Photo by: Allissa Rusco
Chippewa Notebook: Ward Leads Offensive Onslaught
10/5/2019 10:38:00 PM | Football
CMU defends posts 5 sacks among 10 tackles-for-loss
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Imagine what the Jonathan Ward might do at 100 percent.
The senior running back ran for 132 yards, gained 73 through the air, and scored three touchdowns on Saturday to lead a strong showing by the Chippewa offense in Central Michigan's 42-16 victory over Eastern Michigan at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
It was Ward's second-consecutive 100-yard rushing performance and his third of the season. He has appeared in four of the Chippewas' games, though had just one carry in their second game of the season, at Wisconsin, when he was injured and sat out CMU's next two games.
He averaged a whopping 11 yards per carry against Eastern, and is averaging 7.7 per carry over the past two games. He scored on an 86-yard run, a 3-yard run, and on a 64-yard pass play against the Eagles.
"As I have said, this guy's toughness is unquestioned," CMU coach Jim McElwain said. "And it's so important for him, this football team, and I think it shows. When a guy actually does what he did and has continued to do, because he's not 100 percent now, and yet he refuses to use that as a crutch. He refuses to use that as an excuse.
"I think that really speaks volumes for what kind of person he is, how much care he has for this football team, and when he's with us, we're better."
Ward's 86-yard TD run is CMU's longest since the late Zurlon Tipton bolted 86 yards for a TD against Eastern in 2013. It also marked the longest run of Ward's career, surpassing the 79-yarder he ripped off against Eastern in 2017.
"It's been a minute since I've gotten in that much open field," Ward said of his two long scoring plays, "but it felt good getting back out there; all credit to the (offensive) line, they've been working their butts off all year round and that's where the credit goes to them because without the front five, that doesn't happen."
The Chippewas finished with a season-high 308 yards on the ground. Kobe Lewis added 78 yards on 12 carries, and Kumehnnu Gwilly had 49 yards on 10 attempts in his first extended action of the season.
"I wanted to make sure our guys understood that our ability to run the football when you have to is something that great teams do," McElwain said. "There was an opportunity today, we could've probably taken some more shots, but we also made a statement. I think any time you get near 600 yards of offense, about 300 passing and 300 rushing, pretty balanced. Now you become a hard football team to defend."
Bouncing Back
Ward said the Chippewas came back locked in and focused after losing a week ago to Western Michigan, 31-15. A loss to the archrival can have lasting effects, but it only served to galvanize the Chippewas.
"Last week didn't go as planned for us so we came in this week locked in and ready to go," he said. "We knew that this week had to be a statement game; coach Mac says we always have to protect our house and we knew that Eastern was a good team. They beat Big Ten opponent (Illinois) this year. So we knew they weren't going to be just any pushover, so we came in and we had to execute with what was given to us. It's just a statement game, really."
The Defense
The Chippewas, who entered the game with a MAC-best 13 sacks, added five to their total on Saturday. They posted 10 tackles-for-loss and added four quarterback hurries against Eastern signal-caller Mike Glass.
Glass threw for 193 yards on 19-of-33 passing (57.5 percent). He entered the game having completed 68.7 percent of his passes on the season with a league-high 12 TD passes. He threw for one TD on Saturday.
Safety Devonni Reed led the Chippewa defense with 10 tackles, while linebackers Troy Brown and Michael Oliver added six each. Three of Brown's tackles came behind the line of scrimmage, including his first career sack.
Eastern was successful on just two of its 11 third-down conversion attempts, and was blanked on its four fourth-down attempts.
"To me that means that our guys were on point and they knew what they needed to do to get off the field, to give the football to the offense to give us a chance," McElwain said. "I think our defense pretty much answered all the calls they needed to answer today."
The Secondary
The Chippewa secondary recorded one interception (Alonzo McCoy) and four pass breakups, two of which came from freshman cornerback Kyron McKinnie-Harper. Both of McKinnie-Harpers breakups came in the end zone to thwart potential touchdowns.
"I think that we grew up a lot today, especially in the back end," said CMU safety Da'Quaun Jamison, the lone senior to start in the secondary on Saturday. "That just shows that the coaches do a great job preparing us. As far (McKinnie-Harper), I just think he's a freshman, he's still getting his feet wet, but he's making plays and I like that.
"He's fierce and he's ultra-competitive. He shows that at practice every day. It's rare that you see that from a freshman. He's not scared to compete, not at all."
