Football hopes senior night ends with win against Ohio
Tony Annese can’t help but think about how this will be his last time suiting up for the Central Michigan football team at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
Annese and 16 other seniors will play their final game at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in Mount Pleasant against Mid-American Conference East Division leading Ohio.
The Chippewas enter senior night carrying a three-game losing streak. Annese said he would love nothing more than to walk off the field at Kelly/Shorts for the last time with a victory.
“It’s definitely hitting me, but I don’t want to think about it,” he said. “I want to think about playing as hard as I can for everybody on the team and CMU as a whole.”
After falling to Miami (Ohio) 37-17 on Nov. 4, the Chippewas had extra time between their game with the Bobcats.
Football to honor Derrick Nash with orange-out at Tuesday game
The legacy of Derrick Nash lives on with the Central Michigan football team each game it plays.
Nash was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in 2013 as a high school senior shortly after signing a National Letter of Intent to play at CMU.
“Having a few days off helped a lot,” said senior quarterback Cooper Rush. “(The team) got healthy and energized a little bit.”
The game will be televised on ESPN 2, something Rush said will add to the excitement of playing his final home game.
“I’m looking forward to it. I haven’t given it much thought,” he said. “(The season) went fast and it’s hard to believe (this is my last home game). I’m really looking forward to the night game on ESPN — what a great way to end it.”
The Chippewas failed to become bowl eligible the last three games, and in order to earn their sixth win of the season, they will have to face a Bobcat defense that is ranked second in the nation with 36 sacks.
In contrast, CMU’s offensive line has surrendered 29 sacks, which is second worst in the MAC and more than the team gave up all of last season.
“It’s a focus every week,” said head coach John Bonamego. “We have to protect the passer. To have balance and not get yourself into predictable passing situations is even more important this week against an opponent like this.”
Rush said some of the responsibility of keeping Ohio’s defense out of the backfield falls on him.
“(Ohio) is very talented up front,” he said. “I have to be smart and not hang on to the ball too long and go through my reads and get (the ball) out of my hands (faster).”
Annese said Tuesday’s game will go a long way toward determining how people remember the 2016 senior class.
“I’m just hoping to go out there and make a memory and go out with a bang,” he said. “We’ve lost three straight and we gotta get back on track. I don’t want our legacy to be losing our last five games and losing at home. We can’t do that.”
Bonamego has coached this senior class for two seasons after taking over the program in 2015. The Mount Pleasant native can relate to his seniors because he played his own final home game against Ohio at Kelly/Shorts.
“A lot things come closing in on you,” Bonamego said. “It’s definitely one you remember, but it’s more impactful before and afterwards. Once you start playing, you start (focusing) on trying to make plays and win. We’re definitely going to do everything we can to send our seniors out the right way.”
