CMU wide receiver Tommy McIntosh sprints toward the goal line and his first TD as a Chippewa on Saturday in CMU's 49-10 win over Wagner.
Photo by: Sydney Kline '26 - @sydney.kline.photography
Football Notebook: 'This is our Home; we Don't Lose at Home'
9/21/2025 12:15:00 PM | Football
Game ReapMatt Drinkall Post-Game Press ConferenceDakota Cochran Post-Game Press ConferenceJoe Labas Post-Game Press ConferenceFull Game Book (PDF)Photo Gallery
Chippewas turn their attention to Eastern Michigan and MAC opener; defense sets the tone and dominates in 49-10 win over Wagner
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Admittedly, the competition posed by Wagner wasn't at the level the Central Michigan football team had faced in its previous two games, when it lost first at Pitt and then at Michigan.
That said, good football programs measure themselves against a standard that they set, no matter who or what is on the other sideline.
In that vein, it was mostly all to the good for the Chippewas after their 49-10 romp over the Football Championship Subdivision Seahawks on Saturday in their home opener on Kramer/Deromedi Field at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
"We are in a great spot," said linebacker Dakota Cochran, who set the tone with an interception return for a touchdown just 40 seconds into the game and later recovered a fumble that led to another CMU score. "The emphasis has always been about us; it was never about our opponent. It's always about us.
"I feel like with that mindset, we just go out there and play our game and no one can beat us. Do our jobs and not have missed assignments and self-inflicted wounds. I felt like we came out today and we did that for the most part.
"It was a mixture of a bad taste in our mouth from last week and this being our home opener. This is our home; we don't lose at home."
The Chippewas rolled up 506 yards of offense and held the Seahawks to 113. It marked the first time CMU has produced 500 or more yards of offense since Sept. 17, 2022, in a 41-0 win over Bucknell.
"The two biggest things to take away from today is the same things from the previous two weeks," first-year CMU coach Matt Drinkall said. "We played, if not everybody, almost everybody, and we came away healthy. We are rapidly gaining valuable experience and staying healthy, which is really critical.
"It's great to see all our kids out there, running around and being healthy and smiling and being at home. All of it. It was very nice to see our kids have a lot of success."
Defense Shines
Cochran gave the Chippewas the early lead with his pick-6, bringing to life a crowd of 18,000-plus on a sunny, picture-perfect afternoon.
CMU defensive end Michael Heldman forced a fumble on Wagner's next possession at the Seahawk 36-yard line. Seven plays later, CMU extended its lead to 14-0 on quarterback Angel Flores' 2-yard TD run.
Heldman finished with two sacks and shared the team tackle lead with Jordan Kwiatkowski and Elijah Gordon (five each).
Kwiatkowski, a linebacker, was credited with a pass breakup on Cochran's interception. It was the first of four pass breakups credited to the CMU defense on the day.
CMU held Wagner to six first downs, all of which came in the first half, and the Seahawks converted on third down just twice in 14 chances.
"Defensively, we played awesome the entire game," Drinkall said. "That has been a big point of emphasis for us; kind of reinventing ourselves defensively with our standards, our expectations, the amount of people that played, the personnel packages.
"To get a touchdown and two turnovers in the first two series, it shows how when we start fast what an impact that makes."
Miscues
CMU was penalized eight times for 73 yards after committing just one infraction a week ago at Michigan.
An area of concern?
"Yes and no," Drinkall said. "The penalties that we emphasize the most are the controllable ones, like the false starts, procedural substitutions.
"Aggressive penalties, like defensive pass interference or a facemask, stuff like that, those are much more discretionary calls. The false start and the fumbles, we've got to get those cleaned up."
The Chippewas committed two turnovers, one of which, a fumble, was returned 75 yards for the Seahawks' only TD of the game. It came early in the fourth quarter with the Chippewas leading, 49-3, and subbing liberally.
Long Play
CMU quarterback Joe Labas, who was nearly perfect on the day, hit Nahree Biggins with a swing pass and Biggins sprinted untouched for a TD midway through the second quarter to extend CMU's lead to 21-3.
The play covered 88 yards and is CMU's longest play from scrimmage since 2012 and the Chippewas longest pass play since 2013.
