Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
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Defense Dominates as Football Caps EMU's 100th Homecoming With Win Over Miami
10/9/2021 7:11:00 PM | Football
EMU is 3-0 at home for the first time since 2011
Photo Gallery
Postgame Press Conference | Postgame Recap Video
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- Eastern Michigan University's 100th Homecoming was a special one as the football team rode a 10-point second quarter to earn a 13-12 victory over Miami University this afternoon, Oct. 9, inside Rynearson Stadium.
The Eagles improved to 4-2 on the year and 1-1 in Mid-American Conference play, while the RedHawks fell to 2-4 and 1-1.
Senior Ben Bryant (La Grange, Ill.-Lyons Township (Cincinnati)) led Eastern Michigan's passing attack with 206 yards through the air, tossing one touchdown and one interception.
Freshman running back Darius Boone Jr. (Tulsa, Okla.-Union) led all Eagles' rushers with 36 yards in the contest, picking up four yards per carry. Senior Jawon Hamilton (Miami, Fla.-South Dade (James Madison)) also added 28 yards on the ground, averaging four yards per carry.
Junior Dylan Drummond (Cleveland, Ohio-Cuyahoga Heights) reeled in seven catches for 93 yards. Classmate Hassan Beydoun (Dearborn, Mich.-Dearborn) got in on the action in the passing game as well, hauling in six balls for 52 yards.
Senior Alvinoski LaFleur (Lake Charles, La.-LaGrange (Coffeyville C.C.)) showed out for the Eastern Michigan defense, totaling six tackles and one recovered fumble. Senior Turan Rush (Charleston West Side, W.Va.-Capital (Antelope Valley)) added 1.0 TFL and one sack and sophomore Mikey Haney (Maumee, Ohio-Maumee) had 1.0 TFL and one sack in the win.
Both teams forced one turnover in Saturday's contest, with Eastern Michigan turning that takeaway into three points.
Eastern Michigan's defense was impressive against the run, limiting Miami to 126 yards on the ground.
How It Happened
EMU found itself down early 6-0, but responded to take a 7-6 lead with 6:55 remaining in the second quarter.The Eagles then increased the lead to 10-6 with another score.
Eastern Michigan kept Miami off the scoreboard and increased its lead to 13-6 with 8:07 left in the third quarter. Eastern Michigan didn't score again in the game and RedHawks tacked on six more points to finish off the scoring.
Game Notes» Eastern tallied 10 points in the second quarter, accounting for 76.9% of their total score.
» Eastern Michigan converted 5-of-16 third downs while Miami was successful on 6-of-16.
» Freshman Kempton Shine (Chicago, Ill.-St. Rita) led the Eagles with eight tackles, a season-high.
» Senior Jake Julien (Barrie Ontario, Canada-North Collegiate) punted eight times for the Eagles with an average of 46.1 yards per punt while pinning the RedHawks inside their own 20-yard line two times. The eight punts ties his season-high (Wisconsin, Sept. 11).
» Eastern Michigan won the time of possession battle 34:08 to 25:52.
» Bryant completed 67.7% of his passes on the day, going 21-for-31 while averaging 6.6 yards per attempt.
» The Eagles' defense denied the RedHawks from finding the end zone on their first three drives, all of which went into EMU territory, holding Miami to just six points on those drives. EMU has held its opponents without TD's on the first three drives of a game three times this season (Saint Francis - Sept. 3, UMass - Sept. 18).
» In Miami's first four drives of the game, EMU's defense forced Miami to either a field goal or punt.
» LaFleur earned his second career fumble recovery, and first of the season.
» Jose Ramirez (Lake Alfred, Fla.-Auburndale) recorded his second forced fumble of the season, the third of his career.
» Bryson Cannon (Columbia, S.C.-Dutch Fork (Independence)) tallied his second receiving touchdown of the season and his sixth receiving touchdown donning the Green and White.
» The game marked the first time that Cannon has caught a touchdown pass in consecutive games since he did so in a two-game stretch last season at Ball State (Nov. 11, 2020) and versus Toledo (Nov. 18, 2020).
» Hamilton and Boone Jr. combined for 43 first half rushing yards
» The Eagles went into the halftime break with a lead for the fourth time this season. EMU has won each of those games.
» Chad Ryland (Lebanon, Pa.-Cedar Crest) tied his season high with a 47-yard field goal.
» EMU surrendered their fewest amount of points to its opposition on the season. The previous low, 15, came against Saint Francis, Sept. 3.
Historical Notes
» The last time the Eagles' defense left its opposition without a touchdown was in a 52-0 shutout victory over Indiana State, Aug. 28, 2008.
» EMU did not allow a touchdown in a MAC contest for the first time since Oct. 27, 2007 when the Eagles defeated Western Michigan, 19-2.
» The last time the Eagles allowed under 14 points came against Akron, Nov. 10, 2018, in a 27-7 victory.
» Eastern defeated Miami at The Factory inside Rynearson Stadium for the first time since Nov 4, 1989.
» EMU beat Miami for the sixth time in program history. EMU has now bested the RedHawks in consecutive contest.
» EMU starts 3-0 at The Factory for the first time since 2011 and the first time in the Chris Creighton Era (2014-pres).
» The last time EMU scored fewer than 13 points and won came against Toledo, 10-7, Nov. 21, 1998.
» The last time EMU won by one point came in a 20-19 victory over Big Ten opponent Purdue, Sep. 8, 2018.
» This was the 25th meeting between the two MAC programs.
» The 25 total points scored between EMU and Miami were the least since EMU and Old Dominion combined to score 20, in a 17-3 decision that favored the Monarchs, Sept. 13, 2014.
Up Next
The Eagles stay home next weekend for a matchup against the Ball State Saturday, Oct. 16. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. inside Rynearson Stadium.
Team Stats
MIA 3, EMU 0
MIA - Nicholson,Graha 49 yd field goal 10 plays, 56 yards, TOP 3:16
MIA 6, EMU 0
MIA - Nicholson,Graha 40 yd field goal 9 plays, 52 yards, TOP 3:43
MIA 6, EMU 7
EMU - CANNON, Bryson 16 yd pass from BRYANT, Ben (RYLAND, Chad kick) 8 plays, 73 yards, TOP 3:59
MIA 6, EMU 10
EMU - RYLAND, Chad 47 yd field goal 7 plays, 20 yards, TOP 2:05
MIA 6, EMU 13
EMU - RYLAND, Chad 33 yd field goal 11 plays, 57 yards, TOP 5:26
MIA 9, EMU 13
MIA - Nicholson,Graha 31 yd field goal 7 plays, 62 yards, TOP 2:27
MIA 12, EMU 13
MIA - Nicholson,Graha 44 yd field goal 8 plays, 54 yards, TOP 3:09
