Quarterback Brogan Roback went 2-for-5 for 22 yards and one interception in Saturday’s Eastern Michigan spring football game. Julia Ferry/The Pit
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Eastern Michigan University football team held their annual spring game on Saturday at Rynearson Stadium and the defense had its way all afternoon.
The unit didn’t allow the offense to gain any momentum for most of the contest, as they rolled to a 42-27 victory.
“The coaches knew exactly what they were doing,” defensive lineman Jeremiah Harris said. “All spring practices, the coaches have been pushing us the entire time, saying get better every single day. We came out today and it was just something different, the defense was on fire and it was awesome.”
Wearing white, the defense was rewarded on a scoring system that they accrued points for stops on downs, turnovers, touchdowns, missed field goals and redzone 4th down stops. The offense — in green — earned points by gaining first downs, field goals, touchdowns and on extra point attempts.
The defensive line dictated the pace of the game for the most part, forcing the offense into two turnovers, including a interception by defensive back Ross Williams to give the white team a 17-4 lead.
The quarterback play suffered through the pressure, as neither signal-caller was able garner much success in the first half.
Reggie Bell went 3-for-15 for 17 yards with the first team while Brogan Roback was 2-for-5 for 22 yards with a interception.
“At times it was a little frustrating and at times we looked really good,” Bell said. “We didn’t come out full throttle like I expected or playing our best like we could have. We’ve definitely come a long way though, our tempo is a lot faster and the younger guys are grasping the system.”
The offense finally did get the ball rolling, as running back Juwan Harris broke a 61-yard run to open the second half that put the offense in the red zone for the first time all afternoon.
Two plays later, Bell found Dustin Creel for a 12-yard touchdown to make it 23-13 after the successful extra-point attempt.
The defense on the following possession forced a fumble and the offense missed a 53-yard field goal attempt at the end of the third period, giving the defense a 20-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Bell would throw a 9-yard strike to Cole Gardner in the corner of the endzone to make it 33-23 to start the final period, but the defense continued to dominate to pull away and secure the win.
Although the offense had little success its first time out , EMU coach Chris Creighton was optimistic in the unit and its progression heading looking forward.
“We’re trying to work some tempo,” Creighton said. “We have a lot of people doing it for the first time. It was obviously some sloppiness that needs to get cleaned up. But Reggie’s got a pretty good command of the offense and it was blowing pretty good out there too wind wise, but Reggie’s had a really good spring and Juwan his last scrimmage broke off a couple really good runs.”
The Eagles open their 2015 season at home on September 5th against Old Dominion.
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*All photos by Julia Ferry for The Pit: Sports and Entertainment.
