Eastern Michigan Athletics
Saturday, September 21
Rynearson Stadium
3 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
3-1
34
vs
29
Central Connecticut State
3-1
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Central Connecticut
15
0
0
14
29
Eastern Michigan
7
14
0
13
34
EMU Wins Home Opener On Last-Minute Heroics
9/21/2019 8:16:00 PM | Football
Mathew Sexton returns blocked punt 30 yards for game-winning touchdown
Video: Game Winning Punt Block. Postgame Press Conference. Recap Video.
Postgame Audio: Mathew_Sexton. Chris_Creighton.
Photo Gallery.
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – Senior Mathew Sexton (Clinton, Mich.) returned a blocked punt 30 yards for a touchdown with 10 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, as the Eastern Michigan University football team emerged victorious against Central Connecticut State University, 34-29, Saturday, Sept. 21 at "The Factory" inside Rynearson Stadium.
The Eagles improve to 3-1 on the year with the victory, while Blue Devils drop their first contest of the year and now hold a 3-1 record.
"It's adversity. Without adversity, it (EMU) doesn't make a great team," said Sexton, adding "It comes down to execution."
Senior quarterback Mike Glass III (St. Louis, Mo.-Hazelwood Central (Southwestern College)) authored another strong performance under center, completing 26-of-39 passes for 279 yards and a career-high four touchdowns. In all, Glass has thrown two or more touchdown passes in five consecutive games dating back to the 2018 Raycom Media Camellia Bowl against Georgia Southern, Dec. 15.
Sophomore Quian Williams (Oklahoma City, Okla.-Southmoore) enjoyed a career day for the Green and White, setting personal-bests with eight receptions for 115 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Senior Arthur Jackson III's (Oakland, Calif.-Wood (American River College)) lone catch resulted in a 48-yard touchdown, while sophomore Hassan Beydoun (Dearborn, Mich.-Dearborn) made three catches for 45 yards and one touchdown. The score was the first-career for Beydoun. Junior Willie Parker (Tampa, Fla.-Carrollwood Day School) led the ground game with nine carries for 51 yards, while Glass ran 10 times for a total of 16 yards.
The Eagles outgained CCSU, 373-346, and extended drives throughout the afternoon by going 3-for-4 on fourth-down conversions. On the defensive end, senior Kobie Beltram (Antioch, Calif.-Antioch (City College of San Francisco) finished with 12 tackles and a fumble recovery, while fellow senior Vince Calhoun (Middletown, Ohio-Middletown) contributed 10 tackles, including one for-loss, and a sack.
CCSU received the ball to begin the contest and found the end zone on its opening series, marching 75 yards on 11 plays in a 6:17 span. The Blue Devils were successful on their first two-point conversion to take an 8-0 lead early on.
The Eagles bounced back on their first drive of the afternoon, needing fewer than three minutes to produce a touchdown of their own, when Glass lofted a 48-yard dime to Jackson, who had no trouble blowing past his coverage to make the catch in stride and trim the deficit to 8-7 with 6:02 remaining in the first period.
The Blue Devils restored their eight-point lead when junior Tyshaun James used runs of seven and 10 yards, respectively, to reach the end zone and widen the margin to 15-7 at the end of the first quarter.
Two plays later, Glass found Williams wide open on the right side of the field for a 25-yard touchdown pass to get the Green and White within a pair, 15-13 with 3:12 to go in the first half.
The Eagles managed to grab their first lead of the afternoon with 30 seconds remaining in the half. Parker's 11-yard run marked EMU's second successful fourth-down conversion, and Glass followed up by throwing a quick slant to Beydoun for a 21-yard touchdown pass to give EMU a 19-15 edge. The Green and White opted to go for two and succeeded when senior Line Latu (San Mateo, Calif.-San Mateo (College of San Mateo)) finished off a perfectly-executed reverse to make it a 21-15 contest.
Both sides traded three-and-outs to begin the second half, as the EMU defense held CCSU to just 25 yards of offense during a scoreless third quarter. In total, the Eagles have kept opponents off the board during the third quarter in 10 of the last 17 games.
Shortly after Williams made a 21-yard catch for his second receiving touchdown of the game, Ryland's extra point attempt sailed through the uprights and extend Eastern's lead to 28-15.
The Blue Devils refused to go away despite the scoreline, adding a one-yard touchdown run to cut EMU's lead to 28-22 with 8:20 left in regulation. Though the Eagles' defense recovered to force a turnover on downs with 5:23 on the clock, CCSU regained possession and snatched a 29-28 lead on a 68-yard strike with 2:05 to go in the final frame.
To finish the game and claim the win, Sexton returned a blocked punt 30 yards to push the Eagles past the Blue Devils, 34-29.
With the win, the Green and White improve to 77-45-5 all-time in their home openers and 5-1 under head coach Chris Creighton. EMU will now enter a bye week before starting Mid-American Conference play in Mount Pleasant, Mich. against Central Michigan University, Oct. 5.
Postgame Audio: Mathew_Sexton. Chris_Creighton.
Photo Gallery.
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – Senior Mathew Sexton (Clinton, Mich.) returned a blocked punt 30 yards for a touchdown with 10 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, as the Eastern Michigan University football team emerged victorious against Central Connecticut State University, 34-29, Saturday, Sept. 21 at "The Factory" inside Rynearson Stadium.
The Eagles improve to 3-1 on the year with the victory, while Blue Devils drop their first contest of the year and now hold a 3-1 record.
"It's adversity. Without adversity, it (EMU) doesn't make a great team," said Sexton, adding "It comes down to execution."
