Ball State University
2-4 , 1-1
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Western Michigan
2-3 , 1-1
Football Drops Homecoming Game To Western Michigan
October 09, 2010 | Football
MUNCIE, Ind. - The Ball State football team suffered a 45-16 loss to Mid-American Conference foe Western Michigan Saturday afternoon at Scheumann Stadium in the 84th homecoming game in program history. The loss drops the Cardinals 51-31-2 all-time in Homecoming contests and to 2-4 overall on the season and 1-1 in MAC play.
"That was not our team out there today," Ball State head coach Stan Parrish says. "Give Western Michigan all the credit, but we certainly helped their cause."
H-Back MiQuale Lewis (Fort Wayne, Ind./Snider) moved into second all-time in Ball State history in rushing yards as he posted 64 yards on 12 carries. Lewis has now tallied 3,523 yards, surpassing former Cardinal Bernie Parmalee (3,483/1987-90) for second all-time in program annals. He trails Marcus Merriweather (1999-2002) by 479 yards for the all-time record (5,002).
Western Michigan (2-3, 1-1 MAC) jumped out to a quick lead as the Broncos took advantage of two BSU turnovers in the first minute to take a 14-0 lead just 59 seconds into the contest. The Broncos extended the lead to 21-0 in the first quarter as WMU quarterback Alex Carder posted a 9-yard touchdown run with 5:44 left in the quarter.
WMU ran the lead to 28-0 early in the second quarter as John Potter ran eight-yards for a touchdown on a fake field goal attempt. The Cardinals' defense stepped up on the ensuing Broncos' drive as it stopped WMU on a fourth down at the two-yard line.
Ball State took the momentum from the defensive stand and drove 98 yards on seven plays for its first score of the afternoon. The Cardinals used the ground game on the drive as they ran 83 yards with Lewis running for 24 yards, Otis Brown (Gainesville, Fla./Gainesville) for 18 yards and Eric Williams (Indianapolis, Ind./Warren Central) capping the drive with a 41-yard touchdown run to make it a 28-6 contest.
After the Broncos took a 31-6 lead into the locker room, the Cardinals opened the second half with an 11 play, 63-yard drive capped by a 29-yard Ian McGarvey (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove). Sophomore quarterback Kelly Page (Sunnyvale, Texas/Mesquite) came on in relief to orchestrate the drive as he completed 3-of-5 passes for 48 yards to lead BSU to the field goal.
Western Michigan came right back and posted back-to-back touchdown drives to extend the lead to 45-9 just before the end of the third quarter. Carder tallied his third touchdown run of the afternoon to make it 38-9 and he capped the quarter with a 32-yard scoring strike to Juan Nunez.
Page and the Cardinals turned in their second touchdown drive of the game in the fourth quarter. Brown was the catalyst on the three-play drive as he had a 24-yard run to open the drive and scored his first career touchdown with a 15-yard catch from Page to make it a 45-16 contest.
Page finished the afternoon 9-of-16, playing primarily in the second half, as he threw for 94 yards. WMU was led by Carder who tallied 331 total yards and four touchdowns. He finished the game 17-of-29 for 265 yards while rushing for 66 yards on 13 carries.
The Cardinals return to action next Saturday as they host Eastern Michigan for Family Weekend at 1 p.m.
"We have total control over what happens next week," Parrish says. "It's a new week and a new game. I expect us to bounce back and be even stronger."
Team Stats
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WMU 7, BALL 0
WMU - CARDER, Alex 20 yd run (POTTER, John kick), 3 plays, 23 yards, TOP 0:45
WMU 14, BALL 0
WMU - TOLER, Lewis 24 yd interception (POTTER, John kick)
WMU 21, BALL 0
WMU - CARDER, Alex 9 yd run (POTTER, John kick), 9 plays, 60 yards, TOP 3:56
WMU 28, BALL 0
WMU - POTTER, John 8 yd run (POTTER, John kick), 10 plays, 37 yards, TOP 4:47
WMU 28, BALL 6
BALL - WILLIAMS, Eric 41 yd run (McGARVEY, Ian kickfailed), 7 plays, 98 yards, TOP 2:36
WMU 31, BALL 6
WMU - POTTER, John 25 yd field goal 4 plays, 2 yards, TOP 0:32
WMU 31, BALL 9
BALL - McGARVEY, Ian 29 yd field goal 11 plays, 63 yards, TOP 4:42
WMU 38, BALL 9
WMU - CARDER, Alex 2 yd run (POTTER, John kick), 7 plays, 83 yards, TOP 2:35
WMU 45, BALL 9
WMU - NUNEZ, Juan 32 yd pass from CARDER, Alex (POTTER, John kick) 3 plays, 70 yards, TOP 0:52
WMU 45, BALL 16
BALL - BROWN, Otis 15 yd pass from PAGE, Kelly (McGARVEY, Ian kick) 3 plays, 50 yards, TOP 0:55
