Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
Toledo
Football Falls Short to Toledo, 29-28
11/2/2024 4:06:00 PM | Football
Two-point conversion attempt fell short with no time left on the clock
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YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University football team dropped a close decision to visiting the University of Toledo, 29-28, Saturday, Nov. 2, inside Rynearson Stadium as a failed two-point try following a Hail Mary touchdown completion sealed the score. The Eagles (5-4, 2-3 Mid-American Conference) outgained the Rockets (6-3, 3-2 MAC) in all three categories, but could not close out the victory with no time on the clock.
How It Happened
The Eagles opened the game by picking off Toledo on their first drive before forcing and recovering a Rocket fumble before moving down the field for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead. On the play, Cole Snyder (Lakewood, N.Y./Southwestern/Rutgers/Buffalo) found receiver Markus Allen (Dayton, Ohio/Northmont/Wisconsin/Butler CC) in the end zone for a six-yard score, marking his second touchdown of the year.
In the second quarter, the visitors scored a touchdown on their first drive and tied things at 7-7, but Eastern responded immediately with a 49-yard field goal from Jesús Gómez (Puebla, México/Prepa Tec Puebla) to put the Eagles back in front, 10-7. From there, neither team was able to score as the EMU defense forced one punt and a turnover on downs while UT missed a 45-yard field goal attempt.
The third quarter opened with the Eagles adding another score as Gomez was good from 32 yards out to push the hosts to a 13-7 lead. That drive was followed by the Rockets being stopped on a fourth-down rush for the second consecutive drive. The final points of the quarter came from Joey Mattord (Hartland, Mich./Hartland), who punched it in from one yard out for the first touchdown of his career, as the Eagles took a 19-7 lead into the final stanza.
In the fourth, the Rockets scored touchdowns on back-to-back possessions with the second coming after a Snyder interception. Trailing for the first time on the day, the Eagles responded with Gomez knotting the score at 22-22 with his third field goal of the day, this time from 28 yards. In the final two minutes, Toledo scored to make it 29-22 with 1:56 remaining. After punting and forcing a punt, the Eagles marched down the field with Snyder finding Terry Lockett Jr. (St. Paul, Minn./Minnehaha Academy/Michigan State) in the end zone on a Hail Mary as time expired, bringing EMU to within one (29-28). Eastern went for the two-point conversion, but Snyder's pass to Lockett Jr. fell incomplete.
Game Notes
» Cole Snyder finished the game with 265 yards on 24-of-45 passing with two scores and one interception. With those yards through the air, Snyder brought his season total to 2,087 yards, the 16th-highest total in a single season in program history. Snyder, who moved past Walter Church (2,015 yards, 1999), is 24 yards behind Taylor Powell, who tallied 2,111 yards in 2022.
» Cole Snyder connected with a season-high-tying nine different receivers in the game, equaling the total from the home game with Miami, Oct. 12. Snyder, who also has found eight different receivers in four games this season, has connected with at least five receivers in every game played in 2024.
» Cole Snyder broke a 29-yard run to pick up a first down in the second quarter to mark the longest run of his time with the Eagles and his career. He previously recorded a 25-yard run this year at Washington, which tied his previous long he recorded with Buffalo against Holy Cross, Sept. 10, 2022. For the game, Snyder finished with a career-high 65 yards on the ground on 12 attempts, bettering his 53 yards tallied at Kent State, Sept. 28.
» Oran Singleton (Clewiston, Fla./Clewiston/Akron/Hutchinson CC) broke the 100-yard receiving mark the first time in his career with eight catches for 103 yards after being close to the century mark in previous games. After posting games of 89 yards twice (at Massachusetts, Aug. 31, and home vs. Jacksonville State, Sept. 14) and 81 against St. Francis (Sept. 21) before coming the closest at Akron (Oct. 26) with 97. Singleton is the third EMU player to record his first collegiate 100-yard receiving game this season after both Markus Allen (108) and Terry Lockett Jr. (100) accomplished the feat against Central Michigan (Oct. 19).
» Terry Lockett Jr. finished the game with four catches for 55 yards and one score, marking the fifth consecutive game he has tallied at least three receptions in a game and the seventh time in nine contests. Lockett Jr., who pulled in the winning grab on a final-second throw into the end zone, leads the team with three touchdown grabs and is second with 526 yards.
» Markus Allen got the Eagles on the board in the first quarter with his 6-yard touchdown reception, staking the hosts to a 7-0 lead. With the grab, his lone catch of the day, Allen now has two touchdowns on the season to become the fifth different EMU player with two receiving touchdowns. He joins Oran Singleton, Max Reese (Chicago, Ill./Fenwick), Jere Getzinger (West Branch, Mich./Ogemaw Heights), and Terry Lockett Jr., who hauled in his third in the game.
