CMU football blows out CCSU in season opener
Central Michigan freshman wide receiver Solomon Davis celebrates his touchdown during the game against Central Connecticut, Thursday, Aug, 29 in Kelly/Shorts Stadium. The touchdown was scored on a 17 yard pass and brought the Chippewa's score to 35-7. (CM-Life | Ella Miller)
With the score tied at seven in the first quarter, Central Michigan football was looking for a play to take the lead. That’s when wide receiver Stephan Bracey Jr. shot past the Central Connecticut State special teams with an 87-yard kickoff return touchdown to get Kelly/Shorts Stadium loud.
The Chippewas never let up as they defeated the Blue Devils 66-10 in their season opener on Thursday.
“(It) doesn't matter the opponent,” head coach Jim McElwain said. “You go out and play the best you can play. I don't care who it is, and you never take anybody lightly, and at the same time, you never fear anybody. That's going to be a mindset whenever we take the field.”
The special teams’ success didn’t end there as CMU had a total of 250 yards between kick and punt returns along with two touchdowns.
Leading the charge was Bracey, who ended the game with 118 yards on kick returns. In his first time as a return man at CMU, senior defensive back Donte Kent secured 132 yards on four returns.
“As the game was going on, I felt like I was getting stronger with each punt return, and that was just building my confidence,” Kent said.
Transfer quarterback Joe Labas got his first career start in the Maroon and Gold against the Blue Devils. Labas showed his passing abilities early as he went a perfect 5-for-5 passing in CMU’s first drive.
“It was really just that first play, once you get that out of the way then you’re rolling,” Labas said. “And it's just like practice, it's just like playing football.”
Labas ended the game with 342 yards, completing 18 of his 24 pass attempts with three touchdowns.
“He put the ball right where it needed to,” McElwain said. “...I thought he played very consistently and did a good job.”
Senior running back Myles Bailey gave CMU its first score of the season as he found the endzone on a 7-yard touchdown run in the Chippewas’ first drive.
The Blue Devils responded quickly with a 10 play, 75-yard drive that ended in a rushing touchdown to tie the score at seven.
However, that was all the CCSU offense would get as the CMU defense only let up 42 yards for the remainder of the first half.
“Giving up that first drive, three situations where they were able to break contain, and yet the good part was we came back,” McElwain said. “We learned from it, and from there on out, played pretty dominant on defense.”
With all the momentum after Bracey’s second career kickoff return, the offense exploded in the second quarter, scoring four touchdowns with 194 total yards to go into halftime with the 42-7 lead.
The Chippewas didn’t let up in the second half as Kent returned a punt return for a touchdown to give the special teams its second touchdown of the day and extend its lead, 52-10 in the third quarter.
The scoring party didn’t end there as Labas found Solomon Davis for a 72-yard touchdown pass, giving CMU the 49-point lead.
All sides of the ball scored in the game as senior defensive back Aakeem Snell secured a pick-six to give the Chippewas their first turnover of the season with just under two minutes remaining in the third quarter.
Following the explosive third quarter, CMU held CCSU scoreless throughout the fourth to give it the 66-10 win.
“We're going to be a fun football team to watch,” McElwain said.
The offense had a total of 491 yards while the defense held the Blue Devils to 285 yards in the matchup.
“We knew coming into this game … that communication was going to be a big piece for us on the defense,” Kent said. “On the sideline, just reiterating the communication aspect of it. If we all (are) on the same page, we all were communicating, then we were able to get a job done.”
CMU will look to continue the success when it travels to Miami, Florida, to face off against Florida International at 6 p.m. Sept. 7
“The job's not finished,” Kent said. “It's a great feeling, for sure, but it's a 24-hour rule. We can celebrate this for 24 hours, and once the 24 hours is up, we move on to the next opponent. We just keep working.”
