TOLEDO, Ohio – In its first conference road trip of the season, the Western Michigan football team dropped a 31-24 decision to Toledo on Saturday afternoon inside the Glass Bowl.

The Broncos were down 24-7 at the half before trailing 31-24 and having the ball at the Toledo 12-yard line with less than three minutes remaining in the contest. Western Michigan's defense buckled down after halftime and limited the Rockets to just 134 yards and seven points.

Senior quarterback Jon Wassink threw for 303 yards and two touchdowns while freshman wide receiver Skyy Moore finished with a career-high seven catches and 101 yards. Sophomore wide receiver Jaylen Hall, three receptions for 66 yards, and senior tight end Giovanni Ricci, four catches for 36 yards, aided the offense with a touchdown apiece.

The rushing game was led again this game by senior LeVante Bellamy, who recorded 70 yards on the ground and one touchdown.

On defense, junior linebacker Treshaun Hayward paced the squad with 13 tackles, recording one sack and 2.5 tackles for a lost yardage. Senior linebacker Drake Spears tallied 11 tackles and recorded his second career interception in the second quarter after Toledo quarterback Mitchell Guadagni's pass was tipped by senior defensive end Timothy Collins.

The Broncos' first touchdown came late in the first quarter as Wassink threw a six-yard pass to Ricci in the end zone with 2:20 on the clock. WMU's drive spanned 11 plays over 75 yards to shorten Toledo's lead to 14-7.

WMU opened with a strong third quarter as Wassink threw for a 43-yard touchdown to Hall at the 9:20 mark, cutting the deficit to 24-14. On their next possession, the Broncos marched the ball into field goal range for junior Thiago Kapps to nail a 34-yarder to bring the score to 24-17 Toledo with 29 seconds remaining in the frame.

The Rockets answered with a touchdown of their own at 9:22 in the fourth quarter on a Gaudagni one-yard run to extend their lead to 31-17. The Broncos quickly answered as Bellamy broke through for a 39-yard touchdown run at 7:56 to hold Toledo to a seven-point lead.

Western Michigan forced a Toledo three-and-out and got the ball back at its own 20-yard line with 5:49 to play. The Broncos reached the Toledo 12-yard line, but a sack for a loss of 12 yards and pair of incomplete passes set up fourth-and-22 at the Rocket 24-yard line. Wassink rushed for 20 yards, but a turnover on downs allowed the Rockets to take over at their own four-yard line. Toledo ran out the clock with a pair of first downs to cap the contest.

Western Michigan hosts Miami (Ohio) on Saturday at 12 p.m. for Homecoming and Family Weekend at Waldo Stadium. Tickets are available by calling 1-888-4-WMUTIX and visiting www.wmubroncos.com/tickets. The game will also be broadcast live on ESPNU.









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