Football Drops Opener At CMU
Jack Barnum ties school record with 50-yarder
The Central Connecticut State football team opened the season at Mid-American Conference member Central Michigan University, falling 66-10. The Blue Devils fall to 0-1 on the new season, while the Chippewas improve to 1-0.
Jack Barnum tied the program record with his 50-yard field goal in the third quarter. It marks his second consecutive season opener with a field goal of 48 yards or more.
Both teams scored to open the first-half of the game. CMU was 5-5 in the air on the season's opening drive and scored on a seven-yard run around the left end. The Blue Devils answered on their drive, with a 10-play effort. Elijah Howard rushed for 18-yards on the drive, while Brady Olson completed three passes on his first CCSU drive and rushed for 10 yards.
The Blue Devils were whistled offsides on the next kickoff and the re-kick was returned 87 yards for the touchdown, to put CMU in front. That score was the first of 35 unanswered points that the Chippewas scored to take the 42-7 lead at halftime.
The Blue Devils open the home portion of their schedule on Saturday, September 7th, when they host Fordham. The 7:00 pm game will be played at Arute Field. Season and single-game tickets are available online at CCSUBlueDevils.com/CCSUTickets.
GAME INFORMATION
Score: CMU 66, CCSU 10
Records: CCSU (0-1), CMU (1-0)
Location: Kramer/Deromedi Field at Kelly/Shorts Stadium | Mt. Pleasant, MI
KEY MOMENTS
- Myles Bailey scored on a seven-yard run to cap an eight-play, 79-yard opening drive for CMU
- A 29-yard pass from Olson to Robertson highlighted the Blue Devils opening drive, which was capped by Howard scoring from three yards out to tie the game
- The Chippewas Stephan Bracey, Jr. returned the ensuing kickoff 87 yards for a touchdown
- CMU scored 28 points in the second quarter with 194 yards of offense in the period, taking a 42-7 lead at intermission
- The Blue Devils opened the second-half with a 10-play 42-yard drive that Jack Barnum finished with a career-long 50-yard field goal
- A CMU field goal, was followed by a Blue Devil three-and-out that resulted in a punt that Donte Kent returned 68 yards for a touchdown and a 52-10 lead
NUMBER TO KNOW
50 – Barnum had a career-long 50 yard field goal for the Blue Devils, which tied the school-record held by Francis Cole who hit the mark at Lafayette in 2018
NOTES
- The Blue Devils ran for 194 yards, on 41 carries, with Donny Marcus and Elijah Howard both carting 14 times
- Olson completed the first four passes of his Blue Devil career and finished 12-20 passing
- Kimal Clark made a team-best nine tackles, five of them solo stops
- Jadon Turner finished the third-quarter with a 57-yard run and had a team-best 61 rushing yards on the night
- The Blue Devils accumulated 267 yards of offense
- Mike Plaskon made four catches for 44 yards
- Adian Clark averaged 43.4 yards per punt, with a long of 59 yards