» Joey Mattord had a career day as the redshirt freshman scored his first collegiate touchdown while recording his highest rushing and receiving totals. Entering the game, he had accumulated 35 yards on two catches and 15 yards on seven rushes. Against the Rockets, he finished with eight rushes for 33 yards and one touchdown while adding four catches for 50 yards. He is the fifth different Eagle to score a rushing touchdown this year.
» James Djonkum (Springfield,Va./West Springfield/Independence CC/Arizona State) led the defense with 11 tackles in the game, including four solo stops. The game is the third time in the 2024 season in which he has recorded double-digit tackles, also doing so against UMass, Aug. 31, and at Akron, Oct. 26. He finished the game with 0.5 TFLs and added one pass breakup and one quarterback hurry.
» Luke Murphy (Massillon, Ohio/Massillon/Kent State) recorded 11 tackles on defense as one of two players to record double-digit tackles. It is the second time this season in which he has recorded double-digit tackles. Murphy added 1.0 TFLs in the game and hurried the quarterback twice.
» Eastern Michigan forced two turnovers on defense including a fumble and an interception. It is the third game this season in which Eastern has recovered a fumble and intercepted a pass. Overall, the fumble recovery is the team's 10th this season, which now ties Duke for the national lead.
» The fumble forced by the Eagles came with Dylan Shelton (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln Way East/UIndy) punching the ball loose and Tyrell Martin (Newark, Del./St. Georges Tech/Delaware State) recovering the loose ball. The force is the first of the season for Shelton and the first of his NCAA Division I career after forcing one fumble as a member of the UIndy program. Martin's recovery is the first of his career and makes him the ninth different Eagle to record a fumble recovery this season.
» Toledo went for it on fourth down three times in the game and converted just once (1-of-3). Entering the game, the Eagles' defense led the nation in fourth-down conversion defense at 21.4 percent (3-of-14). They have now held opposing offenses to 4-of-17 on fourth down (23.5 percent) this year.
» Dramarian McNulty (Brookhaven, Miss./Niceville (Fla.)/WCU/Mississippi Gulf Coast CC) picked-off the Toledo quarterback on the opening drive of the game to record the first interception of his career. He is now the fourth different Eagle with a pick this season and third to record the first of his career, joining Ali Abdul-Barr (Atlanta, Ga./Woodland-Stockbridge) and Luke Murphy.
» Jesús Gómez connected on three field goals in the game, hitting from 49, 32, and 28 yards on the day. With those makes, he brought his season total to 18, which ranks tied for the third-most in a single season in program history with Andrew Wellock, who scored 18 in 2005. Additionally, Gómez has now scored 44 career field goals, which ranks him third all-time in EMU history. Next on the list is Chad Ryland, who connected on 56 from 2018-21.
» Jesús Gómez' 10 points in the game brought his season total to 77 and career total to 223, which rank tied for 14th and fourth all-time, respectively, in Eastern history. He is now tied with Chad Ryland (2018) with 77 points on the season ledger while his 223 career points have him 16 behind Justin Ventura (1995-98), who tallied 239 in his career.
» With 7:10 remaining in the second quarter, the game was paused for a medical emergency on the Toledo sideline. The game resumed after a 27-minute delay.
Historical Notes
» With the loss, the Eagles fell to 5-4 overall and 2-3 in MAC play while the Rockets improved to 6-3 overall and 3-2 in league action.
» Eastern slipped to 13-29-0 all-time in its series with Toledo and 8-18-0 when hosting the Rockets. The Eagles have lost three consecutive games in the series overall and at home. The last win over UT was Nov. 2, 2021, a 52-49 victory in Toledo, while the last home win in the series was a 28-26 victory, Oct. 13, 2018, at Rynearson Stadium.
» The one-point decision marked the second consecutive game in Ypsilanti that was decided by one score as the Rockets won, 27-24, in 2022.
» With the one-point loss, the Eagles are now 22-26 all-time in games decided by one point and saw their three-game winning streak snapped. The last time EMU had lost a one-point contest was Oct. 14, 2017, in a 28-27 road loss at Army. Additionally, the Eagles are now 69-70 in games decided by three-points or less.
Up Next
Eastern will enjoy an 11-day break as it adjusts to the midweek #MACtion schedule, next taking the field Wednesday, Nov. 13, at Ohio University. Game time is set for 7 p.m. from Peden Stadium in Athens, Ohio. It marks Eastern's first visit to the banks of the Hocking River since 2016 when the squad escaped with a 27-20 triumph, Oct. 15, 2016.
