Chippewas fall to 0-3, Lazzaro shines in replacement of Poljan


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Junior quarterback Tommy Lazzaro carries the ball for Central Michigan against Northern Illinois on Sept. 16 at Huskie Stadium.

Junior Tommy Lazzaro replaced starting quarterback Tony Poljan with 6:22 left in the third quarter. 

From that point on, everything changed. 

The Chippewas (0-3) still fell short to Northern Illinois, 24-16, at Huskie Stadium on Sept. 15 but found a consistent quarterback. 

Down 21-3, Lazzaro went 2-for-2 for 28 yards and carried the ball four times for 31 yards in his first career drive. His final play of the series was a six-yard rushing score, cutting Northern Illinois’ edge to 11 points. 

“It just felt like we needed a spark," said CMU head coach John Bonamego. "Tommy does a lot of things really well and you got to see a lot of it today.

Lazzaro, playing his first career game since transferring to CMU from Dodge City Community College in 2015, remained on-point, throwing a four-yard dime to redshirt freshman Julian Hicks with 9:43 to go in the fourth quarter. A failed two-point conversion kept the game at 21-16. 

"(I) haven’t taken a hit in three years so I was a little excited to get back in there," Lazzaro said. "Just really excited for the opportunity. Loved the fight that the guys showed in the second half.”

In a third-down situation for the Huskies (1-2), CMU senior safety Da’Quaun Jamison produced a stop to give the ball back to Lazzaro down 24-16 for one final opportunity. Lazzaro found junior running back Jonathan Ward on a 3rd-and-10 wheel route to keep the drive alive with 1:55 to play. 

Lazzaro and company chipped their way to the NIU 6-yard line before the quarterback’s pass was intercepted. The ball went in-and-out of redshirt freshman Cameron Cole’s hands before winding up in the arms of Vinny Labus to end the game. 

Tommy Lazzaro throws a pass in the Maroon and Bold Spring Game on April 22, 2017.

Lazzaro finished the game 13-of-22 through the air for 128 yards and one touchdown. The junior added 12 carries for 55 yards and a score. Redshirt sophomore Poljan was just 5-for-11 with 30 yards passing. 

The Chippweas had multiple opportunities to score early and often, but Poljan was unable to get the job done. It wasn’t until Lazzaro entered the game that the offense started running on all cylinders. 

Central Michigan had an early chance to score, as a Northern Illinois snapped the ball over punter Matt Ference’s head with 4:43 to play in the first quarter. Ference jumped on the ball at the NIU 9-yard line. 

Instead of the Chippewas finding the scoreboard, three dead plays turned into field goal attempt. Senior kicker Michael Armstrong stepped in for a 25-yard opportunity and missed. 

On the ensuing drive for the Huskies, another bad snap forced Ference to throw up a prayer. The ball was intercepted by redshirt freshman Troy Brown at the NIU 29. Wasting three-straight plays once again, the Chippewas brought on new Michigan transfer Ryan Tice, who nailed a 27-yard field goal to give CMU a 3-0 edge. 

"To have the ball down there in the red zone and come away with three points wasn’t enough and I think really was one of the differences in the game," Bonamego said.

The Chippewas were given excellent field position once again as Ference’s punt on Northern Illinois’ next drive went off the side of his foot and out of bounds at the NIU 31-yard line. A few plays later, redshirt junior Antonio Jones-Davis popped the ball out of running back Kumehnnu Gwilly’s hands. 

Gwilly’s fumble was recovered by Kyle Pugh at the 21-yard line, and Northern Illinois wasted no time scoring. Childers found redshirt junior Spencer Tears for a 14-yard score with 4:03 left in the first half, giving his team a 7-3 lead over the Chippewas. 

Senior defensive end Sutton Smith, an All-American, blocked Jack Sheldon’s punt late in the second quarter. With 1:02 to play in the second quarter, Childers tossed up a 7-yard score to Denni Robinson. 

CMU was unable to gain any offensive momentum in its final drive of the first half, sending both teams to the locker room with a 14-3 margin in favor of Northern Illinois. At the break, CMU Poljan had just 19 yards passing. 

Following a monster 48-yard run from sophomore Tre Harbison halfway through the third quarter, Childers lined his offense up at the two-yard line, and he made it 21-3 on a completion to D.J. Brown. 

The only other score from Northern Illinois was a 36-yard field goal from Andrew Gantz just under nine minutes into the fourth quarter. 

Ward was unable to find the end zone for the third-straight week after posting over 1,400 yards and 13 touchdowns last season. He finished the game with 16 carries for 74 yards. Hicks was the lead receiver with 63 yards and a score on seven receptions. 

The Chippewas will regroup before taking on Maine at 3:30 p.m., Sept. 22. at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.

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