Central Michigan University Athletics
Football Gears Up For Western Michigan
11/6/2000 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 6, 2000
THE GAME: Central Michigan University closes the home portion of the 2000 football season with a Mid-American Conference (MAC) game against arch-rival Western Michigan University on Saturday, Nov. 11.
KICKOFF: 1 p.m. (EST).
STADIUM: Kelly/Shorts Stadium (30,199).
THE RECORDS: Central Michigan (Mid-American Conference) is 1-8 overall, 0-3 in MAC West action and 1-5 in overall MAC play. CMU has lost seven in a row after recording a 17-7 home win over Akron. The Chippewas opened the season with a 48-0 loss at No. 15-ranked Purdue before stopping Akron. Central has lost in succession to Wyoming (31-10), Boise State (47-10), Toledo (41-0), Kent (24-21/2 OT), Ohio (52-3), Ball State (38-34) and Eastern Michigan (31-15).
Western Michigan (Mid-American Conference) has won eight straight after opening the season with a loss at Wisconsin (19-7). The Broncos have rolled to wins over Iowa (27-21), Indiana State (56-0), Toledo (21-14), Ohio (23-10), Marshall (30-10), Northern Illinois (52-22), Kent State (42-0) and Ball State (42-3).
THE COACHES: Mike DeBord (Manchester, 1978), Central Michigan, first season, 1-8. Gary Darnell (Oklahoma St., 1970), Western Michigan, fourth season, 23-12.
THE SERIES: Western holds a 39-30-2 lead in the series that began in 1905 with a 6-0 Chippewa win. CMU held a 6-4 edge in the 1990s and an 18-6-1 margin since joining the MAC in 1975. Darnell is 2-1 against Central including a 38-16 win in Kalamazoo last season.
LAST MEETING: WMU jumped out to a 24-3 lead entering the fourth period and held on for a 38-16 home win before a MAC-record crowd of 36,102 in Waldo Stadium. QB Tim Lester was a standout for the Broncos, completing 22-of-39 passes for 297 yards and four touchdowns. Corey Alston caught six passes for 130 yards and two scores. CMU QB Pete Shepherd was 18-of-32 for 231 yards and a TD. Jammarl O'Neal caught seven passes for 105 yards and a TD. WMU held a 376-342 edge in total offense.
LAST WEEK: It was a tale of two halves as it has been so often this season for Central Michigan. The Chippewas held a 7-0 lead at intermission but Eastern Michigan scored the first 31 points of the second half en route to a 31-15 victory in Ypsilanti on Saturday. EMU held a slight edge in total offense, 334-316. CMU managed only 40 yards in rushing but Derrick Vickers (11-of-22 for 164 yards) and Pete Shepherd (12-of-19 for 112 yards) threw for 276 yards. Central scored first on a one-yard run by Derrick Vickers and last on a two-yard pass from Shepherd to Eric Salani.
Western Michigan cruised to an impressive 42-3 win at Ball State, putting an end to the Cardinals' four-game winning streak. Tailback Robert Sanford ran for 115 yards and three first half TDs for the Broncos.
TV SHOW: The CMU Football Review is aired weekly with head coach Mike DeBord and host Ed Phelps. The one-half hour show is on CMU Public TV on Mondays at 7:30 p.m. Fox 33 in Cadillac will also show it on Tuesday nights at 11 p.m.
RADIO SHOW: Central Michigan University will have a weekly coaches radio show on WUPS-FM (98.5) on Thursday nights from 7-8 p.m. Stan Shingles will be the host from Buffalo Wild Wings in Mt. Pleasant.
RADIO INFO: The game will be broadcast live on the CMU Football Network beginning at 12:30 p.m. (EST). A total of 13 radio stations throughout Michigan will carry the game with the broadcast team of Ed Phelps and Herb Deromedi doing the game. The network includes: WFYC-AM (1280) - Alma, WJKN-AM (1510) - Jackson, WKJF-AM (1370) - Cadillac, WVFN-AM (730) - Lansing, WCBY-AM (1240) - Cheboygan, WLSP-AM (1530) - Lapeer, WYUR-AM (1310) - Detroit, WUPS-FM (98.5) -- Mt. Pleasant, WTKG-AM (1230) -- Grand Rapids, WOAP-AM (1080) - Owosso, WPLB-AM (1380) - Greenville, WCCW-AM (1310) -- Traverse City, WHGR-AM (1290 - Houghton Lake
Chippewa broadcasts can also be heard anywhere in the world via the Internet through CMU's athletics home page at www.cmuchippewas.com.
TV INFO: The CMU-WMU clash will be televised by ESPN-Plus and can be seen on WADL (Channel 38) in Detroit on a two-hour delay. Dave Weekley will do the play-by-play, Charles Arbuckle the color and Katie Pollock will be the sidelined reporter.
CMU ENTERTAINS WMU IN RIVALRY SHOWDOWN
MOUNT PLEASANT - Two large streaks are on the line when Central Michigan University hosts arch-rival Western Michigan University on Saturday, Nov. 11, in a Mid-American Conference (MAC) football battle.
Kickoff in Kelly/Shorts Stadium is set for 1 p.m.
The Chippewas, 1-8 for the season, 1-5 in MAC action and 0-3 in division play, have lost seven straight after dropping a 31-15 decision at Eastern Michigan on Saturday.
