Central Michigan football dominated by Western Michigan in rivalry game
Central Michigan head coach looks on during the Chippewas' loss at Western Michigan in Waldo Stadium.
KALAMAZOO -- The Victory Cannon will not return to Mount Pleasant with Central Michigan.
In fact, it will remain with Western Michigan.
For the 50th time in the 91-game history, the Broncos defeated the Chippewas in one of the oldest Mid-American Conference rivalries. This time, it was by a score of 31-15 on Saturday at Waldo Stadium.
While CMU (2-3, 1-1 MAC) showed promise in certain situations, it was never able to cash in on the opportunities.
"Obviously I'm disappointed," said coach Jim McElwain. "We let a lot of people down and I'll take the responsibility, for us to not get a yard, for jumping offside, not getting into the right formation. Ultimately, it's on me.
"I let a lot of people down, Chippewas down, in this rivalry game."
The Chippewas moved the ball down the field quickly during its first drive of the game. However, junior quarterback David Moore threw a pass behind intended receiver Tony Poljan, and the ball was tipped around and fell into the hands of the Bronco defense.
Then, on the ensuing Western drive, it reciprocated the offensive power and then some.
WMU moved the ball downfield in a hurry with passes from senior quarterback Jon Wassink to freshman receiver Skyy Moore -- combining for 54 yards.
LeVante Bellamy, a senior running back playing his final game against CMU, got his day started off strong. He took in an 11-yard run to open the scoring.
After the Chippewas failed on a fourth down conversion at the WMU 9-yard line, the Broncos were able to take the ball down the field and convert a 25-yard field goal from Thiago Kapps.
The kick pushed the WMU lead to 10-0 at the end of the first quarter.
CMU had each of its first three drives cut short by the Bronco defense. After the interception from Moore on the first drive and the turnover on downs, the Chippewas were forced to punt from WMU territory.
All three of those drives had promise, as CMU was able to move the ball the way it wanted to, but mistakes cost the visitors field position.
Junior safety Gage Kreski intercepted Wassink with six minutes to play in the half, but the Chippewas went three-and-out near their own end zone.
On the following WMU drive, Wassink was able to find Giovanni Ricci for a 43-yard touchdown pass and bring the lead to 17-0, which was the halftime score.
To open the second half, Western began driving down the field until a fourth down opportunity for WMU to convert. Bellamy was stuffed by Robi Stuart and Michael Oliver.
On another promising CMU drive, Lewis carried the ball up the middle but was hit and fumbled, which WMU recovered.
The ensuing drive saw three personal foul penalties cost the Chippewas dearly.
On a fourth and four, the Broncos punted the ball away but linebacker Chuck Jones roughed punter Nick Mihalic and provided WMU with another first down.
Then, Willie Reid committed a penalty when he made an open field tackle and shoved the Bronco player to the ground. He was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Just before the next play was set to commence, the officials reviewed the tackle and found Reid committed a targeting penalty. He was ejected from the game and will miss the first half of the Chippewas' next game – a 3 p.m. Oct. 5 matchup against Eastern Michigan.
Wassink was able to punch in the ball and capitalize on the compounded mistakes from CMU and push the WMU's lead to 24-0.
Running back Jonathan Ward returned to action after missing the two previous games due to injury. He finished with 107 yards on 19 carries.
"He ran hard, there's no doubt about that," McElwain said. "He ran behind his blockers and behind his pads well. He gave us a few nice chunk runs. Proud of him, he could've chosen to take another week off, but he came back, and I've got a lot of respect for that."
In a drive aided by 45 yards in penalties, the Chippewas were able to score their first touchdown of the game. Lewis took a carry to the right side and punched the ball into the end zone. The ensuing two-point try was not successful.
The penalties came from two unsportsmanlike conduct fouls following a punt and another personal foul on Ralph Holley. The combination of those WMU mistakes moved the ball deep into scoring territory for the Chippewas.
CMU was caught offsides seven times in the game, and McElwain said that it comes back to discipline – which the Chippewas lacked Saturday.
"(Western) saw us jumping offside and they took advantage of that," he said. "Nothing you didn't do in pee-wee ball, pretty ridiculous to be honest."
The Chippewas return to Mount Pleasant for a two-game home-stand, the first coming at 3 p.m. Oct. 5 against Eastern Michigan at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
