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Fells' fumble recovery sets up Falcons win |
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Written by Jack Carle - Bowling Green Sentinel-Tribune
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 BOWLING GREEN 17, CENTRAL MICHIGAN 10
“I really give our defensive coaches and our defensive players a lot of credit when giving up a lot of points and a lot of yards to find a way in late October to get better is a challenge,” BG head coach Dave Clawson. “I give those guys a lot of credit, we played great on defense today.
“We gave up seven points to the second-leading offense in the conference.”
After the fumble recovery, it was up to the offense and again the Falcons responded moving 59 yards in seven plays for the eventual game-winning TD. Jordan Hopgood got the score on a 1-yard run after Willie Geter and Kamar Jorden had both made big receptions in the passing game.
“We had a little shallow crossing route and (Matt) Schilz stepping in there and hit Kamar right in the front number. Kamar did a great job of puncturing it and from that point on it was just how to manage the clock,” Clawson said about Jorden’s 32-yard reception which put the ball at the 3-yard line.
Schilz said the final drive showed how tough the Falcons can be as a team.
“You have got to have a short memory. I tried doing that and stay positive with the guys and take it play by play,” he continued. “ I think we did that.”
The victory broke a five-game losing streak for the Falcons, now 2-7 overall and 1-4 in the Mid-American Conference.
“I never felt there was desperation on the sidelines,” Clawson said when the Falcons trailed 14-10. “I’m not really to pronounce this a good team, but we finally got a low-scoring win, which is certainly progress for our defense.”
The forced turnover and ensuing scoring drive made Clawson look good after he decided to punt on a fourth down from the CMU 47-yard line with 5:05 remaining in the game.
“I thought today we were playing better on defense than we were on offense,” Clawson said. “I was very comfortable putting it on their shoulders and I felt very comfortable we would get the ball back.
“It’s great that it worked out and I can say that,” Clawson continued. “At that point of the game, I felt better we would get a three-and-out and get a stop … Three minutes left or 2½ I probably won’t have done it.”
Sophomore defensive tackle Chris Jones, said the Falcons responded to the challenge after the punt.
“He put it on us and we did our job,” Jones said.
The Falcon defense played a strong game as BG won for the first time since 2001 (17-0 over Ohio on Nov. 10, 2001) when scoring less than 20 points.
BG held CMU to 231 yards and one score, The 231 total yards was a season-low for the Falcons’ defense. CMU had 99 yards rushing and 132 yards passing. The Chippewas other TD came on an interception return.
“They did awesome … We’ve been trying all year for one, a close game, low-scoring and we finally got it,” Schilz said about BG’s defense. “I think the defense did a great job and we won’t have won the game if they didn’t play so good.”
Jones keyed the defensive effort. He had five of BG’s 12 tackles for loss in the game. Of his five tackles for loss, there were 3½ sacks. He also had a fumble recovery when CMU tried to lateral the ball down the field on the final play of the game.
“He played awesome,” Clawson said. “We have not done a great job this year of getting pressure with a four-man rush and we challenged those guys. This was a quarterback who had thrown a lot of picks and we really put it on the D-line to create pressure and get a hand in his face and try to create interceptions.
“This is really a breakout game for him. So hopefully we’ll get a lot more of this the rest of the season.”
Jones said it was a team effort from the defensive line.”
“It was everybody doing their job, getting off blocks and getting pressure on the quarterback,” Jones said. “Kevin (Alvarado), Darius (Smith), Angelo (Magnone), all of those guys getting off the ball.
“We kept playing harder as the game went on. That’s what we do, just play harder as it goes,” Jones added.
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