Eastern Michigan Athletics
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EMU Wins Michigan MAC Trophy in 48-45 Shootout With the Chippewas
11/16/2007 7:25:42 PM | Football
Senior Pierre Walker rushes for 149 yards and scores three touchdowns
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. — The Eastern Michigan University football team put an exclamation point on it 2007 season with a thrilling 48-45 come-from-behind win over Central Michigan University here Friday night in a Mid-American Conference West Division game.
Trailing by a 45-42 count with just 6:30 left in the game, the Eagles marched 62 yards in eight plays and took a 48-45 lead with 3:08 left on a one-yard touchdown run by senior tailback Pierre Walker (Detroit,Mich.-Central). Eastern was assessed with a personal foul penalty on the score, however, and Zach Johnson’s (Springboro, Ohio-Springboro) 33-yard extra-point kick was no good, giving the Eagles the tenuous three-point lead.
West Division champion CMU (6-5; 5-1 MAC) then moved down to the EMU 14-yard line, but a 15-yard personal foul penalty moved the Chippewas back to the EMU 34. After an incomplete pass with just 00:27 remaining, Central faced a fourth-and-30-yard situation. The Chippewas then called on the field-goal unit, but a 52-yard field goal attempt was wide left, giving the Eagles the 48-45 victory.
The win for the Eagles closed their season with a 4-8 overall record and a 3-4 MAC mark. The win also gave the Eagles possession of the Michigan MAC Trophy, sponsored by the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame, which goes annually to the team with the best record in games involving EMU-CMU and Western Michigan. Eastern was 2-0 while CMU was 1-1 and WMU 0-2.
The Eagles, who were a perfect six-for-six on offensive fourth down attempts on the evening, rolled up 441 yards in total offense, with Walker gained 149 yards on 31 carries while scoring three touchdowns. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Andy Schmitt (St. Johns, Mich.-St. Johns) completed 25-of-34 passes for 212 yards and one touchdown and also rushed 11 times for 61 yards and three scores.
"I’m very proud of our seniors," EMU head coach Jeff Genyk said. "They put in so much effort and refused to quit at the end. I though our defense made some stops when they had to and allowed our offense the chance to win the ballgame. We’re just learning how to make plays at the end of a game."
Central Michigan was led by sophomore quarterback Dan LeFevour who completed 26-of-37 passes for 246 yards and one touchdown while rushing 11 times for 88 yards and three scores.
The Eagles started the game with two quick touchdowns. After winning the pregame coin toss, the Eagles returned the kickoff to the CMU 27-yard line. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Andy Schmitt (St. Johns, Mich.-St. Johns) then marched the Eagles 73 yards on 11 plays, topping the drive with his own one-yard touchdown run. Zach Johnson (Springboro, Ohio-Springboro) added all of EMU’s PAT kicks.
On the ensuing kickoff, EMU’s Tyler Jones (Belleville, Mich.-Belleville) recovered a Chippewa fumble on the CMU 33-yard line. This time around it took just four plays for the Eagles to drive 33 yards, with the payoff a 17-yard scoring run by Walker.
The Chippewas fought back to pull within four in the first quarter, 14-10, on a 21-yard field goal by Andrew Aguila followed by a 76-yard touchdown run by Justin Hoskins.
Central then made it 17 unanswered points when it drove 75 yards in six plays, capped off by a 26-yard touchdown run by quarterback Dan LeFevour with 11:08 left in the second quarter.
The Eagles finally stopped the bleeding, when the Green and White drove 80 yards in 11 plays with sophomore wide receiver DeAnthony White (Kennasaw, Ga.-Kell) scoring on a 28-yard pass from Schmitt. That Eastern drive was kept alive by a fourth-down pass from Johnson to Tyrone Burke (Syracuse, N.Y.-Corcoran) on a fake punt to put the Eagles up, 21-17, with 6:01 left in the half.
Central was not to be denied, however, scoring on its next possession to take a 24-21 lead with 3:39 left in the half, and the half ended with the Chips holding that three-point advantage.
That first-half action set up the wild second-half of play that saw the two teams combine for 47 points.
