KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Western Michigan football head coach Tim Lester earned his first career Mid-American Conference win on Saturday night as the Broncos routed the Ball State Cardinals, 55-3, in front of 18,216 fans at Waldo Stadium.
Six different Broncos scored on . . .
Six different Broncos scored on . . .
. . . the night, while WMU (3-2, 1-0 MAC) racked up 414 yards of total offense. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Jon Wassink put up his biggest numbers of the year with a career-high 240 yards and three touchdowns on 14-of-20 passing.
Redshirt sophomore wide receiver Keishawn Watson had a stellar night with five receptions for 93 yards, also a career-high, and two touchdowns. Senior tight end Donnie Ernsberger had career-highs in receptions, four, and yards, 67, on the night along with a touchdown reception.
Western Michigan gained 169 yards on the ground with Jamauri Bogan leading the way with 69 on 13 carries. Jarvion Franklin, Davon Tucker and LeVante Bellamy all had rushing touchdowns.
Sophomore linebacker Drake Spears' seven tackles led a Western Michigan defense that allowed a just 238 total yards. Junior linebacker Alex Grace had two forced fumbles to go with senior safety Malik Rucker had six tackles and an interception.
Ali Fayad, Caleb Bailey and Andre Turner all recorded sacks in the win. WMU now has an interception in four of five games this season.
It took the Broncos just 10 seconds to get on the board and the defending MAC champions never looked back.
Derrick Mitchell's opening kickoff was taken by Justin Hall at the BSU 2-yard line, but Grace forced it loose at the 18. Obbie Jackson grabbed the loose ball out of the air at the 21 and returned it into the end zone for the touchdown, giving WMU the very early 7-0 lead.
After forcing Ball State to punt, the Broncos took over again and drove down the field 89 yards in 13 plays. WMU converted two key third downs in the drive on a nine-yard pass from Wassink to Watson and a three-yard run by Bogan.
The rush by Bogan moved the Broncos into Cardinal territory. Bogan moved the ball down to the 36 before Franklin had a 12-yard rush to get to the 24. Wassink connected with Watson for 12 more yards to move it to the Cardinal 12 and, on the next play, Wassink found Watson in the right corner of the end zone for the touchdown pass. Josh Grant put his second extra-point of the night through the uprights and Western Michigan was off and running with a 14-0 lead.
Ball State was forced to punt again to open the second quarter and the bad punt gave WMU great field position at the BSU 41. Bogan had three rushes in the opening four plays for 32 yards to take it down to the 7-yard line, and Bellamy finished it off from there for the score, extending the lead to 21-0.
Mitchell pinned the Cardinals back deep at their own 11 after a stalled drive. The Bronco defense then forced a three-and-out and another short punt gave Western Michigan great field position on the Cardinal 41.
On third-and-five from the BSU 36, Wassink found Ernsberger over the middle for 18 yards to get into the red zone. Franklin did the rest, running five straight times and finally punching it in to give the Broncos a 28-0 lead.
Grant connected on his first of two field goals on the night, this one from 43-yards, to give the Broncos a 31-0 lead heading into halftime.
Ball State attempted an on-side kick to open the second half, but it were flagged for fair catch interference. That gave WMU the ball on the BSU 34.
Wassink found Ernsberger for 12 yards to open the drive and then again for a 22-yard touchdown on the next play. Grant continued his perfect night with his seventh extra point and the lead ballooned to 38-0.
Ball State ended the shutout bid on the next drive after Morgan Hagee connected on a 28-yard field goal to cap off a 12-play 58-yard drive, putting the score at 38-3.
On the next drive Wassink went deep to Watson for a 52-yard touchdown to push the lead to 45-3. The throw and catch marked career highs for both Wassink and Watson.
Ball State marched down the field and into WMU territory on the following drive but a deep ball was picked off by Rucker, who returned the interception 87 yards to the Ball State 10. A sideline interference penalty moved the ball back to the 25 and the Broncos ended up with a 33-yard field goal from Grant to move the lead to 48-3.
Tucker added a late 11-yard touchdown run to cap off the night.