Efficiency Defined
CMU quarterbacks Joe Labas, Angel Flores and Ethan Lane combined to complete 14 of their 18 pass attempts for 273 yards and four touchdowns.
Labas did most of the damage, throwing for 241 yards and a career-high-tying three scores on 12-of-14 passing. He was 11-for-12 for 225 yards and all three of his TDs in the first half.
His 85.7 completion percentage ranks as the fifth best for a game in program history.
Flores' TD pass, a 22-yarder to Brock Townsend, was his first in a Chippewa uniform. Flores also scored his first TD, a 2-yard run in the first quarter, as a Chippewa.
It was the first appearance in a Chippewa uniform for Lane, a redshirt sophomore from Chandler, Ariz.
The Chippewas had played three quarterbacks – Labas, Flores and Jadyn Glasser – in their first two games of the season and Drinkall said he had planned to use the trio throughout the season. Glasser was injured leading up to the Chippewas' game at Michigan last week and is out for the season.
Michigan connection
Wide receiver Tommy McIntosh and running back Brock Townsend each scored a touchdown in the game, the first of their respective careers at CMU.
Drinkall took note of both Michigan natives playing in their home state. McIntosh is a 6-foot-5 junior from DeWitt who transferred to CMU from Wisconsin; Townsend, a redshirt freshman from Caledonia.
"Those are two Michigan kids, which is great to see," Drinkall said. "Tommy, he's been dynamite ever since we got here in the spring. He is long, he's powerful, he can play the ball in the air, he plays the ball on the perimeter great."
McIntosh's TD came on a perfectly timed corner route pass from Labas. McIntosh finished with two catches for 39 yards.
"He had an unbelievable play on a corner route today where Joe put the ball in air before (McIntosh) was even out of the break so it was thrown, timing wise and placement wise, as clean as you could get and Tommy made an unbelievable catch and finish at the end of it," Drinkall said.
Townsend, who is third on the depth chart behind Biggins and Trey Cornist, carried four times for 20 yards and caught one pass for a 22-yard TD.
"Brock has been very, very steady all camp," Drinkall said. "That's a good room. Nahree and Trey are a little bit ahead of him, but you saw today some three-back packages where those guys were all on the field together and him having a ton of success running it and catching it.
"Brock's one of those neat kids just because he's so good at everything. He could start at linebacker here, safety, he's good at everything. He's a good football player."
Late First Half Drive
Drinkall said he was particularly pleased with CMU's final drive of the first half, when they went 80 yards in seven plays in just 59 seconds.
The Chippewas took over at their own 20 with 1:15 left in the half and leading 28-3. Labas completed all six of his pass attempts in the drive, the last covering 33 yards to Tyson Davis for a touchdown with 16 seconds left.
Labas connected with Biggins and Langston Lewis on the first five passes in the drive, expertly working the sidelines to preserve time. Davis' TD made it 35-3 at halftime.
"Analytically that was textbook with how that should go -- it was a masterclass of what you should do right before halftime," Drinkall said. "Because the players were smart in getting the ball out of bounds … prioritizing yardage over time, we were able to save a bunch of the timeouts and we were able to use them to catch our breath."
Community support
Drinkall said he, his coaching staff, and especially the players were thrilled to play in front of an enthusiastic home crowd for the first time in 2025 after playing their first three games on the road.
"I know what it means to the team," he said. "The players, they've been looking forward to it since we got here. Playing at home in Kelly/Shorts in front of our people is like the most rewarding experience for our kids. For us, the staff, we were all excited.
"It was great to see everybody and the excitement. It's just the best people that are all sincere and genuine and they all want everyone to do well and that is a really unique and cool thing that we have such a collegiate, inclusive environment for everyone to come and have a good experience at the game. It goes a long way."
Vs. FCS
The Chippewas improved to 17-1 with their 17th consecutive victory over an FCS team.
Looking Ahead to EMU
The Chippewas entertain Eastern Michigan on Saturday, Sept. 27 (1 p.m.) in their Mid-American Conference opener. EMU defeated the Chippewas, 38-34, in Ypsilanti last season for its second win in the last three meetings with CMU.
The Chippewas lead the all-time series, 64-32, and there have been six ties.
The Eagles are 1-3 after a 34-31 home win over Louisiana on Saturday. EMU's Rudy Kessinger kicked the game-winning field goal with 3 seconds remaining.
