Michigan
2-1
Eastern Michigan
1-2
U-M Dominates Eagles in Battle of Washtenaw County
9/17/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan football team defeated Eastern Michigan 55-0 Saturday (Sept. 17) afternoon in front of 109,511 fans at Michigan Stadium. The win gives Lloyd Carr his 60th home victory in his 11th season as Wolverines head coach, against the team in which he started his college coaching career almost 30 years ago.
The Maize and Blue rode a wave of first half points to a 38-0 halftime lead. Michigan would finish the game with a total of 446 yards, allowing eight Wolverines to produce points.
Sophomore running back Max Martin (Madison, Ala./Bob Jones HS) cleared the way for the Wolverines posting a career day with 26 carries for 117 yards and two touchdowns. Senior receiver Jason Avant (Chicago, Ill./Carver HS) matched Martin with two touchdowns on eight catches and 93 yards. Throwing the ball to Avant was sophomore quarterback Chad Henne (Wyomissing, Pa./Wilson HS) who went 13 of 19 for 147 yards and three touchdowns.
The Wolverines defense held the Eagles to 134 total yards, including only 15 yards on the ground, while pitching their first shutout since 2003. Posting eight tackles for loss, totaling 55 yards, Michigan held Eastern Michigan per-play average to two and a half yards. Corner Grant Mason (Pontiac, Mich./Orchard Lake St. Mary's) gathered six tackles to lead the Wolverines.
Martin, starting for an injured Mike Hart (Syracuse, N.Y./Onondaga Central), got the Wolverines on the board first with a one-yard touchdown run, capping a three-play 10-yard drive spanning 45 seconds. The Wolverines' first offensive series was set up by an electrifying 72-yard punt return by senior Steve Breaston (North Braddock, Pa./Woodland Hills HS), which set up Michigan at Eastern Michigan's 10-yard line.
After a wild long-snap that sputtered over punter Andrew Wellock's head on the Eagles' next series, the Wolverines took over at EMU's 20-yardline. Martin carried the load again covering all 20 yards to the endz one on three carries, ending in a 10-yard touchdown run through the heart of the Eagles' defense.
Following another EMU three-and-out, Henne extended the Michigan lead to 21-0 as he found Avant on a 14-yard touchdown pass with 7:23 remaining in the first quarter. Two drives later, Henne would find Avant for a second time, defeating Eastern Michigan's man-coverage, to go up 28-0 with two seconds remaining in the first quarter. Michigan's 28-point first quarter effort tied a modern day school record, as they posted a 28-0 clip against Rice in 2000.
The Wolverines would tack on 10 more points to close the first half with a 38-0 advantage. Freshman Brian Thompson (Saginaw, Mich./Nouvel Catholic) pulled down his first career touchdown on a six-yard lob from Henne and a 37-yard Garrett Rivas (Tampa, Fla./Jesuit HS) field goal sent the Wolverines to the locker room with a sizeable lead.
Thoroughly dominating the first half, the Wolverines held the Eagles to three first downs and 61 total yards, while limiting the Eagles to zero yards offensively in the first quarter. Sophomore cornerback Morgan Trent (Brighton, Mich./Orchard Lake St. Mary's) ended Eastern's only sizable drive of the first half, recording his first career interception.
Senior kicker James Bloomsburgh's (Berkeley, Calif./DeLaSalle Catholic) 21-yard field opened the second half with the only points of the third quarter, extending the U-M advantage to 41-0.
The fourth quarter would feature two more rushing touchdowns leading to the Wolverines victory. Beginning the games' final period, junior Jerome Jackson (Saginaw, Mich./Saginaw HS) plowed through Eagle defenders for a seven-yard touchdown, increasing the Michigan advantage to 48-0 with 13:48 remaining in the game. Jackson's run rounded out an 11-play drive spanning 88-yards. Senior Alijah Bradley's (Hercules, Calif./DeLaSalle Catholic) four-yard touchdown run at 8:37 would wrap up the Wolverines second win of the season.
The Wolverines will make their first road trip of the season, traveling to Madison, Wis., to take on the Wisconsin Badgers. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. EDT and will be televised on ESPN2.
Contact: Dave Ablauf, Jim Schneider (734) 763-4423
Team Stats
EMU 0, MICH 7
MICH - Martin, Max 1 yd run (Rivas, Garrett kick), 3 plays, 10 yards, TOP 0:45
EMU 0, MICH 14
MICH - Martin, Max 10 yd run (Rivas, Garrett kick), 3 plays, 20 yards, TOP 1:01
EMU 0, MICH 21
MICH - Avant, Jason 14 yd pass from Henne, Chad (Rivas, Garrett kick) 6 plays, 49 yards, TOP 1:58
EMU 0, MICH 28
MICH - Avant, Jason 26 yd pass from Henne, Chad (Rivas, Garrett kick) 4 plays, 40 yards, TOP 1:49
EMU 0, MICH 35
MICH - Thompson, Brian 6 yd pass from Henne, Chad (Rivas, Garrett kick) 12 plays, 61 yards, TOP 5:43
EMU 0, MICH 38
MICH - Rivas, Garrett 37 yd field goal 15 plays, 66 yards, TOP 5:57
EMU 0, MICH 41
MICH - Bloomsburgh, J. 21 yd field goal 13 plays, 57 yards, TOP 5:59
EMU 0, MICH 48
MICH - Jackson, Jerome 7 yd run (Bloomsburgh, J. kick), 11 plays, 88 yards, TOP 3:34
EMU 0, MICH 55
MICH - Bradley, Alijah 1 yd run (Moore, Craig kick), 9 plays, 41 yards, TOP 4:11