Fast Start
The first play of the game was a 37-yard David Moore pass to JaCorey Sullivan that put the Chippewas at the Eastern 37-yard line. Two plays later, Moore and Sullivan connected again, this time for 22 yards to the EMU 13.
Four plays later, Ward bulled in from three yards out to give the Chippewas a 7-0 lead they would never relinquish.
The Quarterback
Moore was a solid 15-for-24 passing for 279 yards and two touchdowns against one interception. The vast majority of his numbers came in the first half, when he was 11 for 18 for 263 yards. Both of his TD passes came before the break.
"I thought he played within himself really well today," McElwain said. "He took what the defense gave him. For us in the second half, he didn't need to throw it."
Tommy Lazzaro replaced Moore at quarterback with under five minutes remaining and the Chippewas at the Eastern 10-yard line after the Eagles failed to convert on fourth down. Lazzaro scored on a fourth-and-6 run and Tice added the point-after for the final margin.
Tough Kicks
CMU kicker Ryan Tice missed both of his field goal attempts, the first from 50 yards and the second from 44. Both were into a swirling wind in the south end of the stadium. The Chippewas faced a fourth-and-4 on Tice's first attempt, and a fourth-and-2 on the second.
"Missing those field goals, unacceptable by us, we should have probably gone for it, especially against that wind," McElwain said.
Tice, a senior, has made six of his nine field goal attempts this season. Two of his misses have come from 50 yards or more.
Lonely Punter
CMU punted just twice, and sophomore Brady Buell made the most of both opportunities, averaging 49.5 yards and landing one of his punts inside the Eastern 20-yard line.
Much Appreciated
McElwain made a point in his post-game press conference of pointing out how much he and the entire program appreciated the fan support.
"It means so much," he said. "Great crowd again today, the students and the people that showed up, I just want them to be proud of this Chippewa team and our guys are moving in that direction. They are a group of guys that people can get behind because they truly care about each other, they care about this university, and they care about being a Chippewa and it's great seeing it in their play."
The Series
The Chippewas extended their lead in the all-time series with Eastern to 61-30. There have been six ties. The teams have split their last four meetings. CMU has won eight of the last 11.
Next
The Chippewas entertain New Mexico State in their homecoming game on Saturday, Oct. 12 (3 p.m.). It is CMU's final nonconference game of the season.
The Aggies (0-5) were scheduled to play host to Liberty on Saturday night.
The senior running back ran for 132 yards, gained 73 through the air, and scored three touchdowns on Saturday to lead a strong showing by the Chippewa offense in Central Michigan's 42-16 victory over Eastern Michigan at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
It was Ward's second-consecutive 100-yard rushing performance and his third of the season. He has appeared in four of the Chippewas' games, though had just one carry in their second game of the season, at Wisconsin, when he was injured and sat out CMU's next two games.
He averaged a whopping 11 yards per carry against Eastern, and is averaging 7.7 per carry over the past two games. He scored on an 86-yard run, a 3-yard run, and on a 64-yard pass play against the Eagles.
"As I have said, this guy's toughness is unquestioned," CMU coach Jim McElwain said. "And it's so important for him, this football team, and I think it shows. When a guy actually does what he did and has continued to do, because he's not 100 percent now, and yet he refuses to use that as a crutch. He refuses to use that as an excuse.
"I think that really speaks volumes for what kind of person he is, how much care he has for this football team, and when he's with us, we're better."
Ward's 86-yard TD run is CMU's longest since the late Zurlon Tipton bolted 86 yards for a TD against Eastern in 2013. It also marked the longest run of Ward's career, surpassing the 79-yarder he ripped off against Eastern in 2017.
"It's been a minute since I've gotten in that much open field," Ward said of his two long scoring plays, "but it felt good getting back out there; all credit to the (offensive) line, they've been working their butts off all year round and that's where the credit goes to them because without the front five, that doesn't happen."
The Chippewas finished with a season-high 308 yards on the ground. Kobe Lewis added 78 yards on 12 carries, and Kumehnnu Gwilly had 49 yards on 10 attempts in his first extended action of the season.
"I wanted to make sure our guys understood that our ability to run the football when you have to is something that great teams do," McElwain said. "There was an opportunity today, we could've probably taken some more shots, but we also made a statement. I think any time you get near 600 yards of offense, about 300 passing and 300 rushing, pretty balanced. Now you become a hard football team to defend."
