Eastern Michigan Athletics
Friday, September 3
Rynearson Stadium
7 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
1-0
35
vs
15
Saint Francis (Pa.)
0-1
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Saint Francis
0
7
0
8
15
Eastern Michigan
14
14
7
0
35
Football Opens 130th Season of Play with Convincing Victory Over Saint Francis
9/4/2021 12:38:00 AM | Football
Samson Evans ran for three scores in 20-point victory
Teaser Video | Box score (PDF)
Photo Gallery: Pregame/Eagle Walk | Game
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University football team began its 130th season of play with an impressive, 35-15 win over Saint Francis (Pa.) tonight, Sept. 3. The game took place at The Factory inside Rynearson Stadium.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After turning the ball over in its first possession of the new campaign, the Eastern Michigan offense took advantage of good field position in its second chance with the ball. After starting on the Saint Francis 44-yard line, the Eagles were able to string together an eight-play, 4:04 scoring drive that was capped with one-yard touchdown sprint by sophomore running back Samson Evans (Crystal Lake, Ill.-Prairie Ridge). Junior kicker Chad Ryland (Lebanon, Pa.-Cedar Crest) added the extra point to push EMU ahead, 7-0.
The Eastern defense excelled in the early portion of the game. Although the Red Flash was able to move the ball 40 yards over eight plays, its drive was abruptly ended when sophomore Jose Ramirez (Lake Alfred, Fla.-Auburndale) broke through the defensive line and strip-sacked SFU quarterback Jyron Russel. Eastern's freshman defensive lineman, Alex Merrit (Cincinnati, Ohio-Moeller) was able to recover at the EMU 35-yard line.
A seven-play, 65 yard drive that saw senior quarterback Ben Bryant (La Grange, Ill.-Lyons Township (Cincinnati)) take the field for the first time was again capped with a touchdown. A popular choice in the wildcat early on, EMU went to Evans successfully from one-yard out to find the endzone.
Back with the ball following an interception by senior defensive back Russell Vaden IV (Louisville, Ky.-Moore), EMU scored another touchdown in its first possession of the second quarter. The longest play of the set was a 33-yard completion from Bryant to junior wide out Dylan Drummond (Cleveland, Ohio-Cuyahoga Heights), which set EMU up in the redzone. From there, senior running back Jawon Hamilton (Miami, Fla.-South Dade (James Madison)) was able to run for the two-yard score.
With Eastern up 21-0, Saint Francis found the scoreboard for the first time with under 10 minutes to go before halftime. The five-play, 39-yard scoring effort took just 2:33 off the clock. Undeterred, EMU put together its longest drive of the game immediately following. The 18-play, 91-yard march took 6:39 off the clock and was yet again finished by Evans, this time via a four-yard TD carry, which put EMU up, 28-7.
Only 15 points were exchanged in the second half. EMU added a TD effort in the third quarter to go ahead, 35-7, before Saint Francis scored a touchdown and converted its two-point attempt in the game's final minutes to bring its deficit to 35-15.
EMU was able to run out the remainder of the clock and secure the 35-15 win.
GAME NOTES
Photo Gallery: Pregame/Eagle Walk | Game
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University football team began its 130th season of play with an impressive, 35-15 win over Saint Francis (Pa.) tonight, Sept. 3. The game took place at The Factory inside Rynearson Stadium.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After turning the ball over in its first possession of the new campaign, the Eastern Michigan offense took advantage of good field position in its second chance with the ball. After starting on the Saint Francis 44-yard line, the Eagles were able to string together an eight-play, 4:04 scoring drive that was capped with one-yard touchdown sprint by sophomore running back Samson Evans (Crystal Lake, Ill.-Prairie Ridge). Junior kicker Chad Ryland (Lebanon, Pa.-Cedar Crest) added the extra point to push EMU ahead, 7-0.
The Eastern defense excelled in the early portion of the game. Although the Red Flash was able to move the ball 40 yards over eight plays, its drive was abruptly ended when sophomore Jose Ramirez (Lake Alfred, Fla.-Auburndale) broke through the defensive line and strip-sacked SFU quarterback Jyron Russel. Eastern's freshman defensive lineman, Alex Merrit (Cincinnati, Ohio-Moeller) was able to recover at the EMU 35-yard line.
A seven-play, 65 yard drive that saw senior quarterback Ben Bryant (La Grange, Ill.-Lyons Township (Cincinnati)) take the field for the first time was again capped with a touchdown. A popular choice in the wildcat early on, EMU went to Evans successfully from one-yard out to find the endzone.
