Eastern Michigan Athletics
Saturday, October 18
Foxborough, Mass.
3 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
2-5 , 1-2
14
at
36
Massachusetts
2-6 , 2-2
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Eastern Michigan
7
7
0
0
14
Massachusetts
13
17
6
0
36
Eagles Stopped by Minutemen, 36-14, in New England
10/18/2014 6:32:00 PM | Football
Willie Creear recovers a fumble, records an interception, and tallies a career-high 12 tackles in the setback
Photo Gallery.
Postgame Audio.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University football team suffered a 36-14 defeat to the University of Massachusetts Saturday afternoon, Oct. 18, at Gillette Stadium. With the road setback, the Eagles drop to 2-5 on the season, including 1-2 in Mid-American Conference play. Meanwhile, UMass wins for the second-straight game to improve to 2-6, 2-2 MAC.
Redshirt-freshman quarterback Reginald Bell (Los Angeles, Calif.-Susan Miller) completed 10-of-21 for 147 yards and two touchdowns, while adding another 40 yards on the ground. Bell tossed touchdown passes of 32 and 34 yards to Tyreese Russell (Chicago, Ill.-Walther Lutheran) and Bronson Hill (Grand Rapids, Mich.-Catholic Central), respectively. Kris Strange (Pickerington, Ohio-Central) was Bell's favorite target as the duo recorded four pass-and-catch combinations for 38 yards, all personal bests for Strange. Darius Jackson (Sparta, Ill.-Sparta) paced the Eastern rushing attack with three carries for 64 yards, including a career-long 47-yard run, as the Eagles totaled 280 yards of offense.
On the defensive side of the ball, Willie Creear (Seattle, Wash.-Linbergh-Butte JC) recovered a fumble and intercepted the second pass of his career while also reaching double digits in tackles with 12, a personal best. Great Ibe (Hanover, Md.-Meade-Concordia) led all Eagles by making a career-high 21 tackles, the most of any Eagle this season, to remain one of the top tacklers in the MAC. The EMU defense forced three turnovers on the afternoon, equaling its season high from the win last week over the University at Buffalo.
The Minutemen were led by Blake Frohnapfel, who went 28-of-51 for 337 yards. The UMass quarterback hooked up with receiver Tajae Sharpe 13 times for 193 yards on the afternoon. Shadrach Abrokwah ran for 135 rushing yards and four touchdowns, while Lorenzo Woodley added 63 yards on the ground. UMass was efficient on offense throughout the game, finishing with 562 total yards on 94 plays.
"Biggest disappointment of the year. I'm responsible for having the team emotionally ready, the intensity, the fight, the energy," said Head Coach Chris Creighton postgame. "To be honest, I think we were flat and for whatever reason couldn't muster up the passion and the energy, or the intensity necessary to play this great game. We knew that UMass's offense was explosive and they had a fantastic passing game. We went on our first series and executed our plan and felt pretty good about it, but just couldn't get it going. I don't know that we handled the pressure very well. They got to us pretty good and we weren't able to consistently manufacture drives. It's frustrating because I think things were there and we just weren't able to put them all together. The turnover ratio ended up getting it done at the end, and that just saved us from the score being more than it should have been. We have to take care of the ball and we have to force turnovers. We have to play with passion, energy, and intensity and failed to do that today."
UMass struck first by scoring on its opening drive, marching down the field 83 yards on 11 plays, converting a crucial fourth down that kept the drive alive. Abrokwah found the pylon from 17 yards out to give the Minutemen the early 7-0 lead. However, the Eagles answered with a touchdown on their own opening drive, going 75 yards in just 3:28. Bell completed all three of his passes on the series, including a perfect 32-yard pass down the seam to Russell. With 7:20 remaining in the first quarter, the contest was tied at 7-7 following the first two drives.
After the EMU defense forced a turnover on downs by UMass, the Minutemen got the ball back on a Bell interception. Abrokwah rumbled 16 yards into the endzone, and the extra point drilled the upright to keep the deficit at six, 13-7. Another Massachusetts running back, Woodley, would add another touchdown run early in the second quarter to give his team the 20-7 advantage with 10:31 left in the opening half.
