Live Blog from Scheumann Stadium: Ball State 45, Western Michigan 22 Final

Perfection. Ball State looked close to it tonight.

The Cardinals easily defeated the Broncos, 45-22, giving them a perfect 12-0 regular season and a chance at the MAC Championship. They will face the University at Buffalo Dec. 5 at Ford Field in Detroit.

The Broncos scored once in the fourth quarter, on a Brandon West run, however, could get no closer and were just too far behind to amount a serious comeback.

MiQuale Lewis scored his third touchdown on the ground (breaking a school-record with 20 touchdowns) and after the final buzzer sounded, the field filled with screaming Cardinal fans.

12-0. Not a normal record for any college football team, much less the Ball State Cardinals. However, this was no ordinary college football season.

After three quarters, Ball State has added two more touchdowns and taken a commanding 38-14 lead. Ball State scored on a 1 yard plunge by Lewis and on the very next drive, cornerback Trey Lewis picked off Hiller and returned the ball to the end zone to give Ball State a 38-14 lead.

WMU had looked very ineffective on offense in the third quarter and the Ball State defense is clearly giving WMU problems. Hiller has been pressured and hasn’t found the rhythm that he’s had all season long. Nate Davis on the other side, has been solid and hasn’t made any mistakes thus far.

Ball State starts the fourth quarter with the ball and are looking to control the clock, preventing Western Michigan from amounting a comeback.

I will have more following the conclusion of tonight’s game.

Notes: The attendance for this evening’s game was announced as 23,861, which is a new stadium record.

Both offenses continued to impress in the second quarter.  After Ball State was forced to punt at the beginning of the quarter, WMU constructed a 78-yard drive and finished it when Hiller lofted a pass into the waiting arms of receiver Juan Nunez in the corner of the end zone.  Hiller’s first TD tied the game 14-14.

The Broncos then struggled stopping the Cardinals on third down again (sound familiar?).  Like the Central Michigan University loss, the Broncos kept Ball State’s drives going by giving up first downs on third-and-long situations.  Ball State marched downfield on their next drive and got the lead again when kicker Ian McGarvey knocked through a 43-yard field goal.

Following a WMU punt, Ball State scored again when Davis scrambled into the end zone from 6 yards out. The big play during the drive was when Davis found tight end Darius Hill for a 38-yard catch on third down to set up first and goal from the 5-yard line. The score extended the Cardinal lead to 24-14 with just 31 seconds left in the half.

The Broncos will head into the second half down, but definitely not out. They receive the kickoff to start the second half and the offense has been able to move the ball. Freshman running back Aaron Winchester has received most of the carries and looked good. He has 60 yards on 10 carries in the first half. Absent has been senior receiver Jamarko Simmons who has just one catch in the first half. Hiller and the offense will surely look to get him more involved in the second half.

The Bronco defense needs to get off the field on third down and if they can do that, they have a chance to come back. They have looked good in containing Lewis, but need to get more pressure on Davis.

I’ll have more following the third quarter of action here in Muncie, Ind.

After the first quarter of action, Ball State has the one-touchdown lead.  Ball State jumped out to an early 14-0 lead as they engineered an 87-yard drive and it was capped off when running back MiQuale Lewis ran the ball in from 10 yards out.  Following a interception by Bronco quarterback Tim Hiller, the Cardinals extended the lead to 14 when quarterback Nate Davis found wide receiver Louis Johnson for a 40-yard TD strike.  Johnson juked safeties Louis Delmas and C.J. Wilson on the goal line in getting into the end zone.

Western Michigan pulled out some tricks in getting on the board.  Following three straight run plays with Winchester, Hiller pitched the option to backup quarterback Drew Burdi, who found a wide open Schneider Julien for the 36-yard touchdown.

Running back Aaron Winchester has 44 yards rushing for the Broncos in the first quarter, compared with 47 for Ball State’s Lewis.  Louis Johnson has 91 yards receiving already in the game for Ball State.

The Broncos have the ball early in the second quarter and are showing some different looks again, as Burdi stepped under center, took the snap and ran for a first down.  Hiller was out wide on that particular play.

I’ll have more following the completion of the first half of action.

Welcome to tonight’s blog of Western Michigan’s last regular season game against undefeated and No. 15-ranked Ball State University.  There are a handful of Bronco fans at the game so far, but they are here and ready to give their support to the football squad.  There is a steady breeze blowing into the stadium.  The bundled, brave Cardinal crowd is trickling into the stadium and the lights are shining down on the field, waiting for the start of this game.  The Broncos are looking to make a case for the their spot in the Mid-American Conference Championship, while also spoiling the perfect season for Ball State at the same time.

Senior Cornerback E.J. Biggers is the lone captain tonight for the Broncos once again.  The Cardinal and Bronco players have run onto the field and both teams look ready to go.  Londen Fryar ran onto the field without his pads on and it apparently looks like he won’t be playing for the Brown and Gold tonight.  I’ll have more following the first quarter of action in this highly-anticipated game.

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Posted by HeraldAdmin on Nov 25 2008. Filed under Sports, Sports Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

Cody Kimball
Web Manager: I'm a Communication Student at WMU, a SCUBA Diver, Boater, Ordained Minister, Notary Public, Web Designer, Film Maker, DJ, and of course a Journalist. Born and raised in Port Huron, MI and a graduate of SC4. http://www.codykimball.com