Saturday, September 13
Athens, Ohio
2:00 PM
Central Michigan University
2-1 , 1-0
31
at
28
Ohio
0-3 , 0-1
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Central Michigan
0
10
7
14
31
Ohio
14
0
0
14
28
Defensive Stops Key 31-28 Win at Ohio
9/13/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
ATHENS, Ohio Recent history has seen Central Michigan’s offense develop a reputation for producing big plays.
It seems ironic then, that on a day when the Chippewa offense accounted for 431 yards, it would be big plays by the CMU defense and special teams that would seal a 31-28 victory over Ohio University in the Mid-American Conference opener for both clubs.
Dan LeFevour threw for 361 yards and Ontario Sneed scored twice on the ground, but it was a 75-yard punt return for a touchdown by Antonio Brown in the third quarter that put the Chippewas (2-1 overall, 1-0 MAC) in front for good. Ohio (0-3, 0-1 MAC) had two opportunities to score late, but fumble recoveries by Matt Berning and Sean Murnane ended the Bobcats’ final two possessions.
Ohio scored twice in the game’s opening minutes. The Bobcats marched 87 yards on seven plays on their first possession, then needed just one snap to find the end zone on their second possession. Chris Garrett scored on a 12-yard run to open the scoring, then caught a 45-yard touchdown pass from Boo Jackson to stake Ohio to 14-0 lead with 8:53 left in the first quarter.
The Bobcats’ offense went dormant for the next two quarters, however, and CMU began slicing into the lead. After scoring on its first two possessions, Ohio punted five times, missed a field goal and ran out the first-half clock on its next seven drives.
CMU, after punting the first three times it had the ball, dented the scoreboard early in the second quarter. Forced to start their fourth possession from their own 2-yard line following an Ohio punt, LeFevour and Brown hooked up for completions of 32 yards, 8 yards and 7 yards on consecutive plays to move the ball near midfield. A 36-yard toss from LeFevour to Darren Martin later in the drive set up a 32-yard Andrew Aguila field goal that got CMU on the scoreboard.
Ohio punted on the ensuing possession, and Sneed capped a 13-play, 79-yard march with a 1-yard dive over the middle on second-and-goal. CMU was 3-for-3 on third-down conversions on the drive, with LeFevour hitting Martin for 15 yards on third-and-13, Jean Pitts for 30 yards on third-and-11 and finally scrambling for 13 yards on third-and-9 from the Ohio 14-yard line.
Brown put the Chippewas in front the first time he touched the ball in the second half. Ohio’s initial drive of the half stalled at its own 34-yard line, and the Bobcats were forced to punt to the 2007 MAC Freshman of the Year. Brown initially returned the ball up the middle of the field before breaking toward the right hash and racing nearly untouched 75 yards to the end zone.
The three-point lead held until a wild fourth quarter that saw CMU and Ohio combine for 28 points.
Sneed scored his second touchdown, a 3-yard run, less than two minutes into the fourth quarter to extend CMU’s lead to 24-14. The Chippewas covered 75 yards on 13 plays on the scoring drive, with a 24-yard LeFevour-to-Anderson completion on third-and-10 setting up the score.
Ohio, reminiscent of its offensive performance in the first quarter, scored twice in rapid succession to stay in the contest.
Just more than two minutes after Sneed’s touchdown, Jackson hit Donte Harden with a scoring throw that covered 43 yards and drew the Bobcats within 24-21.
LeFevour attempted to put the game out of reach on the ensuing possession, completing two passes for 71 yards and running twice for 5 yards, including a 2-yard touchdown run, to account for all the yardage on CMU’s final scoring drive. Aguila’s fourth-point after put CMU in front, 31-21, with 9:08 remaining.
Jackson was not done, though, hitting a wide-open Garrett for a 77-yard touchdown on Ohio’s first snap following the kickoff.
The CMU offense would be forced to punt on its final two possessions, but the defense forced a pair of turnovers to finish off the victory.
