CMU tight end Tony Poljan hauls in a pass, one of his five receptions, on Saturday in the Chippewas' win over Akron at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
Photo by: Allissa Rusco
Chippewa Notebook: Moore, Lewis Make The Most Of Their Opportunities
9/14/2019 10:24:00 PM | Football
Defense posts seven sacks, 13 tackles-for-loss
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – A long-held axiom in team sports is that a team is only as good as its backups.
In the case of Central Michigan football on Saturday at Kelly/Shorts Stadium, that would be pretty darned good as David Moore and Kobe Lewis proved that in the Chippewas' 45-24 Mid-American Conference victory over Akron.
Moore, a junior, drew his first start as a Chippewa at quarterback for injured Quinten Dormady, and Lewis did likewise for injured running back Jonathan Ward.
Both Moore and Lewis played exceptionally well and with the poise of seasoned veterans as they spearheaded an offense that rolled up 533 total yards.
"I woke up this morning, my mom is a religious person and my mom always sends me a prayer and today she waited a little bit longer," Moore said. "Once she finally sent the prayer, I was like, 'That's what I needed to hear.' It settled me down a little bit.
"Last night I was a little restless thinking about the game and how it was going to play out, but my mom just said this is what I've worked for. My coaches were telling me that I was ready and after I just prayed and read some of the Bible. I had no doubt I was ready to go."
Lewis ran inspired, and substantial chunks of his 146-yard rushing total came after contact with a defensive player, or with a defender draped on his back. He added three catches for 37 yards.
"We've got great athletes, obviously," Moore said. "I threw a lot of passes underneath that they took and ran deep. The offensive line did a great job and really made it easy for me and for Kobe. Even though he did a heck of a job."
Said middle linebacker Michael Oliver: "We all knew David could play. It didn't surprise us. It was his opportunity and he took advantage of it."
Lew & Lew
Lewis and freshman Lew Nichols were the lone Chippewas to carry the ball on Saturday. Nichols added 43 yards on seven carries as the Chippewas finished with 189 yards on the ground, averaging 5.6 yards per carry.
The defense
Perhaps overshadowed by a Chippewa offense that produced more points than it had in 19 games going back to the middle of the 2017 season was a CMU defense that was, for the most part, solid against Akron and its quarterback, Kato Nelson.
Nelson produced decent numbers – 241 yards and three touchdowns on 25-of-42 passing – but the Chippewa defensive front applied constant pressure against the dual-threat signal caller. He finished with 33 net yards rushing, was sacked seven times, and the Chippewas posted 13 tackles-for-loss.
Ironically, it was Chippewa quarterback David Moore who helped prepare CMU's defense to face Nelson, Oliver said.
"David does the same thing week to week, so we kind of already knew who we were going against already, we had already seen it in practice," he said.
Leaders
Outside linebacker Troy Brown made a career-high 11.5 tackles – 11 of them solos – and posted three tackles-for-loss and recovered a fumble.
Not to be outdone, lineman Sean Adesanya posted two sacks, 4.5 tackles-for-loss, and returned an interception, the first of his career, 49 yards to set up a CMU touchdown. Lineman LaQuan Johnson also had two sacks.
"We're just taking care of business, that's all we're doing right now, taking care of business," Oliver said.
Something to prove
The Chippewas won the coin toss and elected to defer to the second half, meaning they would begin the game on defense. That was exactly what Oliver and Co. had hoped for.
"(Friday) night at the team dinner I had a conversation with coach and told him, 'Let's go defense first when we win the toss,'" said Oliver, who finished with five tackles. "I wanted to go out there and send a message early and set the tone early and let them know we're not the same team from last week."
Long And Short Of It
Kalil Pimpleton and Tony Poljan are at opposite ends of the spectrum in one sense.
They shared the spotlight on Saturday. Both made highlight-reel catches that made a major difference in the Chippewas' victory.
Pimpleton, a sophomore from Muskegon who stands 5-foot-9, caught seven passes for 116 yards and one TD. Poljan, a junior from Lansing who, at 6-7, is the second-tallest player on roster, had five receptions for 90 yards and one score.
Both the number of catches and the receiving yardage totals were career highs for both players.
Pimpleton, who also caught a two-point conversion pass and completed a pass for 28 yards, made an outstanding twisting and falling reception in the end zone on a 35-yard strike from Moore just before halftime.
"I thought the throw (Moore) made to Pimpleton there before half was as good a throw as you're going to make," coach Jim McElwain said. "He got his feet set, he stepped up and threw a strike and that turned out to be a huge play in the game."
Two of Poljan's grabs were quite memorable too. He reached out and made a one-handed snag and then hauled in another that was batted in the air. In both cases, the plays went for first downs and they came in the middle of the field, with defenders lurking close by.
"Tony caught that one-handed pass over the middle there," Moore said. "I kind of let that ball get away from me a little bit and Tony just saved me. If you could (have) just seen me, I was like 'thank you.'
"It gives me confidence to just go out there and rip it and not really think about it or have to think, 'I have to make this a perfect pass.' (Pimpleton is) one of the fastest receivers I've ever had the pleasure of throwing to, so his diving catch for a touchdown, that was all him. We've got great athletes and we're going to do a lot of damage to the MAC this year. It's going be a lot of fun to watch."
Tice Is Nice
Chippewa kicker Ryan Tice, a senior, matched his career high with three field goals, converting from 24, 43 and 35 yards. He also made three field goals last season in a 24-23 loss to Ball State. He is a perfect four-for-four on field goal attempts this season and 14-for-16 as a Chippewa.
Two of his career field goals have come from 50 yards or longer, and he has now made seven of eight attempts from 40-49 yards.
