'I was ready to go': Quarterback David Moore showcases confidence, leadership in debut as starter

But Saturday was different.

Moore was preparing to make his first start at the Division I level for Central Michigan. He was thrown into the role after an injury to starter Quinten Dormady last weekend.

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He waited for his mother to reach out. Then, he waited some more.

Still, there was no text message.

Eventually, it came through, and his feeling on the day changed from nervous to calm.

"That's what I needed to hear," Moore said. "It settled me down."

The night before he was restless in bed, thinking about how the game would play out. He prayed and read the Bible, something that brings a sense of peace to Moore's life.

His mother reminded him that he was ready for the moment. Head coach Jim McElwain and offensive coordinator Charlie Frye said the same.

McElwain's message was simple: "Go get 'em, tiger."

"I had no doubt I was ready to go," Moore said.

As it turns out, Moore was exceptional in his debut as CMU's starter. It was the best statistical performance by a Chippewa quarterback since 2017.

Moore completed 20-of-31 passes for 316 yards and two touchdowns without any turnovers in a 45-24 victory over Akron at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.

"I had total trust in him," McElwain said. "I thought he had a real command of the huddle. He was great on the sideline with information. I'm proud of him."

While the prayers and support from his mother, coaches and teammates helped calm him down, Moore was still a little nervous during pregame warmups.

He took the field for his first drive of the game at 3:11 p.m. At that moment, the nerves went away, and Moore locked in.

"Once it's time to go, you can't run from it," Moore said of his first drive. "There's no point in being nervous when it's happening."

Starting strong, throwing first touchdown

Moore completed his first pass of the game to wide receiver Tyrone Scott, but the drive stalled. He spent time on the sideline talking with Frye, who knows a thing or two about Akron and lighting it up at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.

Sixteen years ago, Frye was 27-of-34 for 416 yards and two touchdowns in a 40-28 Akron victory in Mount Pleasant.

After the second drive ended in a Ryan Tice field goal, Moore was back on the bench. This time, it was injured starter Quinten Dormady in his ear.

"When we talked to Q, it was, 'Look, you've got to be that voice to help and be supportive,'" McElwain said. "Just like David was when (Quinten) was the starter.

"I thought he did a great job of that."

Then, everything clicked.

On third-and-10 with 1:02 remaining in the first quarter, Moore stood strong in the pocket and delivered a 14-yard strike to slot receiver Kalil Pimpleton for a first down. He tossed a 37-yard pass to Poljan on the next play.

The first quarter came to a close, but two plays into the second, Moore found himself standing at the 15-yard line with his arms raised.

His eyes were fixated on running back Kobe Lewis in the end zone for the first touchdown of the game, giving the Chippewas a 10-0 lead. 

Lewis took a pitch from Moore, dipped toward the line of scrimmage and beat the cornerback on the outside edge for a 4-yard score.

"It was a play we just put in this week," said Moore, who was 5-of-8 for 106 yards when Lewis scored. "We hadn't run it too much, but it was something coach Mac wanted us to be sharp on."

Moore's first touchdown pass was set up by an interception from defensive end Sean Adesanya, who returned the pick 49 yards to the 5-yard line.

Taking over in scoring position, Moore was flushed out of the pocket and had two defenders in hot pursuit. He noticed Poljan in the corner of the end zone and threw it up for him.

The throw was perfect, and Poljan managed to keep his feet in bounds for a 17-0 lead.

Moore immediately did jazz hands, gave a high-five to McElwain and danced down the sideline – showing he possesses swagger in big moments.

"My first touchdown pass was something we had been doing the whole year," Moore said. "This week, it was my first time doing it with the ones. Tony Poljan is an easy target to throw to, so he made my job a whole lot easier."

Poljan made five receptions for 90 yards and a touchdown. 

'They made it easy for me'

The former three-star quarterback opened his fifth drive with a 24-yard pass to Scott to the Akron 38-yard line. At this point, he was 7-of-10 for 132 yards and a touchdown.

