Late Rally Lifts CMU to 35-32 Win at Akron

Friday, November 23

Akron, Ohio

TBA

Central Michigan University

7-5 , 6-1

Akron

4-8 , 3-5

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Central Michigan

Akron

11/23/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football

Box Score

AKRON, Ohio The final minutes of Central Michigan University’s win at Akron on Friday may have looked familiar to Chippewa fans.

In a finish eerily similar to CMU’s win at Western Michigan on Nov. 6, Dan LeFevour connected with Bryan Anderson for a 45-yard gain with less than two minutes, then scored the decisive touchdown on a 1-yard keeper that required a second effort to push the ball across the goal line.

The Chippewas (7-5 overall, 6-1 Mid-American Conference) scored 15 points in the final seven minutes to rally for a 35-32 win over the Zips (4-8 overall, 3-5 MAC) in the regular season finale for both teams.

Akron seemed to have put the game away when Chris Jacquemain threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Merce Poindexter with 8:08 remaining. The score stretched Akron’s lead to 32-20 and came just two snaps after Jacquemain found Jabari Arthur for 37 yards on third-and-11 from midfield.

LeFevour answered just 1:10 later. Taken down as he threw on third-and-four from the Akron 30-yard line, the sophomore connected with Kito Poblah who made an over-the-shoulder catch at the goal line in traffic for the score. Andrew Aguila’s school-record 49th extra point of the season pulled CMU within 32-27.

Akron held the ball for more than four minutes on its next possession before eventually being forced to punt. John Stec’s kick covered just 20 yards, setting up the CMU offense at the Chippewas’ 47-yard line.

LeFevour threw to Sneed for no gain on first down before Anderson went up between a pair of defenders and hauled in the 45-yard gainer on second-and-10. LeFevour carried the ball three straight times from the 8-yard line, eventually scoring on a keeper that saw him roll off the pile to his left and stretch the ball across the goal line with 1:31 remaining.

Duane Brooks tacked on the two-point conversion on a reverse to stretch the CMU lead to 35-32.

Jacquemain was flushed from the pocket on first down following the kickoff, and his pass was intercepted by a diving Red Keith. Three kneeldowns erased the clock for CMU.

Akron led by 12 points on two occasions in the second half, the first of which came after the Zips scored twice in the first 83 seconds of the third quarter. The two quick scores turned a 14-13 CMU halftime lead into a 26-14 Akron advantage.

On the second snap from scrimmage following halftime, Bryan Williams broke off the left side for a 56-yard touchdown run that put the Zips in front. Akron’s two-point conversion attempt failed.

The Zips defense extended the lead with a touchdown on the ensuing possession. LeFevour completed a second down pass to Anderson just short of the first-down marker. As Anderson was struggling for extra yardage, Andre Jones stripped the ball and sprinted 64 yards up the sideline for a touchdown. Igor Iveljic’s point-after bumped the Akron lead to 26-14.

After the teams traded punts, LeFevour hooked up with Anderson for a 27-yard score that drew the Chippewas within 26-20. Andrew Aguila’s point-after attempt deflected off the right upright and was no good, and the Zips’ six-point lead held up until Jacquemain hooked up with Poindexter midway through the final quarter.

The Chippewas 639 yards of offense helped produce 35 points, but CMU was just 1-for-4 on fourth down, missed a 35-yard field goal and saw its second possession of the game end in an interception in the end zone.

Dan LeFevour completed 33-of-54 passes for 382 yards and rushed 16 times for 132 yards. He threw for two touchdowns and ran for a pair of scores. His 514 yards of offense is a career high and the third-highest single-game total in Mid-American Conference history.

Antonio Brown caught a school-record 15 passes for a career-high 174 yards. Anderson added nine receptions for 131 yards and a touchdown.

Ontario Sneed added 94 yards on the ground, while Keith paced the defense with 13 tackles.

CMU now prepares for next weekend’s matchup with Miami in the MAC Championship Game. The teams meet at Ford Field in Detroit on Saturday, Dec. 1 at 11 a.m. ESPN2 will televise the contest.