2-point conversion
Moore threw to Pimpleton for a two-point conversion after a Chippewa TD midway through the fourth quarter. That upped CMU's lead to 38-17. It was CMU's first two-point conversion since the 2016 season.
In the case of Central Michigan football on Saturday at Kelly/Shorts Stadium, that would be pretty darned good as David Moore and Kobe Lewis proved that in the Chippewas' 45-24 Mid-American Conference victory over Akron.
Moore, a junior, drew his first start as a Chippewa at quarterback for injured Quinten Dormady, and Lewis did likewise for injured running back Jonathan Ward.
Both Moore and Lewis played exceptionally well and with the poise of seasoned veterans as they spearheaded an offense that rolled up 533 total yards.
"I woke up this morning, my mom is a religious person and my mom always sends me a prayer and today she waited a little bit longer," Moore said. "Once she finally sent the prayer, I was like, 'That's what I needed to hear.' It settled me down a little bit.
"Last night I was a little restless thinking about the game and how it was going to play out, but my mom just said this is what I've worked for. My coaches were telling me that I was ready and after I just prayed and read some of the Bible. I had no doubt I was ready to go."
Lewis ran inspired, and substantial chunks of his 146-yard rushing total came after contact with a defensive player, or with a defender draped on his back. He added three catches for 37 yards.
"We've got great athletes, obviously," Moore said. "I threw a lot of passes underneath that they took and ran deep. The offensive line did a great job and really made it easy for me and for Kobe. Even though he did a heck of a job."
Said middle linebacker Michael Oliver: "We all knew David could play. It didn't surprise us. It was his opportunity and he took advantage of it."
Lew & Lew
Lewis and freshman Lew Nichols were the lone Chippewas to carry the ball on Saturday. Nichols added 43 yards on seven carries as the Chippewas finished with 189 yards on the ground, averaging 5.6 yards per carry.
The defense
Perhaps overshadowed by a Chippewa offense that produced more points than it had in 19 games going back to the middle of the 2017 season was a CMU defense that was, for the most part, solid against Akron and its quarterback, Kato Nelson.
Nelson produced decent numbers – 241 yards and three touchdowns on 25-of-42 passing – but the Chippewa defensive front applied constant pressure against the dual-threat signal caller. He finished with 33 net yards rushing, was sacked seven times, and the Chippewas posted 13 tackles-for-loss.
Ironically, it was Chippewa quarterback David Moore who helped prepare CMU's defense to face Nelson, Oliver said.
"David does the same thing week to week, so we kind of already knew who we were going against already, we had already seen it in practice," he said.
Leaders
Outside linebacker Troy Brown made a career-high 11.5 tackles – 11 of them solos – and posted three tackles-for-loss and recovered a fumble.
Not to be outdone, lineman Sean Adesanya posted two sacks, 4.5 tackles-for-loss, and returned an interception, the first of his career, 49 yards to set up a CMU touchdown. Lineman LaQuan Johnson also had two sacks.
"We're just taking care of business, that's all we're doing right now, taking care of business," Oliver said.
Something to prove
The Chippewas won the coin toss and elected to defer to the second half, meaning they would begin the game on defense. That was exactly what Oliver and Co. had hoped for.
"(Friday) night at the team dinner I had a conversation with coach and told him, 'Let's go defense first when we win the toss,'" said Oliver, who finished with five tackles. "I wanted to go out there and send a message early and set the tone early and let them know we're not the same team from last week."
Long And Short Of It
Kalil Pimpleton and Tony Poljan are at opposite ends of the spectrum in one sense.
They shared the spotlight on Saturday. Both made highlight-reel catches that made a major difference in the Chippewas' victory.
Pimpleton, a sophomore from Muskegon who stands 5-foot-9, caught seven passes for 116 yards and one TD. Poljan, a junior from Lansing who, at 6-7, is the second-tallest player on roster, had five receptions for 90 yards and one score.
Both the number of catches and the receiving yardage totals were career highs for both players.
Pimpleton, who also caught a two-point conversion pass and completed a pass for 28 yards, made an outstanding twisting and falling reception in the end zone on a 35-yard strike from Moore just before halftime.
"I thought the throw (Moore) made to Pimpleton there before half was as good a throw as you're going to make," coach Jim McElwain said. "He got his feet set, he stepped up and threw a strike and that turned out to be a huge play in the game."
Two of Poljan's grabs were quite memorable too. He reached out and made a one-handed snag and then hauled in another that was batted in the air. In both cases, the plays went for first downs and they came in the middle of the field, with defenders lurking close by.
"Tony caught that one-handed pass over the middle there," Moore said. "I kind of let that ball get away from me a little bit and Tony just saved me. If you could (have) just seen me, I was like 'thank you.'
"It gives me confidence to just go out there and rip it and not really think about it or have to think, 'I have to make this a perfect pass.' (Pimpleton is) one of the fastest receivers I've ever had the pleasure of throwing to, so his diving catch for a touchdown, that was all him. We've got great athletes and we're going to do a lot of damage to the MAC this year. It's going be a lot of fun to watch."
Tice Is Nice
Chippewa kicker Ryan Tice, a senior, matched his career high with three field goals, converting from 24, 43 and 35 yards. He also made three field goals last season in a 24-23 loss to Ball State. He is a perfect four-for-four on field goal attempts this season and 14-for-16 as a Chippewa.
Two of his career field goals have come from 50 yards or longer, and he has now made seven of eight attempts from 40-49 yards.
2-point conversion
Moore threw to Pimpleton for a two-point conversion after a Chippewa TD midway through the fourth quarter. That upped CMU's lead to 38-17. It was CMU's first two-point conversion since the 2016 season.
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