Bouncing Back
Ward said the Chippewas came back locked in and focused after losing a week ago to Western Michigan, 31-15. A loss to the archrival can have lasting effects, but it only served to galvanize the Chippewas.
"Last week didn't go as planned for us so we came in this week locked in and ready to go," he said. "We knew that this week had to be a statement game; coach Mac says we always have to protect our house and we knew that Eastern was a good team. They beat Big Ten opponent (Illinois) this year. So we knew they weren't going to be just any pushover, so we came in and we had to execute with what was given to us. It's just a statement game, really."
The Defense
The Chippewas, who entered the game with a MAC-best 13 sacks, added five to their total on Saturday. They posted 10 tackles-for-loss and added four quarterback hurries against Eastern signal-caller Mike Glass.
Glass threw for 193 yards on 19-of-33 passing (57.5 percent). He entered the game having completed 68.7 percent of his passes on the season with a league-high 12 TD passes. He threw for one TD on Saturday.
Safety Devonni Reed led the Chippewa defense with 10 tackles, while linebackers Troy Brown and Michael Oliver added six each. Three of Brown's tackles came behind the line of scrimmage, including his first career sack.
Eastern was successful on just two of its 11 third-down conversion attempts, and was blanked on its four fourth-down attempts.
"To me that means that our guys were on point and they knew what they needed to do to get off the field, to give the football to the offense to give us a chance," McElwain said. "I think our defense pretty much answered all the calls they needed to answer today."
The Secondary
The Chippewa secondary recorded one interception (Alonzo McCoy) and four pass breakups, two of which came from freshman cornerback Kyron McKinnie-Harper. Both of McKinnie-Harpers breakups came in the end zone to thwart potential touchdowns.
"I think that we grew up a lot today, especially in the back end," said CMU safety Da'Quaun Jamison, the lone senior to start in the secondary on Saturday. "That just shows that the coaches do a great job preparing us. As far (McKinnie-Harper), I just think he's a freshman, he's still getting his feet wet, but he's making plays and I like that.
"He's fierce and he's ultra-competitive. He shows that at practice every day. It's rare that you see that from a freshman. He's not scared to compete, not at all."
Fast Start
The first play of the game was a 37-yard David Moore pass to JaCorey Sullivan that put the Chippewas at the Eastern 37-yard line. Two plays later, Moore and Sullivan connected again, this time for 22 yards to the EMU 13.
Four plays later, Ward bulled in from three yards out to give the Chippewas a 7-0 lead they would never relinquish.
The Quarterback
Moore was a solid 15-for-24 passing for 279 yards and two touchdowns against one interception. The vast majority of his numbers came in the first half, when he was 11 for 18 for 263 yards. Both of his TD passes came before the break.
"I thought he played within himself really well today," McElwain said. "He took what the defense gave him. For us in the second half, he didn't need to throw it."
Tommy Lazzaro replaced Moore at quarterback with under five minutes remaining and the Chippewas at the Eastern 10-yard line after the Eagles failed to convert on fourth down. Lazzaro scored on a fourth-and-6 run and Tice added the point-after for the final margin.
Tough Kicks
CMU kicker Ryan Tice missed both of his field goal attempts, the first from 50 yards and the second from 44. Both were into a swirling wind in the south end of the stadium. The Chippewas faced a fourth-and-4 on Tice's first attempt, and a fourth-and-2 on the second.
"Missing those field goals, unacceptable by us, we should have probably gone for it, especially against that wind," McElwain said.
Tice, a senior, has made six of his nine field goal attempts this season. Two of his misses have come from 50 yards or more.
Lonely Punter
CMU punted just twice, and sophomore Brady Buell made the most of both opportunities, averaging 49.5 yards and landing one of his punts inside the Eastern 20-yard line.
Much Appreciated
McElwain made a point in his post-game press conference of pointing out how much he and the entire program appreciated the fan support.
"It means so much," he said. "Great crowd again today, the students and the people that showed up, I just want them to be proud of this Chippewa team and our guys are moving in that direction. They are a group of guys that people can get behind because they truly care about each other, they care about this university, and they care about being a Chippewa and it's great seeing it in their play."
The Series
The Chippewas extended their lead in the all-time series with Eastern to 61-30. There have been six ties. The teams have split their last four meetings. CMU has won eight of the last 11.
Next
The Chippewas entertain New Mexico State in their homecoming game on Saturday, Oct. 12 (3 p.m.). It is CMU's final nonconference game of the season.
The Aggies (0-5) were scheduled to play host to Liberty on Saturday night.
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