Ball State University
Western Kentucky
Football Scores 35-12 Homecoming Win Over WKU
October 13, 2007 | Football
MUNCIE, Ind. -- The Ball State football team used a strong second half Saturday to power its way past Western Kentucky for a 35-12 Homecoming victory at Scheumann Stadium.
Cardinal quarterback Nate Davis threw for three touchdowns in the win, and running back Frank Edmonds ran for two scores. Davis now owns 18 touchdown passes on the season, tying the Ball State single-season record set by Joey Lynch in 2005 and matched by Davis last season.
The sophomore quarterback also set a school record by recording his seventh career game with at least 250 yards passing. He threw for 288 yards Saturday while connecting on 21-of-31 passes.
"Obviously, we are very happy to win on Homecoming," Ball State coach Brady Hoke said. "We executed offensively, and defensively, our kids kept hanging in there."
Ball State took control of the game in the third quarter after coming out of halftime with a 14-12 lead.
On their second possession of the second half, the Cardinals drove 73 yards on 11 plays before Edmonds punched the ball into the end zone on a one-yard run to extend the lead to 21-12.
Ball State forced a Western Kentucky punt on the next possession and then struck quickly on offense. On the third play of the ensuing drive, Davis hit Louis Johnson deep on a 41-yard touchdown pass to push the Cardinals' advantage to 28-12. Johnson caught two passes on the day with both of them going for scores.
Following the two third-quarter scores, the Ball State defense preserved the lead. Early in the fourth quarter, Western Kentucky moved the ball to the two-yard line, but the Cardinal defense came up with a goal line stand as the Hilltoppers turned the ball over on downs.
Later in the fourth quarter -- at the 5:19 mark -- the defense made another play when Trey Buice intercepted a pass to halt another Western Kentucky drive. The Cardinals also got a pair of first-half interceptions from Eddie Burk and B.J. Hill to give them three on the day.
Ball State added a late score on Edmonds' second one-yard touchdown run of the game with 2:15 to play. The two touchdowns for Edmonds matched a career high.
"We had a lot of emphasis on our demeanor this week," Hoke said. "The way we practiced reflected that. We didn't play with toughness last week, and that's not the team we wanted to be."
Dante Love led Ball State in receiving with six catches for 91 yards. He and Johnson each caught a first-quarter touchdown pass from Davis as the Cardinals built a 14-0 lead.
Western Kentucky clawed its way back into the game in the second quarter. The Hilltoppers managed all 12 of their points in the quarter on a K.J. Black touchdown pass to Curtis Hamilton and a pair of Chris James field goals. Black led Western Kentucky with 184 yards passing, and the Hilltoppers totaled 248 yards rushing as a team.
Defensively, Bryant Haines and Mike Dorulla led Ball State with 14 tackles each, and Alex Knipp chipped in with 11 tackles.
The Cardinals improved to 4-3 with the win. Ball State returns to Mid-American Conference play next Saturday with a 2 p.m. contest at Western Michigan.
