Quarterback Quinten Dormady shakes off rust, takes command in return from injury
Central Michigan quarterback Quinten Dormady receives a snap against New Mexico State Oct. 12 at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
Quinten Dormady suffered a knee injury in the first drive against Wisconsin in Central Michigan's second game of the season.
He sat out the next four games, and junior David Moore took over the reins of the offense and led the Chippewas to two wins against Akron and Eastern Michigan at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
Moore also lost two games on the road against the Miami Hurricanes and Western Michigan.
In place of Dormady, Moore completed 94 of 164 passing attempts for 1,143 yards and five touchdowns against four interceptions during his five appearances.
Before Dormady, a double graduate transfer from Tennessee and Houston, was injured, he was 32 of 49 for 321 yards and three touchdowns against one interception.
There was a coaching decision for Jim McElwain regarding which quarterback was the best fit to go under center when Dormady returned.
Would it be Dormady's job again since he won it in fall camp? Or would it be Moore's because he was the hot hand and consistently making explosive plays on offense?
Leading up to the Chippewas' game against New Mexico State, the decision was made for McElwain. Moore was suspended by the NCAA after he tested positive for a banned substance.
Dormady returned to practice leading into the Eastern Michigan game and was dressed, but he did not see the field against the Eagles.
In CMU's game against New Mexico State, its homecoming game, Dormady stepped back into the starting role he won during the fall.
He finished the game going 14 of 24 passing for 135 yards and two touchdowns.
Dormady started the day with a throw to wide receiver JaCorey Sullivan but left it short. Later, he looked to running back Jonathan Ward on a screen pass but threw the ball just over Ward's fingertips.
But with 8:51 left in the first quarter, Dormady hit his first completion of the game.
It was a big-time throw.
Wide receiver Kalil Pimpleton ran a post route to the right side of the field. Dormady hit the speedy sophomore in stride for a 44-yard touchdown pass to open the scoring in the Chippewas' 42-28 victory over the Aggies at Kelly/Shorts Stadium, which moved them to 4-3 on the season.
But there were a few instances that Dormady was unable to connect with his receivers.
"I thought he was rusty," McElwain said. "He missed a couple of throws, yet he did a good job of commanding the game and took advantage of what they gave him. You could see on the pass to (Pimpleton), he really cut that ball loose."
The windy conditions in Mount Pleasant were not prime for throwing the ball.
Instead, the Chippewas elected to run the ball and did so effectively with sophomore Kobe Lewis and senior Jonathan Ward. The team totaled 352 yards on the ground.
"When I took this job, someone told me that you better be able to run in this league," McElwain said, "because when you get late in the year, you may get in some games where the conditions aren’t conducive to spinning the ball around the yard.”
Lewis, who had 161 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries, said that Dormady returning to the offense was one reason for the group's success.
On top of that, Lewis said Dormady was more vocal in the huddle and on the sideline to reacquaint himself in the flow of the game.
"He's getting back into it," Lewis said. "He did a great job, he communicated well, he talked to us and let us see what he sees and what he's reading, that was a great thing he did."
The Chippewas now begin the final stretch of Mid-American Conference games, as McElwain's crew heads to Bowling Green at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Only five games remain, and the Chippewas – at 2-1 in the MAC – are in a position to make a move for the West Division title.
