Box Score ATHENS, Ohio – The Western Michigan football team imposed their will on the ground against their opponent and dominated the second half in a 49-14 road win over the Ohio Bobcats on Saturday. With the win the Broncos even their overall season record at 3-3 and improve to 2-0 in Mid-American Conference play for the first time since 2008.
The Broncos were nothing short of dominant in their rushing attack, posting 430 yards on 44 carries for a 9.8 yards per rush average. That number has not been topped by the Broncos in any game dating back to the 2000 and is potentially one of the top handful of performances in Bronco history.
Jamauri Bogan and LeVante Bellamy ran for 149 and 135 yards, respectively, becoming the first Bronco duo to top the century mark in a game since Brian Fields and Dareyon Chance did it against Nicholls during the 2013 season. Jarvion Franklin nearly topped 100 yards as well, finishing with 95 yards on 13 attempts. WMU rushed for four touchdowns on the afternoon, getting one each from Bogan, Bellamy, Franklin and Zach Terrell.
The Broncos' junior quarterback on was top of his game as well, finishing 14-of-20 passing for 137 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. He was able to keep plays alive with his feet as well, finishing with 24 rushing yards and his first rushing touchdown of the year. Daniel Braverman hauled in two of those touchdown passes, the first on an acrobatic catch on the left sideline in the second quarter and the other on a 27-yard crossing route on the very next offensive drive. He finished with six receptions for 56 yards, and Corey Davis had four receptions for 48 yards and a touchdown.
Darius Phillips and Robert Spillane tied for the team lead with eight tackles apiece while Phillips also added 2.0 tackles for loss and a pass break-up. Keion Adams recorded seven tackles with a sack and 2.5 tackles for loss as the Bronocs racked up 7.0 total tackles for loss in the game. David Curle also added a sack.
The teams traded defensive stops in the first quarter as neither the Broncos nor the Bobcats got onto the scoreboard in the first 15 minutes of play, and the WMU defense stood tall early in the second quarter. A pivotal moment came midway through the second quarter when Ronald Zamort and Austin Lewis combined to stuff AJ Ouellette on a 4th-and-1 on the WMU 49.
On the ensuing WMU drive Terrell hit Donnie Ernsberger on an 11-yard slant to open the drive and Bogan converted a 3rd-and-1 at the 31-yard line to give the Broncos a fresh set of downs. Terrell tucked and ran for eight yards to the Ohio 18-yard line on the next play, with the ball advancing to the Ohio 9 after Ian Wells was penalized for targeting. Braverman made an acrobatic catch on the left sideline, securing the ball while falling down. Andrew Haldeman's extra point gave the Broncos a 7-0 edge with 3:33 left in the half.
Braverman did it all on the next drive as well. After WMU forced a three-and-out Braverman returned Mitch Bonstetter's punt 33 yards to the Ohio 32-yard line. Two plays later Braverman slipped behind the Bobcat defense and hauled in a perfect pass from Terrell on the right-side numbers, scooting into the endzone with 1:31 remaining in the second quarter for his second touchdown of the day.
Bogan set the Broncos on the right path in the second half with an explosive play to put them ahead 21-7. Facing a 3rd-and-3 on the WMU 33-yard line, Bogan burst through the left side of the offensive line and sprinted 67 yards for his first career touchdown to give the Broncos a 21-7 advantage. The play was the longest from scrimmage for the Broncos in 2015 and the longest rush for WMU since 2010.
Terrell called his own number for a score later in the quarter, driving his team 72 yards and punching it in on a keeper for his first rushing touchdown of the season. Bellamy sparked the drive with 52 rushing yards, including a 41-yard scamper that put the Broncos at the Ohio 20. Michael Henry caught a pass at the 8-yard line to make it 1st-and-Goal and Terrell put it in three plays later, going off left tackle to make it 28-7 with 5:29 left in the third quarter.
The run game tacked one more score in the third quarter, gaining all 77 yards on the Broncos' final drive of the period to make it a 35-7 advantage. Franklin ran for 17 yards on the first two plays to gain a first down and Bogan ripped off another long run, taking off for 40 yards to put the ball on the Ohio 20. Franklin did the rest of the damage on the next play, bursting through a hole and fighting off a tackler for his third touchdown of the season.
The Broncos weren't content to put it in cruise control in the fourth quarter. They halted the Bobcats on a 4th-and-12 from their own 15-yard line when Zamort swatted away a pass in the end zone and promptly drove all the way down the field for another score. On 1st-and-10 from the Ohio 25, Terrell pump-fake to his right and tossed it down the middle for Corey Davis to make it 42-7 with 12:23 remaining in regulation.
