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 KALAMAZOO, Mich. - Western Michigan put an end to a five-year drought against Central Michigan, dominating the Chippewas 44-14 in front of 26,674 at Waldo Stadium. The 30-point victory was the Broncos' largest margin of victory since CMU went Division I in football in 1975.
The Broncos came out full throttle, scoring three touchdowns in the first quarter, and held Central Michigan scoreless in the first half. WMU led 24-0 at halftime and did not give up an offensive touchdown until the fourth quarter. WMU scored on each of its first three drives of the game. The Bronco defense forced CMU to three-and-out on its first two possessions.
Johnnie Simon led the Bronco defensive effort for the second week in a row with 10 tackles on the day. Drew Nowak had a solo sack and 1.5 TFLs to go along with seven tackles. Mitch Zajac had nine stops and a forced fumble. CMU's lone offensive TD was the first given up by the Bronco defense in seven quarters.
The Broncos' first drive spanned eight plays and 58 yards and ended with an eight-yard touchdown pass from Alex Carder to Jordan White. Carder finished the day with 28 completions on 37 attempts, racking up 355 yards in the air. He also rushed for one touchdown.
White hauled in 13 receptions for 177 yards and moved into fourth on WMU's all-time reception list, passing former teammate Juan Nunez. Robert Arnheim caught five passes for 71 yards, making an impressive over the-shoulder tip-toe catch in the second quarter and a 20-yard one-handed grab in the third quarter.
On his only punt return, White wiggled his way through the middle and sprinted down right sideline 64 yards, before he was brought down at the four-yard line. It was the longest return of his career. Carder hit Chleb Ravenell on the left side for WMU's second touchdown.
On the Broncos' third drive, Ansel Ponder broke out in single coverage and Carder lofted a pass over the middle for a 38-yard completion. Two plays later, the junior quarterback did it with his legs, barreling his was down to the one-yard line with an 18-yard rush. Antoin Scriven punched the ball in and John Potter's PAT made it 21-0.
Aaron Winchester, a converted running back who moved to cornerback this season, created the first of two forced fumbles in the second quarter. That set up a Potter field goal just before the half. CMU also had a field goal attempt in the second quarter, but it bounced back off the right upright.
Western Michigan's only real blunder came at the start of the second half when Carder lost the ball on a carry and Jahleel Addae recovered the ball in the endzone for Central Michigan.
Carder and White hooked up for two more big strikes, one for 43 and one for 25, on the Broncos' next possession. Carder took the ball in himself from two yards out to make the count 31-7.
After Winchester forced his second fumble on the kickoff, it was all Carder and White again on the drive, Carder found White in the middle from 19 yards out for his second touchdown catch.
Central Michigan scored its only offensive touchdown on a 28-yard Tim Phillips rush in the fourth quarter. Potter made good on his second field at the end of the quarter to make it a 44-14 final.
Western Michigan totaled 442 yards of total offense and was 6-for-6 in red zone scoring chances. Central Michigan finished with 362 total yards and went 0-for-2 in the red zone.
The Broncos improved to 2-1 on the season, 1-0 in the Mid-American Conference, and moved to 5-2 in MAC openers under head coach Bill Cubit. Central Michigan is off to a 1-2, 0-1 MAC start.
WMU is on the road for its next two games, traveling to Illinois Sept. 24 and then UConn Oct. 1.
Courtesy of Western Michigan Athletics
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