KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan football team scored 21 points in the second half to come from behind and give head coach Tim Lester his first win at his alma mater after defeating Idaho 37-28 in front of 25,732 fans at Waldo Stadium on Saturday night.

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Jon Wassink had a career night with 212 yards passing and three total touchdowns. The Grand Rapids, Mich., native went 21-for-31 through the air with one touchdown and ran for 38 yards and two touchdowns. WMU forced three turnovers and scored 13 points off of them to help flip the game in the second half.

The comeback bid started early in the third quarter with Western Michigan trailing 14-6.  Thanks to a 41-yard punt return by Darius Phillips, WMU started its second drive of the half at the Idaho 40. Wassink connected with tight end Donnie Ernsberger for 25 yards and on the next play Wassink found D'Wayne Eskridge from 15 yards for his first collegiate touchdown pass, cutting the Idaho's lead to 14-13.

After another Bronco defensive stop, Phillips struck again. This time he returned a punt 49 yards to the Idaho 19 and on the first play of the drive redshirt sophomore running back LeVante Bellamy cruised to the end zone to give WMU a 19-14 lead.

The Vandals quickly responded with a five play, 76-yard drive that took just 1:38 off the clock. Two deep passes by UI senior quarterback Matt Linehan got Idaho to the WMU 7-yard line and two plays later Linehan ran it in himself for the touchdown. With the extra point, Idaho pulled ahead, 21-19.

On the ensuing drive Idaho forced a fumble and recovered it at the WMU 39. After the change of possession Linehan hit Alfonso Onuwor for a 39-yard touchdown pass to extend the Vandals' lead to 28-19.

Western Michigan was held to a three-and-out on the next possession and Idaho drove down the field to the Bronco 35. On second and 10 Linehan was picked off in the end zone by WMU redshirt sophomore Obbie Jackson for his first interception of the year and second of his career.

The interception proved to be the turning point of the game. Wassink led the Broncos down the field and capped off the 80-yard drive with a career-long 22-yard touchdown run to bring WMU within two, 28-26.

Western Michigan's defense then forced Idaho to a three and out. Instead of punting it to Phillips, the Vandal punter Cade Coffey shanked it out of bounds at their own 33. WMU took over with Wassink connecting with redshirt sophomore wide out Giovanni Ricci for a career-long 21-yard reception. Wassink ran it in from the one on the next play to give Western Michigan the lead for good, 34-28.

Senior linebacker Asantay Brown forced a fumble on the next drive to give the Broncos back the ball at the Idaho 28. WMU took time off the clock and Josh Grant kicked his third field goal of the game to push the score to 37-28. The Broncos forced Idaho to punt again and Wassink took a knee to kill off the game.

Robert Spillane led the defense with 10 tackles on the night, also recording 1.5 sacks. Freshman defensive end Ali Fayad recorded his first career sack and fumble recovery to go with his three tackles on the night. Sophomore defensive back Stefan Clairborne also had a forced recovery and tied a career-high with eight tackles, matching his total from last weekend's game against Michigan State.

Ricci led WMU with 66 yards receiving on seven catches, both career highs. Eskridge had four receptions for 58 yards and a touchdown, while Jamauri Bogan led the Broncos on the ground with 57 yards on 17 carries. Phillips ended the night with 98 yards on three punt returns.

Western Michigan is back at home on Saturday, Sept. 23 against Wagner at 7 p.m. Tickets are available by calling 1-888-4-WMUTIX or online at wmubroncos.com/tickets. The game can be seen live on ESPN3.com and heard live on the Bronco Radio Network.
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