Eastern Michigan football goes on the road to beat Ball State; Grand Valley State rolls
MUNCIE, Ind. — Austin Smith scored the go-ahead touchdown on a quarterback keeper midway through the fourth quarter after a big interception by Robert Daniel Jr. and Eastern Michigan held on for a 20-16 victory over Ball State on Saturday.
Smith’s game-winning 2-yard run came four plays after Daniel intercepted a John Paddock pass, giving Eastern Michigan (5-3, 2-2 Mid-American Conference) a first-and-10 at the Ball State 28-yard line.
Paddock staked Ball State (4-4, 2-2) to a 7-0 lead 4 seconds into the second quarter when he connected with Carson Steele for an 8-yard touchdown.
The Eagles answered with Bryson Moss’ 4-yard scoring run and a career-long 55-yard field goal by freshman Jesus Gomez on the final play of the quarter to grab a 10-7 lead at halftime.
Ben VonGunten knotted the score at 10 with a 24-yard field goal. Paddock followed with an 18-yard touchdown toss to freshman Brady Hunt, but the Cardinals’ lead remained 16-10 heading to the final quarter after VonGunten’s point-after kick was blocked.
Gomez added a 38-yard field goal to pull the Eagles within 16-13 with 11:04 left to play. Smith’s winning score came with 7:23 remaining.
Smith completed 19 of 33 passes for 193 yards for Eastern Michigan. He also led the team with 52 rushing yards on 19 carries. Hassan Beydoun had 10 catches for 85 yards.
Paddock totaled 178 yards on 15-of-26 passing with two interceptions for Ball State. Steele carried 24 times for 101 yards.
More MAC
Bowling Green 34, Central Michigan 18: Demetrius Hardamon returned a fumble 45 yards for a touchdown as the visiting Falcons (4-4, 3-1) recovered three fumbles, pushing their season total to 12, and also had an interception by Walter Haire that led to a touchdown. Jase Bower threw for 185 yards, including a touchdown, and ran for 109 more for the Chippewas (2-6, 1-3).
Western Michigan 16, Miami (Ohio) 10: Sean Tyler had 22 carries for 110 yards and a touchdown for the visiting Broncos (3-5, 2-2), who were 10-for-21 on third downs and held Miami (3-5, 2-2) to 2 of 13. Palmer Domschke made three field goals, including one from 52 yards out.
GLIAC
Davenport 58, Lincoln (California) 14: Five Panthers scored on the ground as the Panthers (7-0, 3-0 GLIAC) scored the final 41 points at home Saturday. Jaier Harden and Caleef Jenkins each had two rushing touchdowns and Jyshawn Richards, Creed Stegall-Monroe and Cam Terry each scored once on the ground.
Grand Valley State 56, Northern Michigan 3: Darrell Johnson scored on an 87-yard punt return less than three minutes in and the host Lakers (8-0, 3-0) never looked back. GVSU’s defense held the Wildcats to just 146 yards, including a 3-for-14 third-down conversion rate. The Lakers also rushed for 268 yards on 46 carries, an average of 5.8 yards per carry.
Ferris State 28, Michigan Tech 20: A week after its five-year winning streak came to an end, the Bulldogs (6-1, 2-1) returned to their winning ways at home with 163 yards on the ground. Quarterback Carson Gulker rushed 23 times for 103 yards and three touchdowns and added 174 yards passing, a TD and an interception on 7-for-13 passing. Ferris State held the Huskies 3-5, 2-2) to negative-26 yards rushing.
MIAA
Albion 20, Trine 19: The visiting Britons recovered from a 10-point first-half deficit in a defensive battle that saw both QBs sacked a combined nine times. Jack Bush went 14-for-28 for 140 yards, two touchdowns and an interception for Albion (7-0, 3-0 MIAA) and connected with Mark Tocco seven times for 56 yards and both TDs.
Hope 23, Olivet 0: The Comets (5-2, 1-2) dropped their second straight as the offense mustered just 156 yards. Chase Brown completed only 13 passes (on 23 attempts) for 232 yards for the host Flying Dutchmen (4-4, 1-3), but seven went to TJ McKenzie for 146 yards.
Alma 45, Kalamazoo 21: Four different Scots scored in the first half as visiting Alma (7-0, 3-0) jumped out to a 28-0 lead at halftime. Ja’martae Hogan had a 5-yard run to start the scoring, followed by a 50-yard run by QB Carter St. John and two TD passes by St. John, one for 35 yards to Devon Frenchko and one for 7 yards to Cole Thomas. St. John finished with 210 yards passing on 19-for-25 passing and a team-high 97 yards (on six rushes). Josh Nichols connected with 10 different receivers for the Hornets (3-5, 0-4) in passing for 261 yards.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Eastern Michigan football goes on the road to beat Ball State