Moore then found tight end Bernhard Raimann after rolling out of the pocket and sitting in the backfield for nearly five or six seconds. Raimann broke his defenders' ankles and picked up 9 yards.

Raimann's quarterback turned to the bench and nodded slowly, displaying the confidence he had in his offensive line and tight end to make the necessary plays.

"They made it really comfortable and easy for me tonight," Moore said. His offensive line didn't allow a sack.

The drive ended in a 43-yard field goal for a 20-3 lead over Akron with 3:35 remaining in the first half.

Later in the contest, with 11:15 remaining in the game and a 30-17 lead, Moore's pass was tipped around by two Akron defenders. Somehow, it ended up in the hands of Poljan for a 28-yard gain. 

It was plays like that Moore reflected on after the game, realizing how influential his teammates are to the team's success. 

"If you could see me, I was just like, 'Thank you,'" Moore said, putting his hands together. "It gives me confidence to go out there and rip it without having to worry about making the perfect pass."

A few plays later, on third-and-9, Lewis caught a pass over the middle and went for 33 yards to the 11-yard line. On the very next snap, the sophomore back scored for a 38-17 edge with 7:38 remaining.

And it wasn't just Moore's offense that made it easy. It was the CMU defense, as well. The entire unit coached by defensive coordinator Robb Akey allowed Moore to keep a comfortable lead over the Zips.

The opposing quarterback, longtime Akron starter Kato Nelson, was 26-of-42 for 241 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.

Senior linebacker Michael Oliver didn't have any doubt Moore would win the battle.

"We all knew David could play," Oliver said. "It didn't surprise us. It was his opportunity, and he took advantage of it."

Two-minute drill

Over an hour into the game, Moore was forced into one of the most difficult tests in his starting debut.

He was faced with the two-minute drill, as the Chippewas were ahead by 17 points with 2:04 left until the break.

Moore opened the drive with a 24-yard completion to Scott on third down. At this point, there was one minute left on the clock.

Time was trickling away.

On second-and-5 with 37 seconds left, Moore threw a dart to Pimpleton for a 35-yard touchdown to put Central ahead, 27-3.

The throw was beautiful. Everyone in the stadium knew it.

"That was as good of a throw as you're going to make," McElwain said. "He threw a strike, and that turned out to be a huge point in the game."

Moore put his hands on his helmet in amazement. He flexed and screamed while running down the field to meet Pimpleton.

Seven plays, 79 yards and just 1:27 off the clock. The two-minute drill was beyond successful, it was perfect.

"KP is one of the fastest receivers I've ever had the pleasure of throwing to," Moore said. "His diving catch for a touchdown, that was all him."

At halftime, the Chippewas maintained a 27-10 lead. Moore was 13-of-20 for 225 yards and two scores, and the team had accumulated 315 total yards.

Making a mistake

On third-and-6 with 6:04 left in the third quarter, Moore missed true freshman running back Lew Nichols on a wheel route in the right corner of the end zone.

If the pass was cleaner and crisper, Nichols could've walked in for a score. 

It didn't happen that way.

"He missed a couple throws that he probably got a little greedy on, but he's going to see that on film," McElwain said.

Moore made a rare mistake, and he took note of it by putting his arms up in frustration and hanging his head. The moment those actions were shown, one of his offensive linemen picked him up.

It showed the camaraderie the Chippewas have this year, something that might've not been as evident a season ago.

Only the beginning

The little things, like missing Nichols, didn't matter Saturday at Kelly/Shorts Stadium. Rather, it was about finding a competent quarterback for the first time since the 2017 season.

Moore was thrown into the fire, and he only had a week to prepare for his first start.

The two-time transfer was successful in handing the Chippewas their first conference and FBS victory in 659 days.

Again, getting on the right track was all that mattered.

"We have a lot of athletes," Moore said. "We're going to do a lot of damage to the MAC this year. It's going to be fun to watch."