Broncos get fast start, blowout Miami 48-26

By Mike Feld
Western Herald

(Chyn Wey Lee/Western Herald) Western Michigan University’s Brandon West rushes as he avoids a tackle from Jeff Thompson during Saturday’s game against Miami University of Ohio.

Since the beginning of the season, a fast start has been a point of emphasis for Western Michigan University; an area that has failed the team to date.

After Saturday, Bronco fans might start a petition to change the school mascot to African swallow.

Scoring on the first play from scrimmage, WMU (1‑2, 1‑0 Mid‑American Conference) racked up 14 first quarter points and 30 more throughout the contest to earn its first win of the season, 48‑26 over Miami University of Ohio (0‑3, 0‑1 MAC). The score – which occurred just eight seconds in – was even more significant than advertised because it came from the defense side of the ball.

Junior safety Jamail Berry recovered the 24‑yard fumble knocked out by sophomore safety Doug Wiggins and added a 12‑yard interception to his resume in the opening period. Berry also blocked an extra point attempt following Miami’s first touchdown in the second half and Wiggins caused a fumble later in the game.

“Basically, it fell into my arms as I was there,” Berry said modestly following the game. “Good play by Doug; good penetration by the D line as well.”

“The first play of the game, they recover the fumble and take it in for a touchdown; we come back and turn it over again with the INT,” Miami head coach Mike Haywood said. “We turned the ball over five times tonight and we had five fumbles for turnovers and then the one INT. You can’t turn the football over and win games in the Mid‑American Conference.”

Senior quarterback Tim Hiller went 17‑of‑29 for 185 yards, four passing touchdowns and no interceptions. Hiller’s numbers were up to par with his standards, but the Bronco signal caller attributed his receivers for the impressive play.

“I really felt in sync with the receivers this week,” Hiller said. “I thought we had a great week of practice; my end and their end. We both needed to make improvements, and we did that.”

Not to be outdone by its defensive counterparts, the Bronco offense also crossed the goal line in its first appearance of the evening. The offensive unit took a bit longer, running nine plays across 60 yards for its score. On a fourth‑and‑one play, Miami realized that the Bronco offense remained on the field late. The RedHawks scrambled to get its field goal blocking unit off and the defense back on, and WMU took advantage of the unset defenders. Hiller found Nunez for a 10 yard gain, giving Western Michigan a 14‑0 advantage only 5:31 into the game.

Berry earned his pick on Miami’s next drive, taking advantage of quarterback Daniel Raudabaugh under pressure. Berry returned the interception to the RedHawk 37. But WMU failed to take advantage, as a 45‑yard field goal attempt went wide left off the foot of sophomore John Potter.

Near the end of the half, the Broncos revealed its offensive prowess while displaying the most impressive drive thus far in 2009. After a RedHawk punt pinned the Broncos at its own 4, WMU exploited the MU defense. Moving all 96 yards in front of it, WMU took 5:38 on 13 plays before reaching pay dirt. Hiller eventually found Juan Nunez, who made an over the shoulder catch in the right‑front corner of the end zone.

After 158 minutes and 17 seconds of scoreless football, Miami finally put points on the board. Raudabaugh found redshirt junior Eugene Harris in the back left corner of the end zone from 114 yards out with 7:09 remaining in the third quarter. The seldom used point‑after unit showed signs of rust, however. The extra point try was blocked on the second attempt after a false start on try No. 1.

After being outscored 90‑0 the first two games against the University of Kentucky and Boise State University, Miami did manage to put up 26 points in this contest.

But the points against/points for differential is still brutal for one of the most tradition‑laded programs in the nation. That number now stands at 138‑26. However, the three touchdowns were a sign of progress for the RedHawks.

(Chyn Wey Lee/Western Herald) Western Michigan University’s Tim Hiller scans for an open receiver as Nick Mitchell protects him from a tackle during Saturday's game against Miami University of Ohio.

“They got a level of confidence in themselves, finally putting a touchdown on the board,” Miami head coach Mike Haywood said. They say, ‘Wow, we can really put a touchdown on the board,’ and then all of a sudden, the next thing we know we’re moving the ball with some consistency with good blocking inside and running better routes.”

While Miami used the offense as a stepping block, Bronco head coach Bill Cubit saw it as a signal of a improvement for WMU.

“We just got sloppy,” Cubit said. “We let guys run past us. We didn’t tackle well. We [threw] an interception.”

Cubit looked to improve on both the protection and timing of Hiller, who was sacked three times in the first half.

“We got to shore that thing up,” Cubit said. “That shouldn’t happen. That’s a little area of concern.”

But the Bronco head man is still enjoying the win while looking forward.

“We’re 1‑0 in the MAC,” Cubit said. “We’re leading the MAC right now. We got to keep on getting better, because we’re having a tough stretch run there.”
Next week, WMU will stay at Waldo Stadium to face Division I FCS opponent Hofstra University.

The 2‑1 Pride faced the defending FCS National Champion Richmond University Spiders on Saturday, falling 47‑0.

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Posted by heraldstaff on Sep 20 2009. Filed under 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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