EMU sophomore halfback Robert Thomas carries defenders into the endzone in the first quarter / Thomas punches in the game winning score in the fourth quarter.
Opening Day Victory: Eastern Michigan Holds Off Army in 31-27 Win
EMU HB Robert Thomas earns POTG for 213 total yds, 2 TDs | Army option ground attack puts up 220 yards on the ground | Eastern Michigan wins season opener for third straight year.
AP Ypsilanti – For the third straight year under head coach Dan Clayton, the Eastern Michigan Eagles won their season opener as they narrowly defeated the Army Black Knights 31-27. Impact sophomore HB Robert Thomas took home the player of the game award as he ran for 126 yards on the ground plus the game winning score. Thomas would also add 87 yards receiving and a score. The receiving touchdown was the first of his career. Eastern Michigan turned heavily to their screen game to counter the constant blitz packages dialed up by Army. The Black Knights recorded four quarterback sacks in the loss.
Where He Left Off: Preseason All-American sophomore wideout Nick Vaughn hauled in a long touchdown just before halftime to give the Eagles a narrow 21-20 lead.
Army, who is known for their option offense, stayed true to form as they dialed up a heavy dose of the run game throughout the matchup. The Black Knights had eight different runners on the game. Senior HB Curtis Drakes was expected to get the majority of the work on the ground but was surprisingly absent in the gameplan, only rushing twice for no gain. Instead it was HB/FB Jay Tully who led the way with 111 yards on 12 carries. On defense Army brought constant pressure, blitzing on nearly every down. The pressure paid off as the Black Knights recorded four quarterback takedowns. Senior DT Victor Ripley had two sacks.
For Eastern Michigan, redshirt sophomore QB Mark Iannotti got his first start since the 2011 season. Iannotti led the Eagles to a ten win season and a MAC championship in 2011 before spending all of the 2012 season redshirted. Iannotti had a solid debut against Army throwing for 228 yards and two scores. The offensive line struggled to give Iannotti time. Redshirt junior C Josh Woods, who was making his first career start, struggled surrendering two sacks. The Eagles defense was hemorrhaging yards all day as they struggled to defend both the run and the pass. The lone bright spot was sophomore impact DT Tremayne Smith, who recorded two sacks.
"It is always nice to start the season off in the win column. We have a lot we need to clean up though. We allowed too many big plays on defense and the number of penalties was unacceptable." -- Eagles Head Coach Dan Clayton
(EMU) R. Thomas 16 yd pass from M. Iannotti (L. Taylor kick)
7
7
SECOND QUARTER SCORING
ARMY
EMU
7:14
(ARMY) R. Maples 23 yd run (J. Meyer kick)
14
7
6:17
(EMU) J. Humphrey 1 yd run (L. Taylor kick)
14
14
3:31
(ARMY) J. Meyer 22 yd FG
17
14
1:30
(ARMY) J. Mayer 29 yd FG
20
14
1:00
(EMU) N. Vaughn 36 yd pass from M. Iannotti (L. Taylor kick)
20
21
THIRD QUARTER SCORING
ARMY
EMU
4:58
(EMU) L. Taylor 49 yd FG
20
24
0:42
(ARMY) G. Rabb 4 yd run (J. Meyer kick)
27
24
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING
ARMY
EMU
1:26
(EMU) R. Thomas 5 yd run (L. Taylor kick)
27
31
Army Black Knights
PASSING
C/A
YDS
TD
INT
G. DeBartolo
10/16
233
0
0
C. Morton
0/1
0
0
0
RUSHING
ATT
YDS
AVG
TD
J. Tully
12
111
9.2
0
R. Maples
8
73
9.1
1
G. DeBartolo
7
31
4.4
0
G. Rabb
2
5
2.5
1
C. Dukes
2
0
0.0
0
K. Martin
1
1
1.0
1
J. Crucitti
1
1
1.0
0
C. Morton
1
-2
-2.0
0
RECEIVING
REC
YDS
AVG
TD
P. Laird
5
124
24.8
0
C. Dukes
2
31
15.5
0
J. McFarlin
1
52
52.0
0
S. Williams
1
19
19.0
0
J. Tully
1
7
7.0
0
BLOCKING
PANCAKE
SACK
J. Tully
1
0
S. Jackson
0
1
T. Houser
0
2
DEFENSE
TACK
SACK
INT
TD
B. Berry
4
1.0
0
0
V. Ripley
4
2.0
0
0
T. McLees
3
0.0
1
0
Q. Kantaris
2
1.0
0
0
KICKING
FG
XP
PTS
LONG
J. Meyer
2/4
3/3
9
30
PUNTING
NO
YDS
AVG
IN20
B. Williams
1
37
37.0
0
KICK RETURN
RET
YDS
AVG
TD
C. Dukes
5
146
29.2
0
J. Crucitti
1
26
26.0
0
PUNT RETURN
RET
YDS
AVG
TD
--
--
--
--
--
Eastern Michigan Eagles
PASSING
C/A
YDS
TD
INT
M. Iannotti
13/26
228
2
1
RUSHING
ATT
YDS
AVG
TD
R. Thomas
23
126
5.4
1
J. Humphrey
3
8
2.6
1
D. Brooks
1
12
12.0
0
RECEIVING
REC
YDS
AVG
TD
R. Thomas
4
87
21.7
1
P. Hall
3
62
20.6
0
R. Johnson
3
32
10.6
0
N. Vaughn
2
35
17.5
1
N. Olds
1
12
12.0
0
BLOCKING
PANCAKE
SACK
