Jaime Wilson (top) hauls in a 54-yard pass on the first play of the game. Josh Schaffer (bottom left) eludes a
defender on a 54-yard touchdown catch-and-run. Demetrius Pettway (bottom right) picks off a pass.
Got reset button?
Eastern Michigan could’ve used one
in 52-0 loss to Western Michigan
YPSILANTI, Mich. — It took just one play to set the tone for an entire afternoon of football.
When Jaime Wilson hauled in a 54-yard pass from Tyler Van Tubbergen on the first play from scrimmage, it was just the beginning of the offensive fireworks for Western Michigan against woeful Eastern Michigan.
One play later, Dareyon Chance was in the end zone with a 13-yard touchdown run … and the onslaught continued until coach B-Dawg called off the dogs in the second half of a 52-0 beatdown of the Hurons.
It was the fifth straight victory for the Broncos, who are suddenly bowl-eligible at 6-4. Eastern fell to 3-7.
The score was 28-0 after one quarter and 42-0 at halftime before back-ups played the entire second half, during which B-Dawg threw only twice and ran down the play clock to get this game to a merciful conclusion.
“I was on the other side of these kinds of games when I took over at Eastern Michigan in NCAA 2008,” B-Dawg said. “It’s no fun. Big Mo was a mofo for the Hurons today.”
The outcome had B-Dawg wondering if he should’ve coached at Eastern instead in his quest for the greatest challenge among Michigan’s Mid-American Conference schools.
“I already played a ton of seasons there,” B-Dawg said. “You get sick of looking at the same stadium all the time.”
Chance suffered a mild concussion with 6:11 left in the second quarter, missing the rest of the game. But by then, he’d already done enough damage to earn Playa of da Game honors.
He gathered in a 64-yard touchdown pass on third-and-17 after getting hot-routed into the slot to make it 14-0 with 6:02 left in the first quarter. After a 2-yard run by back-up halfback Brian Fields made it 21-0, a 1-yard run by Chance made it 28-0 with 1:38 to go in the opening quarter.
Chance finished with 64 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries and 77 yards and one touchdown on four catches. No member of the Broncos put up monster numbers because of B-Dawg’s mass subs and the fact he spread around the ball.
Van Tubbergen was a perfect 7-for-7 for 188 yards and two touchdowns in one half of work.
The game was 35-0 just nine seconds into the third quarter on a 54-yard touchdown catch by Josh Schaffer. A 1-yard run by fullback Austin Guido made it 42-0 at the half.
The halftime stats revealed the total domination by the Broncos, who led 12-1 in first downs, 332-32 in total offense, 144 to minus-10 yards on the ground, 188-42 through the air and 12:28 to 5:32 in time of possession. Western was 4-for-4 on third down, while Eastern was 0-for-6.
“It shouldn’t be that easy for a team like ours to go into anybody’s stadium — not even Eastern’s — and win this easily,” B-Dawg said. “Using a custom playbook is giving me a little bit too much of an edge. I’ll go back to a generic multiple playbook starting next week.”
It’s always fun for B-Dawg to get some stats with his back-ups, who don’t get the chance to put up numbers very often. Tevin Drake scored his first touchdown of the season for the only score of the third quarter, Leo Alba and Garrett Smith got their first interceptions of the year, and freshman defensive tackle Jamar Simpkins got his first two career sacks.
Stunningly, Western sits atop the MAC West Division at 5-1, but its final two regular-season games are against the other two contenders (both 4-1): at home against Central Michigan, then on the road at Northern Illinois.
FULL STATS
