Fourth Quarter
Sophomore quarterback Riley Neal completed two passes to start the quarter. Neal then escaped a mass of Eastern Michigan pass rushers, almost went down, but stayed on his feet and found senior wideout Cywettnie Brown down the sideline for a 62-yard touchdown. After the extra point, Ball State cut the Eastern Michigan lead to 40-25.
Eastern Michigan was forced to punt, and Ball State took over at the 15. The Cardinals got it to their own 47, but elected to punt on 4th-and-4.
The Eagles took over at the 20-yard line after the touchback, leading 40-35 with 8:38 remaining in the game.
Ball State's defense got a stop and the offense returned to the field at the Eastern Michigan 49. Senior running back Teddy Williamson converted a big 3rd-and-4 to keep the drive alive, but Neal's pass intended for senior KeVonn Mabon in the end zone was intercepted.
Eastern Michigan took over at its own 20 following the pick. They went three-and-out, however, giving Ball State another chance.
The Cardinals got pushed back due to a holding penalty, but converted a 4th-and-2 with a completion from Neal to Mabon. Neal then hit freshman running back Malik Dunner down the middle for a 21-yard gain to the 1-yard line, and ran it in from a yard out two plays later. The two-point conversion attempt failed.
After the score, Ball State had a 41-40 lead with 1:35 to go. Eastern Michigan started its drive at the 14-yard line.
The Eagles went 86 yards in eight plays, capped off by a 1-yard touchdown by running back Ian Erikson to retake the lead. The two-point conversion was good, and Eastern Michigan made the score 48-41 with 32 seconds left.
Neal's last-second attempt was picked, ending the game.
Eastern Michigan defeats Ball State, 48-41.
Third Quarter
Ball State called a timeout facing a 4th-and-1 from its own 43, but decided to punt. Eastern Michigan took over at its own 22-yard line following the kick.
The Cardinals' defense stepped up and forced a punt, but wide receiver Corey Lacanaria muffed the catch and the Eagles recovered. Quarterback Brogan Roback found Antoine Porter down to the 3-yard line, and then Roback ran it in for a score. After the extra point, Ball State's lead was cut to 28-26.
Four plays into the Cardinals' next drive, quarterback Riley Neal was pressured and lost a fumble. The defense held, however, and forced an Eastern Michigan punt with 7:55 left in the quarter.
After another Ball State punt, Eastern Michigan took its first lead of the contest. Roback eluded the rush and found running back Ian Erikson for 29 yards, and later hit Sergio Bailey II for a 16-yard touchdown. After the extra point, the Eagles held a 33-28 lead with 4:34 remaining.
The Cardinals punted yet again, and the Eagles wasted no time moving down the field. They have a 1st-and-10 at the Ball State 30-yard line as the clock expires.
After three, Eastern Michigan leads Ball State 33-28.
Second Quarter
Ball State's drive stalled to start the second quarter. Senior Kyle Schmidt put Eastern Michigan at its own 27-yard line with his punt.
The Eagles opened their drive with a 40-yard completion from quarterback Brogan Roback to wide receiver Dieuly Aristilde. They tried a double pass a few plays later, however, and sophomore corner Marc Walton intercepted it down the left sideline.
Ball State couldn't do anything with the turnover and punted it back to Eastern Michigan, who took over at the Cardinals' 47-yard line.
Three straight drives (two Ball State, one Eastern Michigan) ended in a punt. The Eagles took over at the Cardinals' 49 following the final one of that sequence.
Eastern Michigan ran nine plays for 49 yards to score its first touchdown of the night, a 1-yard pass from Roback to tight end Daniel Buschman. The Eagles got it inside the 5-yard line thanks to a pass interference call in the end zone. The extra point was no good, however, and Ball State still held a 21-9 lead.
Senior KeVonn Mabon took the kickoff back to the Ball State 46-yard line, and sophomore quarterback Riley Neal connected with senior wideout Cywettnie Brown on a 37-yard deep ball down the right sideline on the next play. Neal got close to the end zone on a run, but lost the ball and it rolled out of the end zone for a touchback.
Eastern Michigan took over at the Ball State 20 after the touchback ruling was confirmed.
Redshirt sophomore running back Ian Erikson carried the Eagles on the drive, running for 44 yards and capping it off with a 1-yard touchdown on the 14th play. After the extra point, Ball State's lead was just 21-16 with 3:45 left in the half.
Ball State couldn't respond, and was forced to punt. Eastern Michigan took over at its own 41 after the punt.
Eastern Michigan got the drive going with a roughing the passer penalty and a big completion from Roback to Aristilde. But it stalled, and they kicked a field goal to trim the lead to 21-19.
The Cardinals finally slowed the Eagles' momentum. Neal repeatedly hit the post route until Ball State got into Eastern Michigan territory, then took a shot to Hazelton that was ruled incomplete. Neal found Mabon for his third touchdown of the night a few plays later to extend the lead to 28-19.
At halftime, Ball State leads Eastern Michigan 28-19.
First Quarter
Ball State won the coin toss, and deferred to the second half. Eastern Michigan received the kick and began its first drive at the 18-yard line.
The Cardinals got a break on the Eagles' first drive. Eastern Michigan quarterback Brogan Roback found junior wide receiver Sergio Bailey II down the left sideline for 33 yards, but it was reviewed and overturned. After a punt, Ball State took over at its own 19-yard line.
Ball State went three-and-out on its first drive, and then forced Eastern Michigan to punt again. Sophomore quarterback Riley Neal and Co. began their second drive at the 31-yard line.
Sophomore running back James Gilbert started the drive with an 8-yard gain before Neal found freshman Damon Hazelton Jr. for 14 more. The Cardinals decided to go for on 4th-and-2 later in the drive, and senior KeVonn Mabon came through with his first touchdown catch of the season from 34 yards out. After the extra point, Ball State led 7-0.
On Eastern Michigan's first play of its next possession, running back Willie Parker put the ball on the ground, and it was recovered by Ball State defensive back David Moore at the 14.
After a run by Gilbert, Mabon took the snap out of the shotgun and ran it in from six yards out. After Morgan Hagee's extra point, the Cardinals had a 14-0 advantage.
Another play, another fumble for Eastern Michigan. Senior Zack Ryan forced it out, and fellow senior Martez Hester recovered at the Eagles' 33-yard line.
Ball State ran four plays after the fumble, capped off by a Gilbert 3-yard touchdown. His 12th score of the season, plus the extra point, put Ball State up 21-0 with 4:37 left in the first.
Eastern Michigan put a good response drive together, running 13 plays for 58 yards. Ball State senior linebacker Zack Ryan sacked Roback on third down, however, forcing Eastern Michigan to settle for a field goal.
At the end of the first quarter, Ball State leads Eastern Michigan 21-3.
Read More
The Muncie Area Career Center is working to better educate community members
By Trinity Rea / 9 hours agoThrough Adult Education and Career and Technical Education (CTE) based learning, the Muncie Area Career Center is looking to help educate members of Delaware, Randolph and Blackford country.
Ball State women’s basketball runs out of gas against Columbia in the Battle 4 Atlantis
By Elijah Poe / 23 hours ago“As hard as we played, we literally were running on fumes,” Ball State women's basketball head coach Brady Sallee said about the 69-62 loss to Columbia in the Battle 4 Atlantis.
Ball State defeats Eastern Kentucky in opening game of Gulf Coast Showcase
By Zach Carter / YesterdayBall State defeated Eastern Kentucky 63-61 for the Cardinals' second win of the season.