Senior quarterback Mike Glass III (St. Louis, Mo.-Hazelwood Central (Southwestern College)) authored another strong performance under center, completing 26-of-39 passes for 279 yards and a career-high four touchdowns. In all, Glass has thrown two or more touchdown passes in five consecutive games dating back to the 2018 Raycom Media Camellia Bowl against Georgia Southern, Dec. 15.
Sophomore Quian Williams (Oklahoma City, Okla.-Southmoore) enjoyed a career day for the Green and White, setting personal-bests with eight receptions for 115 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Senior Arthur Jackson III's (Oakland, Calif.-Wood (American River College)) lone catch resulted in a 48-yard touchdown, while sophomore Hassan Beydoun (Dearborn, Mich.-Dearborn) made three catches for 45 yards and one touchdown. The score was the first-career for Beydoun. Junior Willie Parker (Tampa, Fla.-Carrollwood Day School) led the ground game with nine carries for 51 yards, while Glass ran 10 times for a total of 16 yards.
The Eagles outgained CCSU, 373-346, and extended drives throughout the afternoon by going 3-for-4 on fourth-down conversions. On the defensive end, senior Kobie Beltram (Antioch, Calif.-Antioch (City College of San Francisco) finished with 12 tackles and a fumble recovery, while fellow senior Vince Calhoun (Middletown, Ohio-Middletown) contributed 10 tackles, including one for-loss, and a sack.
CCSU received the ball to begin the contest and found the end zone on its opening series, marching 75 yards on 11 plays in a 6:17 span. The Blue Devils were successful on their first two-point conversion to take an 8-0 lead early on.
The Eagles bounced back on their first drive of the afternoon, needing fewer than three minutes to produce a touchdown of their own, when Glass lofted a 48-yard dime to Jackson, who had no trouble blowing past his coverage to make the catch in stride and trim the deficit to 8-7 with 6:02 remaining in the first period.
The Blue Devils restored their eight-point lead when junior Tyshaun James used runs of seven and 10 yards, respectively, to reach the end zone and widen the margin to 15-7 at the end of the first quarter.
Two plays later, Glass found Williams wide open on the right side of the field for a 25-yard touchdown pass to get the Green and White within a pair, 15-13 with 3:12 to go in the first half.
The Eagles managed to grab their first lead of the afternoon with 30 seconds remaining in the half. Parker's 11-yard run marked EMU's second successful fourth-down conversion, and Glass followed up by throwing a quick slant to Beydoun for a 21-yard touchdown pass to give EMU a 19-15 edge. The Green and White opted to go for two and succeeded when senior Line Latu (San Mateo, Calif.-San Mateo (College of San Mateo)) finished off a perfectly-executed reverse to make it a 21-15 contest.
Both sides traded three-and-outs to begin the second half, as the EMU defense held CCSU to just 25 yards of offense during a scoreless third quarter. In total, the Eagles have kept opponents off the board during the third quarter in 10 of the last 17 games.
Shortly after Williams made a 21-yard catch for his second receiving touchdown of the game, Ryland's extra point attempt sailed through the uprights and extend Eastern's lead to 28-15.
The Blue Devils refused to go away despite the scoreline, adding a one-yard touchdown run to cut EMU's lead to 28-22 with 8:20 left in regulation. Though the Eagles' defense recovered to force a turnover on downs with 5:23 on the clock, CCSU regained possession and snatched a 29-28 lead on a 68-yard strike with 2:05 to go in the final frame.
To finish the game and claim the win, Sexton returned a blocked punt 30 yards to push the Eagles past the Blue Devils, 34-29.
With the win, the Green and White improve to 77-45-5 all-time in their home openers and 5-1 under head coach Chris Creighton. EMU will now enter a bye week before starting Mid-American Conference play in Mount Pleasant, Mich. against Central Michigan University, Oct. 5.
Team Stats
CCSU
EMU
Total Yards
346
373
Pass Yards
231
279
Rushing Yards
115
94
Penalty Yards
35
60
1st Downs
16
21
3rd Downs
4
4
4th Downs
0
3
TOP
30:41
29:19
1st Quarter
CCSU 8, EMU 0
CCSU - WALKER, Enyce 1 yd run (GILMORE, Arthur pass), 11 plays, 75 yards, TOP 6:17
CCSU 8, EMU 7
EMU - JACKSON, Arthur 48 yd pass from GLASS, Mike (RYLAND, Chad kick) 7 plays, 75 yards, TOP 2:41
CCSU 15, EMU 7
CCSU - JAMES, Tyshaun 10 yd run (COLE, Francis kick), 10 plays, 75 yards, TOP 6:02
2nd Quarter
CCSU 15, EMU 13
EMU - WILLIAMS, Quian 25 yd pass from GLASS, Mike (GLASS, Mike passfailed) 9 plays, 53 yards, TOP 4:14
CCSU 15, EMU 21
EMU - BEYDOUN, Hassan 21 yd pass from GLASS, Mike (LATU, Line rush) 7 plays, 53 yards, TOP 1:55
4th Quarter
CCSU 15, EMU 28
EMU - WILLIAMS, Quian 21 yd pass from GLASS, Mike (RYLAND, Chad kick) 5 plays, 57 yards, TOP 2:28
CCSU 22, EMU 28
CCSU - LUCAS, Keonte 1 yd run (COLE, Francis kick), 7 plays, 75 yards, TOP 3:16
CCSU 29, EMU 28
CCSU - JAMES, Tyshaun 68 yd pass from WINCHESTER, A. (COLE, Francis kick) 2 plays, 71 yards, TOP 0:53
CCSU 29, EMU 34
EMU - SEXTON, Mathew 30 yd blocked punt return (GLASS, Mike passfailed)
Game Leaders
CMP
26
TD
4
YDS
279
INT
2
Players Mentioned
LB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
DB
/ FootballQB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
RB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
WR
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