Western, meanwhile, has rolled to eight straight wins after opening with a 19-7 loss at Wisconsin. The Broncos are 8-1 for the season, 6-0 in MAC play and 4-0 in West Division action.
"We know how good Western Michigan is ... it's definitely worthy of the national rankings it's receiving," said first-year Chippewa mentor Mike DeBord. "But, this is a big intrastate rivalry. We'll be ready to play."
Lost in the 31-15 loss at EMU was the fact that senior free safety Brian Leigeb (Midland/Dow) set the school record for career tackles. He had 12 and now has 451 for the career, passing former NFL standout Ray Bentley who had 443.
"Brian Leigeb is exactly what you look for in a student-athlete," DeBord said. "He's a tremendous person and a solid student. Plus, he's an excellent football player. He's a great tackler, as you might expect from the record. He doesn't miss many."
The Chippewas close the 2000 campaign at Northern Illinois on Saturday, Nov. 18, at 1 p.m. (CST).
DeBORD ON EMU LOSS - "Once again, it was a tale of two halves. We seem to play well in the first half and aren't able to finish the game out. That's disappointing because that's the one thing we've stressed from the beginning.
"We come out and play with great effort and emotion but we have a hard time sustaining it. We're not a good offensive football team and it's hurting our defense."
DeBORD ON WESTERN MICHIGAN - "Western is an outstanding football team on both sides of the ball. It's ability to run the ball has made a big difference in the offense and the defense is extremely talented and aggressive."
SCOUTING THE BRONCOS - Robert Sanford is one of the premier tailbacks in the country, rushing for 1,180 yards and 16 touchdowns. QB Jeff Welsh has completed 162-of-276 for 1,978 yards and 11 touchdowns. Steve Neal has caught 50 passes for 668 yards. WMU is averaging 418.7 yards per game on offense and allowing just 274.8. The Broncos have outscored their opponents, 300-99.
MAC STATS - CMU is first in pass defense (152.7), 11th in total offense (277.8) and 13th in total defense (427.0 yards per game). Brian Leigeb is second in tackles (12.0) and Darvin Lewis (11.0) is third. Cornerbacker Tedaro France is second interceptions (0.63 per game) while Ira Gooch is fifth in punt (9.3) and kickoff returns (22.5) and punter Brian Brandt is sixth (39.7).
CHIPPEWA NOTES - Senior safety Brian Leigeb (Midland/Dow) broke the school career record for tackles with 451 (Ray Bentley held the old mark at 443) after making 12 stops at Eastern. He's been in twin figures in seven games this season.
Sophomore linebacker Darvin Lewis (Detroit/Renaissance) also had a dozen at EMU and is second in the MAC with 99. He's been in double figures six times.
Redshirt freshman punter Brian Brandt (Wausau, Wis./West) had six punts for a 47.5 average at Eastern to raise his average to 40.3. CMU has never had a punter average 40 yards a game since moving into Kelly/Shorts Stadium in 1972. The best mark was a 39.7 by Mike Franckowiak in 1973.
Senior Eric Salani (Hancock), who had caught only two passes in his career, has caught nine passes this fall with four of them going for touchdowns. He had one from two yards out at Eastern.
Junior Vince Webber (Elgin, Ill.) has reclaimed his starting role at tailback after being slowed much of the season by a pulled hamstring. Webber rushed 23 times for 84 yards and a score against Ball State and 24 times for 62 yards at Eastern.
Redshirt freshman Derrick Vickers (Miami, Fla./Pace) has started the past three straight games. He completed 11-of-22 passes for 164 yards at EMU.
Senior Pete Shepherd (Mount Pleasant) has played in relief the past three games after having his string of games started end at 28. He was 12-of-19 for 112 yards at EMU and moves closer to career-leader Jeff Bender (1988-91) in four career categories - yards passing (5,729/Bender has 6,528), passes attempted (872/960), passes completed (453/502) and total offense (5,720/6,518). He's tied for sixth in TD passes with 19.
Injuries have forced CMU to use five different tailbacks this season. True freshman Kenan Lawhorne (Miami, Fla./Coral Park) and sophomore Tyrone Dalton (Pottstown, Pa./Valley Forge Military) are healthy but didn't play at Eastern. Sophomore Robbie Mixon (Detroit/Denby) remains out while sophomore Alan Parks (Saginaw/Buena Vista) could play.
Linebacker Derrick Wallace (shoulder) and place-kicker Paul Savich (foot) will not play against WMU.
| MAC Standings |
| East Division | |||
| Team | MAC Division | MAC Overall | Overall |
| 1. Marshall | 4-0 | 4-2 | 5-4 |
| 2. Miami | 3-1 | 4-2 | 5-4 |
| 3. Akron | 3-1 | 3-3 | 4-5 |
| 4. Ohio | 2-2 | 3-3 | 5-4 |
| 5. Buffalo | 2-2 | 2-4 | 2-7 |
| 6. Bowling Green | 1-4 | 2-4 | 2-7 |
| 7. Kent State | 0-5 | 1-6 | 1-9 |
| West Division | |||
| 1. Western Michigan | 3-0 | 6-0 | 8-1 |
| 2. Toledo | 3-1 | 5-1 | 8-1 |
| 3. Ball State | 2-2 | 4-2 | 4-5 |
| 4. Northern Illinois | 1-2 | 3-2 | 5-4 |
| 5. Eastern Michigan | 1-2 | 1-4 | 2-7 |
| 6. Central Michigan | 0-3 | 1-5 | 1-8 |