"This is what we have been preparing ourselves for," Drinkall said. "This is the fun part. If you don't like this part of it, you're in the wrong place. It'll be exciting; we have a ton of work to do. We'll enjoy this win and watch the tape and figure out where we've got to get better."
That said, good football programs measure themselves against a standard that they set, no matter who or what is on the other sideline.
In that vein, it was mostly all to the good for the Chippewas after their 49-10 romp over the Football Championship Subdivision Seahawks on Saturday in their home opener on Kramer/Deromedi Field at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
"We are in a great spot," said linebacker Dakota Cochran, who set the tone with an interception return for a touchdown just 40 seconds into the game and later recovered a fumble that led to another CMU score. "The emphasis has always been about us; it was never about our opponent. It's always about us.
"I feel like with that mindset, we just go out there and play our game and no one can beat us. Do our jobs and not have missed assignments and self-inflicted wounds. I felt like we came out today and we did that for the most part.
"It was a mixture of a bad taste in our mouth from last week and this being our home opener. This is our home; we don't lose at home."
The Chippewas rolled up 506 yards of offense and held the Seahawks to 113. It marked the first time CMU has produced 500 or more yards of offense since Sept. 17, 2022, in a 41-0 win over Bucknell.
"The two biggest things to take away from today is the same things from the previous two weeks," first-year CMU coach Matt Drinkall said. "We played, if not everybody, almost everybody, and we came away healthy. We are rapidly gaining valuable experience and staying healthy, which is really critical.
"It's great to see all our kids out there, running around and being healthy and smiling and being at home. All of it. It was very nice to see our kids have a lot of success."
Defense Shines
Cochran gave the Chippewas the early lead with his pick-6, bringing to life a crowd of 18,000-plus on a sunny, picture-perfect afternoon.
CMU defensive end Michael Heldman forced a fumble on Wagner's next possession at the Seahawk 36-yard line. Seven plays later, CMU extended its lead to 14-0 on quarterback Angel Flores' 2-yard TD run.
Heldman finished with two sacks and shared the team tackle lead with Jordan Kwiatkowski and Elijah Gordon (five each).
Kwiatkowski, a linebacker, was credited with a pass breakup on Cochran's interception. It was the first of four pass breakups credited to the CMU defense on the day.
CMU held Wagner to six first downs, all of which came in the first half, and the Seahawks converted on third down just twice in 14 chances.
"Defensively, we played awesome the entire game," Drinkall said. "That has been a big point of emphasis for us; kind of reinventing ourselves defensively with our standards, our expectations, the amount of people that played, the personnel packages.
"To get a touchdown and two turnovers in the first two series, it shows how when we start fast what an impact that makes."
Miscues
CMU was penalized eight times for 73 yards after committing just one infraction a week ago at Michigan.
An area of concern?
"Yes and no," Drinkall said. "The penalties that we emphasize the most are the controllable ones, like the false starts, procedural substitutions.
"Aggressive penalties, like defensive pass interference or a facemask, stuff like that, those are much more discretionary calls. The false start and the fumbles, we've got to get those cleaned up."
The Chippewas committed two turnovers, one of which, a fumble, was returned 75 yards for the Seahawks' only TD of the game. It came early in the fourth quarter with the Chippewas leading, 49-3, and subbing liberally.
Long Play
CMU quarterback Joe Labas, who was nearly perfect on the day, hit Nahree Biggins with a swing pass and Biggins sprinted untouched for a TD midway through the second quarter to extend CMU's lead to 21-3.
The play covered 88 yards and is CMU's longest play from scrimmage since 2012 and the Chippewas longest pass play since 2013.
Efficiency Defined
CMU quarterbacks Joe Labas, Angel Flores and Ethan Lane combined to complete 14 of their 18 pass attempts for 273 yards and four touchdowns.
Labas did most of the damage, throwing for 241 yards and a career-high-tying three scores on 12-of-14 passing. He was 11-for-12 for 225 yards and all three of his TDs in the first half.
His 85.7 completion percentage ranks as the fifth best for a game in program history.
Flores' TD pass, a 22-yarder to Brock Townsend, was his first in a Chippewa uniform. Flores also scored his first TD, a 2-yard run in the first quarter, as a Chippewa.
It was the first appearance in a Chippewa uniform for Lane, a redshirt sophomore from Chandler, Ariz.
