Chippewa Notebook: Defense Slams Door On Albany Run Game

Central Michigan defenders swarm Albany running back Karl Mofor in the Chippewas' 38-21 victory on Thursday at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.

Photo by: Benjamin Suddendorf

8/30/2019 8:56:00 AM | Football

Receivers Scott, Pimpleton turn in breakout performances

By: Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Yes, the offense was impressive. But don't ignore the Chippewa defense, for it played very well too on Thursday in Central Michigan's 38-21 season-opening victory over Albany at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.

The Chippewas limited the Great Danes to 244 total yards, just 45 of it coming on the ground and surrendered just 14 points as Albany's final touchdown came on a second-half fumble return.

"I really thought that they swarmed well," said Jim McElwain, who was coaching his first game at CMU. "The thing that I was worried about was explosive plays and that came back to bite us. If you look at it, (Albany's) production was not great. You take away, really, three big plays. … We held them to under 50 yards (rushing)."

Both Chippewa units spread the wealth as quarterback Quinten Dormady completed 27 of his 37 pass attempts for 285 yards and three touchdowns. His completions went to eight different receivers and the ground game showed some potency with Jonathan Ward running for 158 yards, Kobe Lewis finishing with 51, and freshman Lew Nichols adding 31.

Safety Devonni Reed led CMU's defense with five tackles, while Michael Oliver, Darius Bracy and Montrae Braswell added three apiece.

The tackle numbers may not appear particularly impressive, but the Chipewas ran 84 offensive plays to Albany's 51, and CMU gained 31 first downs to the Great Danes' 13. CMU held a decided advantage in time of possession, holding the ball for more than 36 minutes while the Great Danes had it for 23-plus minutes.

Big-Time Breakthroughs
Two Chippewa wide receivers stood out in Thursday's game. Sophomore Kalili Pimpleton led the Chippewas with eight catches for 40 yards and a touchdown, while redshirt freshman Tyrone Scott had five receptions for a team-high 93 yards and two TDs.

In the case of both players, their TD receptions were the first of their respective careers.

It was the first game for Pimpleton in a CMU uniform. The Muskegon native transferred to CMU from Virginia Tech and was forced to sit out the 2018 season because of NCAA transfer rules.

"I really couldn't wait to get on the field with my brothers," Pimpleton said. "That last year, sitting out and then go 1-11, it left a bitter taste in my mouth, not just theirs, my mouth too, I'm ready to go.

"It was good to see the smiles on the guy's faces in the locker-room after the game and on the field when we were up, it was good to see that."

Scott appeared in one game last season, catching one pass for 5 yards in the season finale at Toledo.

"He was a heck of a basketball player in high school," McElwain said in explaining the coaches' philosophy in motivating Scott. "Think of it as a rebound; go up and get it and I thought he caught the ball aggressively which at times during camp he didn't. He's a guy, as time goes on, he's going to get more and more involved with more and more that he can handle and I think today he gave us a glimpse of what he can be."

The Line
There were plenty of question marks regarding the Chippewas, on both sides of the ball, entering Thursday's opener.

One surrounded an offensive line that was largely inexperienced. The unit paved the way to 38 points and 529 total yards. CMU averaged 5.2 yards per carry.

"It's a little bit of a maligned group … and yet they're a prideful group," McElwain said. "We've added a couple bodies there that I think are helping us. Their communication has gotten better and better and better, and it's got to be a force as we get into conference play especially. We've got to count on those O linemen to be the backbone of what we do."

Big Leg
Senior placekicker Ryan Tice put his strong leg on display once again in Thursday's game when he booted a 50-yard field goal, giving the Chippewas a 17-0 lead in the second quarter.

It was Tice's second field goal of 50 yards or more since he joined the program last season. He hit a 53-yarder, the third-longest in program history, against Ball State on Oct. 13, 2018.

Tice, who began his career at Michigan and then enrolled at Tennessee before landing in Mount Pleasant prior to the 2018 season, is on the Lou Groza Award Preseason Watch List. He hit 10 of 12 field goal attempts last season. Seven of his 10 makes came from 40 yards or beyond.

Something to Work On
For all the good – and there was plenty -- that the Chippewas put together on Thursday they committed three turnovers and were penalized 11 times for 87 yards.

Ward finished with a combined 211 yards in rushing and receiving and scored two TDs, but he fumbled twice. CMU's other turnover was a Dormady fumble that was returned by Albany 52 yards for a score.

"Ball security, I don't care who you're playing, that's going to come up and bite you," McElwain said. "Putting the ball on the ground like we did is something that is uncharacteristic of the guys who did it and they'll get better as the season goes on, no doubt about it.

"I think one of the things we knew about this team was their attention to detail and the discipline they needed to play with. I think it showed its head a couple of times, especially in crucial situations. Penalties are going to happen. It's the unforced errors that really frustrate – those offsides penalties, those are the ones that really bite you. The playing-hard penalties, sometimes you live with those and that's OK. The discipline penalties are the ones that will drive me nuts."

Coming Up Big
The Chippewas converted on six of their 13 third downs, and were a perfect three-for-three on fourth-down attempts.

Nice Debut
Sophomore punter Brady Buell made his first career appearance and punted just twice, averaging 38 yards. His second punt of the night was a booming 52-yarder.

Next
The Chippewas go to Wisconsin on Saturday, Sept. 6. The Badgers, who play in the Big Ten, are scheduled to open the season on Friday, Aug. 30 (7 p.m.) at South Florida.