2008 Woodie Awards
Frantic Fourth Quarter
By: Brian Manzullo
Issue date: 11/9/07 Section: Sports
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After failing the first two tries, Jones said he instructed Anderson to call the team's final timeout should it fall short again. But on the third try, with a second effort, LeFevour finally powered his way in.
"We weren't going to be denied," said junior guard Andrew Hartline. "All 11 guys had the mentality of doing whatever it takes."
Last stand
But the game still was not over. The Broncos took over at their own 27-yard line with one last opportunity to win.
Quarterback Tim Hiller threw to receiver Branden Ledbetter, who started a chain of laterals that made its way to Central's 35-yard line before the ball flew out of bounds.
Senior linebacker Ike Brown said images of Trinity University's 15-lateral touchdown play to beat Millsaps on Oct. 27 circled through his mind.
"I thought if I just keep the ball in front of me, we'll be fine," he said. "It was crazy, but we got the job done."
Simmons ejected
Western Michigan found itself handicapped early in an otherwise uneventful first half.
Junior Jamarko Simmons, the MAC's leading receiver, was ejected in the first quarter when referee William Alge said he kicked a CMU's Red Keith after being tackled out-of-bounds in Central territory.
Simmons already had caught two passes for 22 yards before the incident.
"He's supposed to be their big playmaker," Brown said. "But they fought through that adversity. … It hurt them, but obviously it didn't hurt them that much."
'Like a big cake'
With the win, CMU also essentially clinches a spot in one of the MAC's three guaranteed bowl berths.
If the team wins the MAC Championship, it will play in its second consecutive Motor City Bowl. Otherwise, it could play in the GMAC Bowl in Mobile, Ala. or in the International Bowl in Toronto.
Brown said clinching the bowl, the MAC West Division championship and defeating a rival on its home turf all add up.
"It's just like a big cake," Brown said. "Everything is so good, and we get to eat it."
bmanzullo@cm-life.com
"We weren't going to be denied," said junior guard Andrew Hartline. "All 11 guys had the mentality of doing whatever it takes."
Last stand
But the game still was not over. The Broncos took over at their own 27-yard line with one last opportunity to win.
Quarterback Tim Hiller threw to receiver Branden Ledbetter, who started a chain of laterals that made its way to Central's 35-yard line before the ball flew out of bounds.
Senior linebacker Ike Brown said images of Trinity University's 15-lateral touchdown play to beat Millsaps on Oct. 27 circled through his mind.
"I thought if I just keep the ball in front of me, we'll be fine," he said. "It was crazy, but we got the job done."
Simmons ejected
Western Michigan found itself handicapped early in an otherwise uneventful first half.
Junior Jamarko Simmons, the MAC's leading receiver, was ejected in the first quarter when referee William Alge said he kicked a CMU's Red Keith after being tackled out-of-bounds in Central territory.
Simmons already had caught two passes for 22 yards before the incident.
"He's supposed to be their big playmaker," Brown said. "But they fought through that adversity. … It hurt them, but obviously it didn't hurt them that much."
'Like a big cake'
With the win, CMU also essentially clinches a spot in one of the MAC's three guaranteed bowl berths.
If the team wins the MAC Championship, it will play in its second consecutive Motor City Bowl. Otherwise, it could play in the GMAC Bowl in Mobile, Ala. or in the International Bowl in Toronto.
Brown said clinching the bowl, the MAC West Division championship and defeating a rival on its home turf all add up.
"It's just like a big cake," Brown said. "Everything is so good, and we get to eat it."
bmanzullo@cm-life.com
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Martha
posted 11/09/07 @ 11:25 AM EST
I'm as big a sports fan as anyone, but this article makes me wonder just how bored and out of ideas you sports writers are if you have to re-hash stories you've already written just to fill the pages. (Continued…)
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