Chippewas Can't Hold Lead, Drop Battle for the Victory Cannon at Rival Western Michigan

Saturday, November 1

Kalamazoo, Mich./Waldo Stadium

4:00 PM

Central Michigan University

5-4 , 3-2

Western Michigan

5-4 , 4-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Central Michigan

Western Michigan

Photo by: Josie Ransley '25,M'27 - @josieransmedia

Photo by: Sydney Kline '26 - @sydney.kline.photography

Photo by: Josie Ransley '25,M'27 - @josieransmedia

Chippewas Can't Hold Lead, Drop Battle for the Victory Cannon at Rival Western Michigan

11/1/2025 8:17:00 PM | Football

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By: Andy Sneddon

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Western Michigan scored the game's final 10 points on Saturday in handing Central Michigan a 24-21 Mid-American Conference football loss before 29,299 at the Broncos' Waldo Stadium.

The loss snapped a two-game CMU win streak and put the Chippewas' MAC Championship Game-berth hopes in peril. CMU is 5-4, 3-2 MAC, with three games to play. WMU is 5-4, 4-1.

Miami (Ohio) leads the league at 4-0 with a game at Ohio on Tuesday, Nov. 4. The Chippewas entertain Buffalo in a MAC game on Nov. 12.

"I'm crushed for our kids and our staff because I know how much this means to them," CMU coach Matt Drinkall said. "To come up short on this one stinks."

CMU broke a 14-14 tie when Tyson Davis caught a 33-yard touchdown pass from junior Marcus Beamon on the first play of the fourth quarter.

The Broncos rallied after that, drawing to 21-17 on a 46-yard Palmer Domschke field goal with 9:01 left. They took their first lead when quarterback Broc Lowry hit Tailique Williams for a 7-yard touchdown with 2:08 remaining.

Western's two fourth-quarter scoring drives covered 48 yards in 10 plays and 70 yards in 11.

The Chippewas offense, effective through the air in the first three quarters, stalled in the fourth and failed to pick up a first down in the final 15 minutes of game time.

Joe Labas threw for 152 yards on 8-of-11 passing with one touchdown and Beamon, playing for the first time in a Chippewa uniform, completed the only pass he threw for a TD.

The Chippewas finished with 55 rushing yards, their second lowest total of the season behind the 40 they gained in a 41-17 loss at Pitt.

Nahree Biggins capped the Chippewas' first drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to give CMU a 7-0 lead, and then Labas connected with Langston Lewis on a 77-yard TD pass play midway through the second quarter.

It was Drinkall's first time coaching in the longtime bitter rivalry for the Victory Cannon Trophy. The loss ended the Chippewas' hopes of capturing the Michigan MAC Trophy – a competition between CMU, WMU and Eastern Michigan.

The Chippewas still need one more win to become bowl eligible.

"I mean, the rivalry is real," Drinkall said. "Like it is a real thing all the way across. And have to figure out how to be able to survive the ups and downs of the emotional rollercoaster.

"I love these kids. Like we talked about, the reality is, whether we win or lose this game, Buffalo, who we play next, doesn't care. So we're going have to either be really happy or really sad and today we're going have to be really sad and then put it behind us and learn from it."