S. MacLeod
0
1
J. Woods
0
2
DEFENSE
TACK
SACK
INT
TD
T. Sharp
5
1.0
0
0
D. Hester
5
0.0
0
0
T. Smith
4
2.0
0
0
KICKING
FG
XP
PTS
LONG
L. Taylor
1/1
4/4
7
50
PUNTING
NO
YDS
AVG
IN20
J. Karutz
3
132
44.0
0
KICK RETURN
RET
YDS
AVG
TD
R. Johnson
6
134
22.3
0
PUNT RETURN
RET
YDS
AVG
TD
R. Johnson
1
7
7.0
0
2013 Eastern Michigan Schedule/Results
Code:
Opponent (record) Result Record
---------------------------------------------------
vs Army (0-1) W 31-27 1-0
vs FIU
at Michigan
at Oregon State
at Central Michigan
vs Ball State
vs Western Michigan
vs Ohio
at Northern Illinois
at Toledo
vs Kent State
at Akron
----------------------------------
Next Game:
Saturday, August 31, 2013 @ 7:00pm
(0-0) at (1-0)
All Time Series Record verse opponent (1-0)
Last Meeting Eastern Michigan W 38-21 (2011)
Congrats on the win. I wish EA would fix their option playbooks though (if they're ever able to making college football games again), because the FB always ends up getting more carries than the #1 RB.
Re: A Rising Storm in the North | Cheese's Eastern Michigan Dynasty
Quote:
Originally Posted by jct32
Nice job getting that first win. Those key sophomores are doing great for you. I think you can take FIU as well.
Thank you my friend! It is always nice to start the season off with a win, especially before we meet up with some of our tougher out of conference games. I think we should have a pretty good shot against FIU. I thought it would be fun to schedule a game against the team we had met in a bowl game a few years back. I am really happy to see Thomas continuing to grow, especially getting involved in the passing game.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Knickerbocker91
Congrats on the win. I wish EA would fix their option playbooks though (if they're ever able to making college football games again), because the FB always ends up getting more carries than the #1 RB.
Thanks man! Yeah the option attack was never ideal in EA but I will say in NCAA '12 I definitely fear it. I have played two in my three years so far (Army and Navy) and both have been successful in torching my run defense, albeit in not a conventional fashion.
Eagles Pick Up First Recruit of Season -- Three star safety Bobby Graham became the first member of the Eagles 2014 class as he signed a letter of intent following the team's week one win over Army. Graham who is ranked as the 20th free safety in the country, was being recruited by both USC and Boise State. He is expected to have a chance to start as a true freshman for Eastern Michigan. Graham did not take an official visit with the school but is rumored to have been talking with the coaching staff for several seasons.
Recruiting Profile – Bobby Graham
Bobby Graham | FS Garden City Cougars, High School Senior, Garden City, MI
Height: 5'11"
Caliber:
Weight: 197
Considered: USC, Boise St
Position Rank: 20
Overall Rank: 691
EVENT
40 YD
BENCH
SQUAT
SPARQ
High School Workout
4.44
313
320
67.00
Scouting Report
Garden City native, Bobby Graham possess all the tools to be a top flight collegiate safety. As an underclassman in high school, Graham spent the majority of time playing as a cornerback. He switched to safety his junior season and put on size while maintaining his speed. He possesses a quick first step and is a solid wrap up tackler. He is better playing in a deep zone and could struggle at times matching up in man coverage against faster slot receivers.
A big signing for Eastern Michigan, who out recruited powerhouses USC and Boise State, to secure Graham’s talents, Graham could start as a true freshman. It is rumored that Clayton had been talking to Graham for several seasons. Free safety has been a problem area for the Eagles for the past two seasons as incumbent Sean Cotton has been a liability in both the pass and run game. The coaching staff will reevaluate the position come next offseason but it is tough to imagine that Graham will not be the starter by at least his second season on campus. If he does not start as a true freshman, he will after a redshirt year.
Big commitment for you, especially due to who you were up against. What I like about your signings compared to my Michigan dynasty is that the players who will commit to you have a chance to start Day 1, while I have to redshirt mine.
Good luck against FIU and U-M, I'm sure you're up for the challenge