KALAMAZOO, Mich. – In its home finale the Western Michigan football team dropped its first game of the season to in-state foe Eastern Michigan 53-42 on Saturday afternoon inside Waldo Stadium.

With the loss WMU now has an overall record of 4-1 and will head to Muncie, Indiana, to square off with Ball State on Saturday, Dec. 12 at 12:00 p.m. The winner of the regular season finale between the Broncos and Cardinals will claim the Mid-American Conference west division and play in the 2020 MAC Championship game on Friday, Dec. 18.

Despite the loss redshirt junior Jaylen Hall had a career-day hauling in four receptions for a career-high 119 yards and two touchdowns. The two receiving touchdowns matched his career-high as Hall registered his second straight game 100 yards receiving game.

La'Darius Jefferson eclipsed 100 rushing yards for the second time, finishing with 130 on the ground and two touchdowns. It marked his first game with two rushing scores. Bronco signal-caller Kaleb Eleby finished 18-for-26 passing for 288 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions.

Treshaun Hayward paced the Bronco defense with 14 total tackles. Ali Fayad contributed seven tackles, including two for loss and a sack.

After an Eastern Michigan punt on the first possession of the game the Broncos embarked on a season-high 13-play drive spanning 86 yards for over six minutes. The drive was capped off by a five-yard rushing touchdown from La'Darius Jefferson to give WMU a 7-0 advantage.

Eastern Michigan responded with nine consecutive points off a 27-yard field goal and a 28-yard touchdown pass to earn a 9-7 lead after one quarter of play. The Eagle lead didn't last long as Kaleb Eleby connected with Jaylen Hall for 50 yards to propel the Broncos back in front.

After a three-yard touchdown run from EMU quarterback Preston Hutchinson, Eleby found Hall once again on a 49-yard passing touchdown to give WMU a 21-16 lead. Eastern Michigan ended the half with 14 unanswered points and had a 30-21 lead heading into the locker room.

Western Michigan came out on fire to begin the second half as Eleby found senior wide receiver D'Wayne Eskridge for the seven-yard touchdown pass. The Eskridge touchdown trimmed the Eagle lead down to two as Eskridge picked up his fourth touchdown in the last three games.

After the Bronco touchdown the Eagles capitalized with a four-yard touchdown run to extend their lead to 37-28 with five minutes remaining in the third quarter. EMU extended its lead later in the third quarter, capitalizing off of two Bronco fumbles to hold a 43-28 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

The Broncos opened up the fourth quarter with a 49-yard strike to Eskridge down to the EMU four-yard line. Two plays later Jefferson burst through the middle of the offensive line for a three-yard touchdown, his second rushing touchdown of the game. EMU countered once again with a four-yard touchdown run to earn a 50-35 lead.

Trailing by 15 midway through the fourth quarter, Western Michigan embarked on a 13-play 77-yard drive that last 4:04 and was finished off by a five-yard touchdown reception from sophomore Skyy Moore. It was Moore's third touchdown of the season and cut the EMU lead down to 50-42 with five minutes remaining.
Eastern Michigan recovered the WMU onside kick and ran nine plays resulting in a 20-yard field goal to secure the 53-42 victory.