Following the UMass touchdown, the Green and White once again answered the call by countering with a touchdown. Jackson brought the Eagles into Minutemen's territory with a career-long 47-yard burst up the middle of the field. Three plays later, Bell found Hill for a 34-yard touchdown pass to cut the deficit back to six, 20-14. The reception was the first touchdown of the year for the senior running back. Nonetheless, the Minutemen responded with a touchdown and added a field goal as time expired to take a 30-14 lead into the locker room at the half.
Bell accounted for 166 of EMU's 228 yards of offense in the first half, going 6-of-10 for 124 yards through the air and running for another 42. Jackson added a pair of carries for 55 yards, while Russell caught two passes for 36 yards to lead the Eastern receiving corps. For the opposition, the Minutemen used the air raid throughout the first half as Frohnapfel went 21-of-39 for 266 yards in the first half. Frohnapfel's favorite receiver was Sharpe, who caught nine passes for 150 yards. On the ground, Abrokwah rushed eight times for 70 yards with three of his carries resulting in touchdowns.
In the second half, the Eagles forced three turnovers and a pair of turnover on downs to limit the Minutemen to just six points. However, the offense was unable to muster any points as the home team came away with the 36-14 decision.
Eastern Michigan will return to "The Factory" turf for back-to-back home contests. First, the Green and White will host defending MAC West Division winner Northern Illinois University, Oct. 25. The divisional game will kick off at 1 p.m. and be televised on ESPN3. Also, the matchup between the Eagles and the Huskies will be a part of EMU Hall of Fame Weekend as seven new members will make up the Class of 2014 and be inducted into the prestigious group.
Postgame Audio.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University football team suffered a 36-14 defeat to the University of Massachusetts Saturday afternoon, Oct. 18, at Gillette Stadium. With the road setback, the Eagles drop to 2-5 on the season, including 1-2 in Mid-American Conference play. Meanwhile, UMass wins for the second-straight game to improve to 2-6, 2-2 MAC.
Redshirt-freshman quarterback Reginald Bell (Los Angeles, Calif.-Susan Miller) completed 10-of-21 for 147 yards and two touchdowns, while adding another 40 yards on the ground. Bell tossed touchdown passes of 32 and 34 yards to Tyreese Russell (Chicago, Ill.-Walther Lutheran) and Bronson Hill (Grand Rapids, Mich.-Catholic Central), respectively. Kris Strange (Pickerington, Ohio-Central) was Bell's favorite target as the duo recorded four pass-and-catch combinations for 38 yards, all personal bests for Strange. Darius Jackson (Sparta, Ill.-Sparta) paced the Eastern rushing attack with three carries for 64 yards, including a career-long 47-yard run, as the Eagles totaled 280 yards of offense.
On the defensive side of the ball, Willie Creear (Seattle, Wash.-Linbergh-Butte JC) recovered a fumble and intercepted the second pass of his career while also reaching double digits in tackles with 12, a personal best. Great Ibe (Hanover, Md.-Meade-Concordia) led all Eagles by making a career-high 21 tackles, the most of any Eagle this season, to remain one of the top tacklers in the MAC. The EMU defense forced three turnovers on the afternoon, equaling its season high from the win last week over the University at Buffalo.
The Minutemen were led by Blake Frohnapfel, who went 28-of-51 for 337 yards. The UMass quarterback hooked up with receiver Tajae Sharpe 13 times for 193 yards on the afternoon. Shadrach Abrokwah ran for 135 rushing yards and four touchdowns, while Lorenzo Woodley added 63 yards on the ground. UMass was efficient on offense throughout the game, finishing with 562 total yards on 94 plays.
"Biggest disappointment of the year. I'm responsible for having the team emotionally ready, the intensity, the fight, the energy," said Head Coach Chris Creighton postgame. "To be honest, I think we were flat and for whatever reason couldn't muster up the passion and the energy, or the intensity necessary to play this great game. We knew that UMass's offense was explosive and they had a fantastic passing game. We went on our first series and executed our plan and felt pretty good about it, but just couldn't get it going. I don't know that we handled the pressure very well. They got to us pretty good and we weren't able to consistently manufacture drives. It's frustrating because I think things were there and we just weren't able to put them all together. The turnover ratio ended up getting it done at the end, and that just saved us from the score being more than it should have been. We have to take care of the ball and we have to force turnovers. We have to play with passion, energy, and intensity and failed to do that today."
