Victory Cannon Trophy returns to Mount Pleasant
It was 5,128 days in the making.
With 38 seconds remaining in the game, Central Michigan football lined up in victory formation and quarterback Jadyn Glasser took a knee to seal the 16-14 victory over rival Western Michigan on Tuesday.
It is the first time since 2010 that the Chippewas lifted the Victory Cannon Trophy at Kelly/Shorts Stadium, and their first win against the Broncos since 2021.
“I told our players prior to the game, ‘this is where you make some memories, and I just wanted you to be proud of what you did,’ and they should be proud,” head coach Jim McElwain said. “It wasn't pretty, by any stretch of imagination, but at the end of the day, we have more points than they did, and that trophy's back here for another year.”
With the win, CMU snaps a five game losing streak, moving to 4-7 overall and 2-5 in conference play.
“(I) can't tell you how much I care for these players,” McElwain said. “And to see them have some success just warms my heart.”
Even with the struggles this year, this win means a lot to the players and to McElwain.
“A lot of things didn't go our way this season, but we always showed that we got that fight in us,” senior defensive back Donte Kent said. “We went out there and we fought today. The trophy's back… where it (needs) to be.”
Emotions were high throughout the night. Not only was it a rivalry matchup, but the Chippewas also honored the seniors before the game.
“These coaches have been everything for me,” senior defensive lineman Jason Williams said. “This program has been everything for me, so I'm just glad I could do what I can for the program.”
Coming into the game, the Broncos led the MAC in points per game with 31.3, but it was a different story against the Chippewa defense. After shutting WMU out in the first half, CMU kept the Bronco offense to seven points and 184 total yards.
Seniors Williams and Da’raun McKinney made the most of their senior night leading on the defensive end. Williams ended the game with two sacks and two tackles for loss while McKinney had a team-leading seven tackles and two pass breakups.
“Coming out of halftime, my mindset was just attack,” Williams said. “Play every play in the backfield, do what you can.”
Central Michigan was led by its three senior running backs Marion Lukes, Myles Bailey and B.J Harris on the offensive end, totaling 185 rushing yards and 67 receiving yards between the three.
“I know that all of us, we were just giving it everything we got,” Lukes said about the senior running backs. “And just filtering through all of us, getting fresh legs. I know that was definitely difficult for Western to be able to maintain, just with all of our speed that we have.”
The Chippewa defense set the tone early, having back-to-back three-and-outs in WMU’s first two drives. The Bronco offense had one yard combined in the two drives.
However, CMU couldn’t make the most of its fast start on defense, going three-and-out on its first two offensive drives as well.
The Chippewa offense finally found its stride in their third drive of the game when Glasser found senior wide receiver Solomon Davis for a 55 yard pass to put CMU at the six-yard line. On the next play, Harris waltzed into the endzone to put the Chippewas up 7-0 with just over five minutes to play in the first quarter.
In his final game at Kelly/Shorts Stadium, Harris ended the matchup with 88 total yards and one touchdown.
It was all about the Chippewa defense to start the game. CMU held WMU to 49 yards in the first quarter, having two tackles for a loss and giving up zero points.
With a quiet start to begin the second quarter, both teams were looking for a play to give them the momentum. That’s when Glasser found Harris for a 26-yard gain. On the next play, the two connected again for a 21-yard gain putting them in Bronco territory.
The Chippewas couldn’t find the end zone on the drive and settled for a 36-yard field goal from redshirt senior Tristan Mattson to go up 10 with 2:27 left before halftime.
Glasser ended the game with 140 passing yards and one interception, going 8-for-17 through the air.
CMU added another field goal with time running out in the first half to head into halftime with the 13-0 lead. It was the first time that the Chippewa defense has had a first half shutout since Sept. 7, 2022.
After Lukes put CMU in Bronco territory in the first drive of the second half, Glasser threw a pick-six to give WMU its first points of the game and cut the deficit to six.
The Chippewas dominated the time of possession to start the second half as the Western Michigan offense never had the ball in the third quarter.
The drive that followed the interception was a 17 play, 50 yard drive that took just over 10 minutes of clock. Central Michigan relied heavily on the running game in the third quarter, running it 20 times compared to three pass attempts.
“We were playing so well on defense, we just felt we needed to control the ball,” McElwain said. “We needed to try to get first downs and keep them off the field. And for the most part, we were able to do that.”
Even though CMU was able to hold the ball for that long, it couldn’t find the end zone, resulting in another field goal to extend its lead, 16-7 to start the fourth quarter.
Lukes came alive in the second half, having 66 rushing yards to end the game with 105 total yards.
“Going into halftime, it all kind of dawned on me, ‘this is the last 30 minutes you will ever (be) playing here,’” Lukes said. “So, I was just kind of getting sentimental about the whole entire thing, and I just decided that I wasn't gonna let nobody really tackle me.”
The Broncos shot back and scored their first offensive touchdown of the matchup after a 1-yard run from WMU’s Jalen Buckley got them within two with 7:15 left in the game.
Western Michigan got the ball back with just over five minutes remaining. The Chippewa defense stepped up again in the drive, forcing a three-and out.
On the punt to give CMU the ball back, Kent seemed to have taken it to the house which would’ve put the Chippewas up by nine late in the fourth quarter. However, the touchdown was called back on a blindside block penalty that left McElwain and fans furious at the referees.
The called back touchdown didn’t matter at the end because the Chippewas were able to run out the clock on their next offensive drive to defeat the Broncos.
“It just sucks, but ain’t no greater feeling than carrying this trophy right now,” Kent said about the touchdown getting called back. “So, whatever happened, already happened, (I) just move on. We got the trophy.”
Central Michigan will close out the season when it travels to DeKalb, Illinois to face off against Northern Illinois on Saturday, Nov. 30. Kickoff time has still yet to be announced.
