Eagles grounded in 56-8 CMU football win
It had been two years and two notable losses for the Chippewas, but satisfaction was gained Saturday at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
Having been defeated in key games in consecutive seasons (most recently a 56-52 loss in Ypsilanti in last year’s regular season finale), the football team, led by senior quarterback Dan LeFevour’s six touchdowns, redeemed itself with a 56-8 Homecoming victory against rival Eastern Michigan to remain undefeated in the Mid-American Conference.
Eastern Michigan defeated the Chippewas four of the past five seasons, with third-year coach Butch Jones having yet to claim victory.
And it was apparent from the start that the team came into the game knowing just that.
“Eastern Michigan, one of our big rivals, they beat up on us over the past few years,” said junior wide reciever Antonio Brown. “To have some success against them was really great.”
LeFevour threw for three touchdowns and rushed for three more, marking the second time this season — Sept. 26 against Akron — that he scored six touchdowns and the fifth time in his career.
He completed 16-of-22 passes for 318 yards and added 44 rushing yards on 11 carries.
LeFevour started the scoring early with a screen pass to Brown that went for 70 yards an an early lead.
From there, the offense stayed in tune.
“I think we were efficient,” LeFevour said. “We didn’t have a lot of possessions, I don’t think, for a football game. But when we got the ball, we converted and we were very efficient.”
LeFevour led the Chippewas on three consecutive scoring drives to start but, when the offense was finally stopped, the special teams took over.
Brown, already with a long touchdown, returned a punt 75 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter.
The first half was capped by an 11-yard pass from LeFevour to sophomore running back Bryan Schroeder after a one-minute, 42-second drive that started at CMU’s eight-yard line.
Junior wide receiver Kito Poblah caught a touchdown pass in the third quarter to go along with his team-leading five catches and career-high 126 receving yards.
Defensively, CMU stifled the Eastern Michigan, holding the Eagles to 88 yards of total offense before going into halftime up 35-0.
“On defense, I think we were able to get off the field on third down,” said coach Butch Jones. “We limited big plays and we did a much better job at tackling this week.”
Eastern Michigan was held scoreless until the beginning of the fourth quarter.
EMU freshman quarterback Alex Gillett platooned at quarterback with junior Kyle McMahon. McMahon led the Eagles in passing, completing 8-of-14 passes for 76 yards. Gillett finished 9-of-18 for 51 yards.
Miller Injured
Junior center Colin Miller went down in the second quarter while the offense was beginning a drive deep in its own zone.
After a short stay on the turf, Miller got up favoring his leg and had to be helped off the field.
He is day-to-day, according to Jones.
Schroeder’s Return
After missing two games and being held to a limited number of plays in a third against Buffalo (two carries and one catch), Schroeder had an expanded role in the offense, leading the team in rushing with 57 yards on 10 carries. He added three catches for 45 receiving yards and a touchdown.
“Him and (sophomore running back Paris Cotton) and you throw Carl (Volny) in there ... they all compliment each other. And Bryan’s getting back now to 100 percent and I think you can see that in the way he runs,” Jones said.
Cotton started the game and finished with 12 rushing yards on five carries, while Volny came off the bench in the fourth quarter to gain 44 yards on seven carries.