UMass struck first by scoring on its opening drive, marching down the field 83 yards on 11 plays, converting a crucial fourth down that kept the drive alive. Abrokwah found the pylon from 17 yards out to give the Minutemen the early 7-0 lead. However, the Eagles answered with a touchdown on their own opening drive, going 75 yards in just 3:28. Bell completed all three of his passes on the series, including a perfect 32-yard pass down the seam to Russell. With 7:20 remaining in the first quarter, the contest was tied at 7-7 following the first two drives.
After the EMU defense forced a turnover on downs by UMass, the Minutemen got the ball back on a Bell interception. Abrokwah rumbled 16 yards into the endzone, and the extra point drilled the upright to keep the deficit at six, 13-7. Another Massachusetts running back, Woodley, would add another touchdown run early in the second quarter to give his team the 20-7 advantage with 10:31 left in the opening half.
Following the UMass touchdown, the Green and White once again answered the call by countering with a touchdown. Jackson brought the Eagles into Minutemen's territory with a career-long 47-yard burst up the middle of the field. Three plays later, Bell found Hill for a 34-yard touchdown pass to cut the deficit back to six, 20-14. The reception was the first touchdown of the year for the senior running back. Nonetheless, the Minutemen responded with a touchdown and added a field goal as time expired to take a 30-14 lead into the locker room at the half.
Bell accounted for 166 of EMU's 228 yards of offense in the first half, going 6-of-10 for 124 yards through the air and running for another 42. Jackson added a pair of carries for 55 yards, while Russell caught two passes for 36 yards to lead the Eastern receiving corps. For the opposition, the Minutemen used the air raid throughout the first half as Frohnapfel went 21-of-39 for 266 yards in the first half. Frohnapfel's favorite receiver was Sharpe, who caught nine passes for 150 yards. On the ground, Abrokwah rushed eight times for 70 yards with three of his carries resulting in touchdowns.
In the second half, the Eagles forced three turnovers and a pair of turnover on downs to limit the Minutemen to just six points. However, the offense was unable to muster any points as the home team came away with the 36-14 decision.
Eastern Michigan will return to "The Factory" turf for back-to-back home contests. First, the Green and White will host defending MAC West Division winner Northern Illinois University, Oct. 25. The divisional game will kick off at 1 p.m. and be televised on ESPN3. Also, the matchup between the Eagles and the Huskies will be a part of EMU Hall of Fame Weekend as seven new members will make up the Class of 2014 and be inducted into the prestigious group.
Team Stats
EMU
UMASS
Total Yards
280
562
Pass Yards
147
337
Rushing Yards
133
225
Penalty Yards
92
55
1st Downs
11
34
3rd Downs
2
10
4th Downs
1
3
TOP
23:54
36:06
1st Quarter
EMU 0, UMASS 7
UMASS - Abrokwah, S. 17 yd run (Laurent, L. kick), 11 plays, 83 yards, TOP 4:12
EMU 7, UMASS 7
EMU - RUSSELL, T. 32 yd pass from BELL, Reginald (MULDER, Dylan kick) 8 plays, 75 yards, TOP 3:28
EMU 7, UMASS 13
UMASS - Abrokwah, S. 16 yd run (Laurent, L. kickfailed), 3 plays, 23 yards, TOP 1:15
2nd Quarter
EMU 7, UMASS 20
UMASS - Woodley, L. 2 yd run (Laurent, L. kick), 5 plays, 80 yards, TOP 1:45
EMU 14, UMASS 20
EMU - HILL, Bronson 34 yd pass from BELL, Reginald (MULDER, Dylan kick) 4 plays, 77 yards, TOP 1:59
EMU 14, UMASS 27
UMASS - Abrokwah, S. 4 yd run (Laurent, L. kick), 8 plays, 75 yards, TOP 3:07
EMU 14, UMASS 30
UMASS - Laurent, L. 31 yd field goal 12 plays, 40 yards, TOP 1:46
3rd Quarter
EMU 14, UMASS 36
UMASS - Abrokwah, S. 4 yd run (Laurent, L. kickfailed), 7 plays, 58 yards, TOP 2:57
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
10
TD
2
YDS
147
INT
1
Players Mentioned
QB
/ Football
DB
/ Football
RB
/ Football
RB
/ Football
TE
/ Football
WR
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