The Chippewas had played three quarterbacks – Labas, Flores and Jadyn Glasser – in their first two games of the season and Drinkall said he had planned to use the trio throughout the season. Glasser was injured leading up to the Chippewas' game at Michigan last week and is out for the season.
Michigan connection
Wide receiver Tommy McIntosh and running back Brock Townsend each scored a touchdown in the game, the first of their respective careers at CMU.
Drinkall took note of both Michigan natives playing in their home state. McIntosh is a 6-foot-5 junior from DeWitt who transferred to CMU from Wisconsin; Townsend, a redshirt freshman from Caledonia.
"Those are two Michigan kids, which is great to see," Drinkall said. "Tommy, he's been dynamite ever since we got here in the spring. He is long, he's powerful, he can play the ball in the air, he plays the ball on the perimeter great."
McIntosh's TD came on a perfectly timed corner route pass from Labas. McIntosh finished with two catches for 39 yards.
"He had an unbelievable play on a corner route today where Joe put the ball in air before (McIntosh) was even out of the break so it was thrown, timing wise and placement wise, as clean as you could get and Tommy made an unbelievable catch and finish at the end of it," Drinkall said.
Townsend, who is third on the depth chart behind Biggins and Trey Cornist, carried four times for 20 yards and caught one pass for a 22-yard TD.
"Brock has been very, very steady all camp," Drinkall said. "That's a good room. Nahree and Trey are a little bit ahead of him, but you saw today some three-back packages where those guys were all on the field together and him having a ton of success running it and catching it.
"Brock's one of those neat kids just because he's so good at everything. He could start at linebacker here, safety, he's good at everything. He's a good football player."
Late First Half Drive
Drinkall said he was particularly pleased with CMU's final drive of the first half, when they went 80 yards in seven plays in just 59 seconds.
The Chippewas took over at their own 20 with 1:15 left in the half and leading 28-3. Labas completed all six of his pass attempts in the drive, the last covering 33 yards to Tyson Davis for a touchdown with 16 seconds left.
Labas connected with Biggins and Langston Lewis on the first five passes in the drive, expertly working the sidelines to preserve time. Davis' TD made it 35-3 at halftime.
"Analytically that was textbook with how that should go -- it was a masterclass of what you should do right before halftime," Drinkall said. "Because the players were smart in getting the ball out of bounds … prioritizing yardage over time, we were able to save a bunch of the timeouts and we were able to use them to catch our breath."
Community support
Drinkall said he, his coaching staff, and especially the players were thrilled to play in front of an enthusiastic home crowd for the first time in 2025 after playing their first three games on the road.
"I know what it means to the team," he said. "The players, they've been looking forward to it since we got here. Playing at home in Kelly/Shorts in front of our people is like the most rewarding experience for our kids. For us, the staff, we were all excited.
"It was great to see everybody and the excitement. It's just the best people that are all sincere and genuine and they all want everyone to do well and that is a really unique and cool thing that we have such a collegiate, inclusive environment for everyone to come and have a good experience at the game. It goes a long way."
Vs. FCS
The Chippewas improved to 17-1 with their 17th consecutive victory over an FCS team.
Looking Ahead to EMU
The Chippewas entertain Eastern Michigan on Saturday, Sept. 27 (1 p.m.) in their Mid-American Conference opener. EMU defeated the Chippewas, 38-34, in Ypsilanti last season for its second win in the last three meetings with CMU.
The Chippewas lead the all-time series, 64-32, and there have been six ties.
The Eagles are 1-3 after a 34-31 home win over Louisiana on Saturday. EMU's Rudy Kessinger kicked the game-winning field goal with 3 seconds remaining.
"This is what we have been preparing ourselves for," Drinkall said. "This is the fun part. If you don't like this part of it, you're in the wrong place. It'll be exciting; we have a ton of work to do. We'll enjoy this win and watch the tape and figure out where we've got to get better."
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/ FootballFootball Insider - 9.25.25
Thursday, September 25
Coach Matt Drinkall Post-Game Press Conference Vs. Wagner
Saturday, September 20
Dakota Cochran Post-Game Press Conference Vs. Wagner
Saturday, September 20
Joe Labas Post-Game Press Conference Vs. Wagner
Saturday, September 20