Back with the ball following an interception by senior defensive back Russell Vaden IV (Louisville, Ky.-Moore), EMU scored another touchdown in its first possession of the second quarter. The longest play of the set was a 33-yard completion from Bryant to junior wide out Dylan Drummond (Cleveland, Ohio-Cuyahoga Heights), which set EMU up in the redzone. From there, senior running back Jawon Hamilton (Miami, Fla.-South Dade (James Madison)) was able to run for the two-yard score.
With Eastern up 21-0, Saint Francis found the scoreboard for the first time with under 10 minutes to go before halftime. The five-play, 39-yard scoring effort took just 2:33 off the clock. Undeterred, EMU put together its longest drive of the game immediately following. The 18-play, 91-yard march took 6:39 off the clock and was yet again finished by Evans, this time via a four-yard TD carry, which put EMU up, 28-7.
Only 15 points were exchanged in the second half. EMU added a TD effort in the third quarter to go ahead, 35-7, before Saint Francis scored a touchdown and converted its two-point attempt in the game's final minutes to bring its deficit to 35-15.
EMU was able to run out the remainder of the clock and secure the 35-15 win.
GAME NOTES
- Evans tallied three touchdowns and earned his first career multi-touchdown game. The Crystal Lake, Ill. native was the first Eagle to score three rushing touchdowns since Preston Hutchison rushed for three scores at Ball State, Nov. 11, 2020. Evans now has four career rushing touchdowns.
- Bryant finished the contest 8-of-10 through the air, completing 80 percent of his passes, including a quarterback rating (QBR) of 185.8.
- Freshman running back Darius Boone Jr. (Tulsa, Okla.-Union) tabbed his third career touchdown and first of the 2021-22 campaign. The running back rushed for 107 yards and averaged 4.9 yards per carry in the game. Both numbers led the Eagles. Additionally, he is the first Eagle to break the 100-yard mark since the Tulsa, Okla. native ran for 148 yards at Western Michigan last season, Dec. 5, 2020.
- Merritt notched his second collegiate fumble recovery.
- Vaden earned his first career interception.
- Hamilton recorded his first touchdown donning the Green and White.
HISTORICAL NOTES
- Eastern Michigan started its 130th season of football against the Red Flash. The Eagles have compiled a 44-17-1 (.721%) when opening the season at home.
- The victory is Chris Creighton's 31st career win at EMU and fifth season-debuting home victory (5-1) in his eight seasons in Ypsilanti. Additionally, the win was Creighton's 170th career victory as a head coach.
UP NEXT
- Eastern Michigan will travel to Madison, Wis. to challenge Big Ten opponent the University of Wisconsin Saturday, Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. ET. The Eagles have defeated a Big Ten program in three of the last four seasons and own the conference's last victory over a 'Power Five' team (Illinois, 2019).
Team Stats
SFU
EMU
Total Yards
292
410
Pass Yards
187
189
Rushing Yards
105
221
Penalty Yards
50
40
1st Downs
12
27
3rd Downs
5
6
4th Downs
1
3
TOP
25:24
34:36
1st Quarter
SFU 0, EMU 7
EMU - EVANS, Samson 1 yd run (RYLAND, Chad kick), 8 plays, 44 yards, TOP 4:04
SFU 0, EMU 14
EMU - EVANS, Samson 1 yd run (RYLAND, Chad kick), 7 plays, 65 yards, TOP 2:55
2nd Quarter
SFU 0, EMU 21
EMU - HAMILTON, Jawon 2 yd run (RYLAND, Chad kick), 4 plays, 45 yards, TOP 1:20
SFU 7, EMU 21
SFU - DeShields,Marqu 3 yd run (Schmoke,Alex kick), 5 plays, 41 yards, TOP 2:33
SFU 7, EMU 28
EMU - EVANS, Samson 4 yd run (RYLAND, Chad kick), 18 plays, 91 yards, TOP 6:39
3rd Quarter
SFU 7, EMU 35
EMU - BOONE, Darius 4 yd run (RYLAND, Chad kick), 12 plays, 81 yards, TOP 4:16
4th Quarter
SFU 15, EMU 35
SFU - Sliwoski,Justin 2 yd run (Brown,Hunter pass), 7 plays, 74 yards, TOP 3:21
Game Leaders
CMP
8
TD
0
YDS
126
INT
0
CMP
7
TD
0
YDS
63
INT
1
Players Mentioned
RB
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WR
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RB
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RB
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DL
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DB
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