Western Michigan heads on the road in MAC play for the first time this season, heading to Buffalo next Saturday to take on the Bulls at 3:30 p.m.
Ball state finishes a three- week road stretch on the schedule by visiting Akron Saturday, also at 3:30 p.m. ET
(Courtesy of WMY Athletics)
Redshirt sophomore wide receiver Keishawn Watson had a stellar night with five receptions for 93 yards, also a career-high, and two touchdowns. Senior tight end Donnie Ernsberger had career-highs in receptions, four, and yards, 67, on the night along with a touchdown reception.
Western Michigan gained 169 yards on the ground with Jamauri Bogan leading the way with 69 on 13 carries. Jarvion Franklin, Davon Tucker and LeVante Bellamy all had rushing touchdowns.
Sophomore linebacker Drake Spears' seven tackles led a Western Michigan defense that allowed a just 238 total yards. Junior linebacker Alex Grace had two forced fumbles to go with senior safety Malik Rucker had six tackles and an interception.
Ali Fayad, Caleb Bailey and Andre Turner all recorded sacks in the win. WMU now has an interception in four of five games this season.
It took the Broncos just 10 seconds to get on the board and the defending MAC champions never looked back.
Derrick Mitchell's opening kickoff was taken by Justin Hall at the BSU 2-yard line, but Grace forced it loose at the 18. Obbie Jackson grabbed the loose ball out of the air at the 21 and returned it into the end zone for the touchdown, giving WMU the very early 7-0 lead.
After forcing Ball State to punt, the Broncos took over again and drove down the field 89 yards in 13 plays. WMU converted two key third downs in the drive on a nine-yard pass from Wassink to Watson and a three-yard run by Bogan.
The rush by Bogan moved the Broncos into Cardinal territory. Bogan moved the ball down to the 36 before Franklin had a 12-yard rush to get to the 24. Wassink connected with Watson for 12 more yards to move it to the Cardinal 12 and, on the next play, Wassink found Watson in the right corner of the end zone for the touchdown pass. Josh Grant put his second extra-point of the night through the uprights and Western Michigan was off and running with a 14-0 lead.
Ball State was forced to punt again to open the second quarter and the bad punt gave WMU great field position at the BSU 41. Bogan had three rushes in the opening four plays for 32 yards to take it down to the 7-yard line, and Bellamy finished it off from there for the score, extending the lead to 21-0.
Mitchell pinned the Cardinals back deep at their own 11 after a stalled drive. The Bronco defense then forced a three-and-out and another short punt gave Western Michigan great field position on the Cardinal 41.
On third-and-five from the BSU 36, Wassink found Ernsberger over the middle for 18 yards to get into the red zone. Franklin did the rest, running five straight times and finally punching it in to give the Broncos a 28-0 lead.
Grant connected on his first of two field goals on the night, this one from 43-yards, to give the Broncos a 31-0 lead heading into halftime.
Ball State attempted an on-side kick to open the second half, but it were flagged for fair catch interference. That gave WMU the ball on the BSU 34.
Wassink found Ernsberger for 12 yards to open the drive and then again for a 22-yard touchdown on the next play. Grant continued his perfect night with his seventh extra point and the lead ballooned to 38-0.
Ball State ended the shutout bid on the next drive after Morgan Hagee connected on a 28-yard field goal to cap off a 12-play 58-yard drive, putting the score at 38-3.
On the next drive Wassink went deep to Watson for a 52-yard touchdown to push the lead to 45-3. The throw and catch marked career highs for both Wassink and Watson.
Ball State marched down the field and into WMU territory on the following drive but a deep ball was picked off by Rucker, who returned the interception 87 yards to the Ball State 10. A sideline interference penalty moved the ball back to the 25 and the Broncos ended up with a 33-yard field goal from Grant to move the lead to 48-3.
Tucker added a late 11-yard touchdown run to cap off the night.
Western Michigan heads on the road in MAC play for the first time this season, heading to Buffalo next Saturday to take on the Bulls at 3:30 p.m.
Ball state finishes a three- week road stretch on the schedule by visiting Akron Saturday, also at 3:30 p.m. ET
(Courtesy of WMY Athletics)
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