YPSILANTI, Mich. – The Western Michigan football team, in a back and forth battle, fell to in-state rival Eastern Michigan, 34-27, on Saturday night inside Rynearson Stadium.
With a little under two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, senior running back
LeVante Bellamy earned his third rushing touchdown of the night to cap off an 11-play drive to give WMU a 27-26 lead with 1:56 left in the contest.
Trailing by one, Eastern Michigan drove down the field and connected on a 34-yard touchdown pass with 36 seconds remaining to regain the lead. The Eagles converted on their two-point conversion attempt to grab a 34-27 advantage.
On the ensuing drive, the EMU defense forced an interception on the first play to clinch the victory. In the fourth quarter, the lead changed three times in the final seven minutes of play.
Bellamy was the workhorse out of the back field for the Broncos, rushing for 113 yards on 28 carries with three scores. It's the fifth time this season Bellamy has gone over 100 yards. He moved into seventh on WMU's career rushing list with 3,125 yards. Bellamy tied his career high with three touchdowns and now has earned at least one rushing TD in six straight games.
Senior quarterback
Jon Wassink was 15-of-24 for 192 yards and one touchdown against the Eagles. Wassink found five different receivers with fellow senior
Giovanni Ricci leading the way with six receptions for 88 yards. Freshman
Corey Crooms scored WMU's only receiving touchdown on the night, hauling in his first career TD from 39 yards out midway through the fourth.
Defensively, the Broncos were led by junior
Treshaun Hayward with a career-high 18 tackles along with 1.5 tackle for loss. Sophomore
Patrick Lupro also posted a career-high in tackles with 14. Lupro also had 0.5 sack and 1.5 tackle for loss.
Overall, Western Michigan registered 359 total yards with 192 coming through the air and 167 on the ground. WMU posted 20 first down against the Eagles and averaged 5.98 yards per play.
The Broncos now have an overall record of 4-4 on the season and 2-2 in Mid-American Conference play. Western Michigan returns home on Saturday, Oct. 26 for a match-up with Bowling Green at 12:00 p.m.
WMU scored on its first possession of the game for the fourth time this season as Bellamy raced in from eight yards out. EMU responded midway through the first quarter, embarking on a 17-play, 75-yard drive that resulted in a 31-yard field goal.
The Broncos widened their lead to 14-3 early in the second quarter after embarking on a staggering 19-play drive that lasted over nine minutes and spanned 79 yards. Bellamy scored from two yards out for his 12th rushing touchdown of the season, the tenth most in a single-season in school history.
Western Michigan led 14-10 at halftime as EMU connected on a one-yard passing touchdown with seconds left to go in the second quarter. The Eagles grabbed their first lead of the game to begin the third quarter scoring on a six-yard touchdown run from sophomore Preston Hutchinson to gain a 17-14 advantage.
After the two teams traded possessions, Wassink found Crooms from 38 yards out to regain the lead at 21-17 late in the third quarter. EMU cut its deficit down to one near the end of the third quarter thanks to a 28-yard field goal with 13 seconds remaining.
In the fourth quarter, the lead changed three times in the final seven minutes of play. Western Michigan used an 11-play, 64-yard drive to earn the lead with 1:56 left to play on a Bellamy eight-yard rushing touchdown. On the drive, Wassink connected with Ricci along with senior
Keith Mixon Jr., on two pivotal third downs.
To close out the game the Eagles struck with a 34-yard touchdown pass with 36 seconds remaining to cap off a six play, 74-yard drive in 1:15 to gain a 34-27 lead. Western Michigan looked for a game-tying drive with 36 seconds left, but the Eagle defense forced an interception on the first play of the drive to secure the victory.
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