Ball State game was a ‘tough pill to swallow’

By Mike Feld
Western Herald

(Chyn Wey Lee/Western Herald)WMU senior quarterback Tim Hiller(3)scrambles as senior defensive end Brandon Crawford(90) brings pressure in the Broncos' 17 -22 lost to Ball State University

Senior quarterback Tim Hiller threw 1,607 passing attempts in his career at Western Michigan University, breaking numerous Bronco records along the way.
But his final pass, an interception, may be the one that lingers the most.
Despite dominating opponent Ball State University in almost every category, WMU sent its 2009 senior class out with a 22-17 loss at Waldo Stadium on Tuesday night. The loss in the final game of the regular season set the Bronco overall record at 5-7, eliminating the team from bowl eligibility.
“It’s just a frustrating deal,” WMU head coach Bill Cubit said. “It’s over. It’s done with. We move on. We start work tomorrow and get yourself ready for next year. Unfortunately, I feel bad for the seniors.”
On a night in which a student in the stands received a crash prize for each first down, the Broncos delivered, moving the chains 24 times to BSU’s 10. Western Michigan also blew out the Cardinals in passing yards (354 to 71), total yards (463 to 226), and third downs (7-for-17 to 3-of-14).
But the Brown and Gold fell short in two pivotal categories; turnovers (five to one) and final score.
Hiller, perhaps the best signal caller to ever call Waldo Stadium home, was involved in all five changes of possession for WMU. Hiller fumbled a ball while stepping up in the pocket in the second quarter, and also threw four interceptions in his last game as a Bronco.
“It’s just frustrating,” Hiller said. “I really let the guys down tonight; kind of embarrassed myself. It’s a tough pill to swallow.”

Hiller entered the game with 98 touchdown passes, second in Mid-American Conference history behind current Miami Dolphin Chad Pennington’s 100. But Hiller only threw one touchdown pass, keeping him in second place by one. With three games left and 96 touchdown passes on his résumé, Central Michigan University quarterback Dan LeFevour is likely to finish his career ahead of Hiller.
On a cold and rainy November night, 20,344 fans braved the weather and stayed in Kalamazoo one more night in support the Broncos. But the fanfare, along with the national attention on ESPN2, was not enough to boost Western Michigan to its sixth victory of the season.
“I’m sorry I let them down,” Cubit said of the fans. “It’s on me. I didn’t get it done, I didn’t lead [a win] to them.”
Ball State senior quarterback Tanner Justice finished  7-of-16 for 71 yards in the Cardinal win. Sophomore Cory Sykes led the running game with 79 yards, but didn’t have a carry that went further than 13 yards.
The Bronco offense clicked quickly, earning three first downs in its first drive. It looked like it might be a long evening for Ball State, a team that entered with a 1-10 record after finishing 12-0 at the end of last year’s regular season. But BSU eventually forced a punt on the first Bronco possession, and then lit up the scoreboard first with a 31 yard field goal off the foot of junior Ian McGarvey.

(Chyn Wey Lee/Western Herald) WMU senior running back Brandon West catches a pass from quarterback Tim Hiller during Tuesday night 17 -22 lost to Ball State.

With 37 seconds remaining in the opening quarter and the Cardinals now up 6-0, Ball State senior quarterback Tanner Justice aired it out deep to wide out Torieal Gibson inside the Bronco red zone. But it was ruled incomplete after Gibson jugged the catch and appeared to be out of bounds when he finally gained possession. A review upheld the ruling on the field, but Ball State seemed to finish the drive inspired.
Eventually, senior running back  MiQuale Lewis crossed the goal line from three yards out, putting the Cardinals in front 13-0.
Late in the second quarter and now behind 13-3, Hiller found junior wide receiver Jordan White from nine yards out, but White was called down just shy of the goal line. The Bronco offense quickly tried to catch Ball State off guard, running a play actio out of the goal line formation. Tight end Dallas Walker was wide open between the “O” and “S” of the BRONCOS letting spanning the end zone, which would have given Hiller his 99th touchdown pass.
But the play was blown dead. Officials wanted to review the play.
After the zebras confirmed what everyone already knew, Western Michigan handed off the Brandon West, cutting the BSU lead to 13-10.
In the third quarter, the Broncos stood at its own 34 and seemed to be putting together a decent drive. But Hiller threw a ball into the hands of sophomore safety Sean Baker, who took the pick 22 yards to the end zone. Junior defensive end Robert Eddins delivered a crushing hit to Bronco receiver Robert Arnheim, leaving on the turf for several minutes. The hit – which appeared to be clean – was called a personal foul.
Ball State eventually settled for a field goal, and it looked as if Western Michigan caught a break.
WMU took advantage, moving the ball 54 yards on nine plays which ended with Hiller finding White from four yards out for the touchdown. Suddenly, the Brown and Gold had a 17-16 advantage and momentum on its side.
But that was soon dashed.
On WMU’s next possession early in the fourth quarter, an innocent 44 yard punt turned into an 87 yard punt return from Cardinal junior Charlie Todd. Despite a failed two-point conversation, Ball State had a 22-17 advantage in the final stanza of its dismal 2009 season.
With less than six minutes left, it was up to the Western Michigan defense to come up big. But on a third down play with 3:02 remaining in the game, Lewis rushed for a seven yard gain, moving the chains for BSU. The Cardinals were able to chew the clock all the way down to 1:13.
But with a fifth year quarterback touted by NFL scouts behind center, Bronco fans held on to hope. Starting at its own 13, WMU moved all the way to Ball State’s 40 before Baker picked off Hiller once again.
End of game. End of season. And for the seniors, end of career.
“It’s a hard loss. It’s real hard,” senior running back Brandon West said. “Just to fight so much in the summer and to end on a note like this, you know, that hurts. Giving up all this time and working hard in the summer camp and studying plays and have a season like this [hurts].”
West put together 103 yards on 21 carries in his final game as a Bronco. He wasn’t the only player to surpass the 100 yard mark; White moved the ball 121 yards on 11 catches and fellow wide out Chleb Ravenell acquired 106 yards through the air.
While the 5-7 finish may not be what the Western Michigan family dreamed of, the senior class feels positive about the young team that will now take over the reins. The attitude of a program hungry to win gives this team hope entering 2010.
“The fact that a 5-7 season here isn’t good enough [shows the improvement],” senior linebacker Austin Pritchard said. “Five years ago, it would have been a great season. The mindset around here was that we would go hoping to win or let’s keep [games] close, but it’s been expected that we go in and win every single game. There’s no game that we will take on that we don’t expect to win.”

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Posted by heraldstaff on Nov 25 2009. Filed under Breaking, Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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