming to punt. With 2:37 left to go, the EMU offense retook the field for one last opportunity to get in the end zone.
Roback began the drive with a long pass attempt to Bailey, which fell incomplete, but a defensive pass interference penalty brought the Eagles to the Wyoming 29. Roback followed that up with a quick pass to the sideline, and Bailey was able to come up with it and step out of bounds to stop the clock again. The Eagles kept driving, with Eriksen notching another first down. On the very next play, Eriksen burst through the line with a quick jolt of speed, running untouched into the end zone for a clutch touchdown in the final two minutes of play. Following Fricano's PAT, Eastern retook the lead, 27-24, with 1:35 on the clock.
With a three-point lead, the Eagle defense needed to dig in and halt the Cowboys to secure the win. On the very first play of the drive, O'Connor and redshirt junior Luke Maclean (Grand Blanc, Mich. – Grand Blanc (Pittsburgh)) burst through the line to sack the Wyoming quarterback for a loss of eight yards. From there, the Wyoming quarterback lofted up a long pass down field, and Calhoun came down with it to give Eastern their third turnover on the day, this one coming at a very clutch moment of the game.
With the less than 1:30 to play, the Eagles continued to run the ball and drain clock. Unable to pick up a first down, Eastern called a timeout with 25 seconds remaining before punting the ball away. Barnes booted the ball into the end zone, and the Cowboys took over at their 25 with 18 seconds on the clock. Wyoming's first pass fell incomplete after the quarterback was hurried. On the next play, he was flushed from the pocket and forced to run out of bounds after a pickup of seven. The final play of the game featured repeated lateral attempts, but the Cowboys were unable to move forward, with the Eagles bringing down the ball carrier and securing the victory.
The Eagles will begin Mid-American Conference play next week, heading south for a showdown with the Bowling Green Falcons. Kickoff from Doyt Perry Stadium is slated for 3 p.m., and the game can be viewed on ESPN3.
OTHER NOTES:
-EMU held Wyoming to just 134-yards of total offense in the first half. Wyoming rushed for 31-yards on 22 attempts, and 103-yards through the air.
-With 13:26 remaining in the game, Ikie Calderon forces his first career fumble.
-Ian Eriksen rushes for a 15-yard touchdown with 1:35 remaining in the game to give the Eagles a 27-24 lead.
-Freshman, Mathew Sexton records his longest reception of his career, hauling in a 40-yard pass from Todd Porter.
-Brogan Roback sees his first snap of the 2016 season, going 3-for-6 for 47-yards.
-Maxx Crosby has a career high game for tackles, with 7 tackles.
-Breck Turner has a career high game scoring his first career touchdown, and a career long rush of 50-yards.
-Vince Calhoun had a career high of 8 total tackles (prev. high 5 vs. Charlotte 2016), and his first career interception came with 1:19 remaining in the game.
-Nigel Kilby recorded a career high game with 84-yards receiving with 4 receptions.
-Ian Eriksen rushes for a career high 122-yards, and also rushed for a touchdown.
-Derric Williams has a career high game with 9 total tackles, beating his previous career high that came against Wyoming in 2015 with 7.
Team Stats
WY
EMU
Total Yards
313
500
Pass Yards
234
261
Rushing Yards
79
239
Penalty Yards
35
55
1st Downs
19
24
3rd Downs
3
6
4th Downs
1
0
TOP
28:04
31:56
1st Quarter
WY 7, EMU 0
WY - EPPS, Marcus 66 yd interception (ROTHE, Cooper kick)
WY 7, EMU 3
EMU - FRICANO, Paul 46 yd field goal 6 plays, 61 yards, TOP 1:43
WY 10, EMU 3
WY - ROTHE, Cooper 37 yd field goal 6 plays, 25 yards, TOP 2:13
2nd Quarter
WY 17, EMU 3
WY - HILL, Brian 5 yd run (ROTHE, Cooper kick), 11 plays, 70 yards, TOP 4:16
WY 17, EMU 10
EMU - TURNER, Breck 50 yd run (FRICANO, Paul kick), 3 plays, 62 yards, TOP 1:08
WY 17, EMU 17
EMU - NIUPALAU, J. 7 yd pass from PORTER, Todd (FRICANO, Paul kick) 5 plays, 52 yards, TOP 1:14
3rd Quarter
WY 17, EMU 20
EMU - FRICANO, Paul 29 yd field goal 14 plays, 64 yards, TOP 6:14
4th Quarter
WY 24, EMU 20
WY - WILSON, Logan 27 yd interception (ROTHE, Cooper kick)
WY 24, EMU 27
EMU - ERIKSEN, Ian 15 yd run (FRICANO, Paul kick), 4 plays, 47 yards, TOP 1:02
Game Leaders
CMP
14
TD
1
YDS
214
INT
4
CMP
3
TD
0
YDS
47
INT
0
Players Mentioned
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DB
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DL
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RB
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K
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DL
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DL
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WR
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TE
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DL
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LB
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