On third-and-goal from the 8-yard line, Jackson attempted to scramble in for a go-ahead touchdown. Nick Bellore, who finished with a game-high 11 tackles and two forced fumbles, met Jackson at the 1-yard line and jarred the ball loose. Berning recovered the ball in the end zone to thwart the scoring threat.
Ohio began its final possession on its own 29-yard line with 1:31 remaining. A 17-yard completion to Andrew Mooney on third down moved the ball to the 46, but one play later Casey Droscha sacked Jackson and Murnane recovered the Ohio quarterback’s second fumble of the quarter.
LeFevour finished 28-of-42 passing for 361 yards while also rushing for a team-high 45 yards. He did not throw a touchdown pass for the first time since a 35-10 win over Northern Illinois on Sept. 29, 2007, but kept alive a streak of 27 games with a touchdown either passing, rushing or receiving.
Brown collected 10 catches for 78 yards, with Pitts set new career highs with six receptions and 83 receiving yards. Anderson’s three receptions covered 80 yards.
Jackson completed 17-of-31 throws for 365 yards and three scores for Ohio. Garrett caught three passes for 124 yards and two scores and rushed for a game-high 51 yards and a touchdown.
Ohio out-gained the Chippewas, 513-431, but CMU did not turn the ball over while recovering two of Ohio’s four fumbles.
CMU steps out of conference next week, visiting Purdue. Kickoff is set for noon, and the game will be televised on the Big Ten Network.
It seems ironic then, that on a day when the Chippewa offense accounted for 431 yards, it would be big plays by the CMU defense and special teams that would seal a 31-28 victory over Ohio University in the Mid-American Conference opener for both clubs.
Dan LeFevour threw for 361 yards and Ontario Sneed scored twice on the ground, but it was a 75-yard punt return for a touchdown by Antonio Brown in the third quarter that put the Chippewas (2-1 overall, 1-0 MAC) in front for good. Ohio (0-3, 0-1 MAC) had two opportunities to score late, but fumble recoveries by Matt Berning and Sean Murnane ended the Bobcats’ final two possessions.
Ohio scored twice in the game’s opening minutes. The Bobcats marched 87 yards on seven plays on their first possession, then needed just one snap to find the end zone on their second possession. Chris Garrett scored on a 12-yard run to open the scoring, then caught a 45-yard touchdown pass from Boo Jackson to stake Ohio to 14-0 lead with 8:53 left in the first quarter.
The Bobcats’ offense went dormant for the next two quarters, however, and CMU began slicing into the lead. After scoring on its first two possessions, Ohio punted five times, missed a field goal and ran out the first-half clock on its next seven drives.
CMU, after punting the first three times it had the ball, dented the scoreboard early in the second quarter. Forced to start their fourth possession from their own 2-yard line following an Ohio punt, LeFevour and Brown hooked up for completions of 32 yards, 8 yards and 7 yards on consecutive plays to move the ball near midfield. A 36-yard toss from LeFevour to Darren Martin later in the drive set up a 32-yard Andrew Aguila field goal that got CMU on the scoreboard.
Ohio punted on the ensuing possession, and Sneed capped a 13-play, 79-yard march with a 1-yard dive over the middle on second-and-goal. CMU was 3-for-3 on third-down conversions on the drive, with LeFevour hitting Martin for 15 yards on third-and-13, Jean Pitts for 30 yards on third-and-11 and finally scrambling for 13 yards on third-and-9 from the Ohio 14-yard line.
Brown put the Chippewas in front the first time he touched the ball in the second half. Ohio’s initial drive of the half stalled at its own 34-yard line, and the Bobcats were forced to punt to the 2007 MAC Freshman of the Year. Brown initially returned the ball up the middle of the field before breaking toward the right hash and racing nearly untouched 75 yards to the end zone.
The three-point lead held until a wild fourth quarter that saw CMU and Ohio combine for 28 points.
Sneed scored his second touchdown, a 3-yard run, less than two minutes into the fourth quarter to extend CMU’s lead to 24-14. The Chippewas covered 75 yards on 13 plays on the scoring drive, with a 24-yard LeFevour-to-Anderson completion on third-and-10 setting up the score.
