Chippewas Postgame: Penalties plague Chippewas in loss to Broncos
KALAMAZOO—The Victory Cannon Trophy will stay in Southwest Michigan for another season.
Junior wide receiver Corey Davis snatched a slant pass from quarterback Zach Terrell out of the air on 4th down to the 1-yard line to clinch Western Michigan University's 41-39 win over Central Michigan University on Saturday at Waldo Stadium.
The loss drops the Chippewas 2-4 overall, 1-1 in Mid-American Conference play and knocks them back into the middle of the pack in the MAC West Divisional Standings.
The Broncos ran the clock down on the game's final drive and with less than two minutes remaining, and elected to go for the jugular on the direct pass play to Davis instead of kicking the field goal.
"It would have been ideal to get the ball back," said CMU head coach John Bonamego. "I would have taken the points there (in CMU's situation). It was a bold move by them. It was a great throw to a great player."
Terrell, a junior who has played well against the Chippewas during his years at WMU, finished the game 15-of-22 passing for 262 yards and a season-high four touchdowns.
The Broncos' biggest playmaker on offense Saturday was junior wide receiver Dan Braverman, who hauled in six catches for three touchdowns including the game-winning 64-yard touchdown reception, which put WMU up 41-32 with 10:53 remaining.
Junior quarterback Cooper Rush responded to Braverman's final score with a 9-play, 33-yard touchdown drive capped off by junior running back Jahray Hayes' 11-yard touchdown run. Rush finished the game 23-for-32 passing with 321 yards and four touchdowns and said the Chippewas simply "ran out of time."
"This is the worst (loss of the season)," Rush said. "Those penalties we had kill you in any game. We beat ourselves in the first half. That's the worst part about it. It stings."
The Chippewas committed a season-high eight penalties for 75 yards. They turned the ball over twice during the game's 54-minute first quarter.
"It was ridiculous. We helped them more in the first half than they hurt us," Bonamego said. "That happens sometimes in games like this. I think we've learned something today."
One CMU mistake came when Rush misread the WMU defense and threw an interception to defensive back Asantay Brown. The other was a fumble by Hayes on CMU's third drive of the game.
On Western Michigan's first possession, CMU linebacker Nathan Ricketts was ejected for targeting WMU wide receiver Corey Davis. On the next play, Terrell connected with Braverman, who scurried 43 yards down the sideline and into the end zone, giving his team an initial 7-0 lead.
Rush got CMU on the scoreboard late in the first quarter when he connected with senior tight end Ben McCord from 15 yards out to make it 10-7 Broncos.
After WMU starting running back Jarvion Franklin notched his first touchdown of the game, Rush and the Chippewas went 74 yards the other way, culminating in a 17-yard touchdown reception by sophomore receiver Mark Chapman.
Franklin, the reigning Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year, finished the game with 127 rushing yards and one touchdown.
The Chippewas host MAC East foe Buffalo at 1 p.m. next Saturday at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
"(Next week) we'll see what kind of football team we have," Bonamego said. "We'll see what our character is."
Stay with Central Michigan Life for more coverage of Saturday's game.