Ohio, reminiscent of its offensive performance in the first quarter, scored twice in rapid succession to stay in the contest.
Just more than two minutes after Sneed’s touchdown, Jackson hit Donte Harden with a scoring throw that covered 43 yards and drew the Bobcats within 24-21.
LeFevour attempted to put the game out of reach on the ensuing possession, completing two passes for 71 yards and running twice for 5 yards, including a 2-yard touchdown run, to account for all the yardage on CMU’s final scoring drive. Aguila’s fourth-point after put CMU in front, 31-21, with 9:08 remaining.
Jackson was not done, though, hitting a wide-open Garrett for a 77-yard touchdown on Ohio’s first snap following the kickoff.
The CMU offense would be forced to punt on its final two possessions, but the defense forced a pair of turnovers to finish off the victory.
On third-and-goal from the 8-yard line, Jackson attempted to scramble in for a go-ahead touchdown. Nick Bellore, who finished with a game-high 11 tackles and two forced fumbles, met Jackson at the 1-yard line and jarred the ball loose. Berning recovered the ball in the end zone to thwart the scoring threat.
Ohio began its final possession on its own 29-yard line with 1:31 remaining. A 17-yard completion to Andrew Mooney on third down moved the ball to the 46, but one play later Casey Droscha sacked Jackson and Murnane recovered the Ohio quarterback’s second fumble of the quarter.
LeFevour finished 28-of-42 passing for 361 yards while also rushing for a team-high 45 yards. He did not throw a touchdown pass for the first time since a 35-10 win over Northern Illinois on Sept. 29, 2007, but kept alive a streak of 27 games with a touchdown either passing, rushing or receiving.
Brown collected 10 catches for 78 yards, with Pitts set new career highs with six receptions and 83 receiving yards. Anderson’s three receptions covered 80 yards.
Jackson completed 17-of-31 throws for 365 yards and three scores for Ohio. Garrett caught three passes for 124 yards and two scores and rushed for a game-high 51 yards and a touchdown.
Ohio out-gained the Chippewas, 513-431, but CMU did not turn the ball over while recovering two of Ohio’s four fumbles.
CMU steps out of conference next week, visiting Purdue. Kickoff is set for noon, and the game will be televised on the Big Ten Network.
Team Stats
CMU
OHIO
Total Yards
431
513
Pass Yards
361
365
Rushing Yards
70
148
Penalty Yards
52
55
1st Downs
21
20
3rd Downs
8
7
4th Downs
0
0
TOP
28:32
31:28
1st Quarter
CMU 0, OHIO 7
OHIO - GARRETT, Chris 12 yd run (WAY, Barrett kick), 7 plays, 87 yards, TOP 2:41
CMU 0, OHIO 14
OHIO - GARRETT, Chris 45 yd pass from JACKSON, Boo (WAY, Barrett kick) 1 plays, 45 yards, TOP 0:11
2nd Quarter
CMU 3, OHIO 14
CMU - AGUILA, Andrew 32 yd field goal 10 plays, 83 yards, TOP 3:05
CMU 10, OHIO 14
CMU - SNEED, Ontario 1 yd run (AGUILA, Andrew kick), 13 plays, 79 yards, TOP 5:36
3rd Quarter
CMU 17, OHIO 14
CMU - BROWN, Antonio 75 yd punt return (AGUILA, Andrew kick)
4th Quarter
CMU 24, OHIO 14
CMU - SNEED, Ontario 3 yd run (AGUILA, Andrew kick), 13 plays, 75 yards, TOP 4:47
CMU 24, OHIO 21
OHIO - HARDEN, Donte 43 yd pass from JACKSON, Boo (WAY, Barrett kick) 5 plays, 66 yards, TOP 2:13
CMU 31, OHIO 21
CMU - LeFEVOUR, Dan 2 yd run (AGUILA, Andrew kick), 6 plays, 76 yards, TOP 1:34
CMU 31, OHIO 28
OHIO - GARRETT, Chris 77 yd pass from JACKSON, Boo (WAY, Barrett kick) 1 plays, 77 yards, TOP 0:15
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