Saturday's state football: Ball State wins shootout against Eastern Michigan
Ypsilanti — Drew Plitt passed for 207 yards and a touchdown, Justin Hall rushed for two scores and Ball State eked out a 38-31 win against Eastern Michigan on Saturday.
The Cardinals (4-3, 2-1 Mid-American Conference), jumped ahead 14-0 after a quarter with Hall capping the game-opening drive with a 1-yard TD and Will Jones scoring from the 1-yard line on the next possession.
Eastern Michigan (4-3, 1-2) scored twice in the second quarter to trail 17-14 at the break, but Plitt found Yo’Heinz Tyler with an 11-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter and Hall and Carson Steele added rushing TDs in the fourth. Steele gained 138 yards on 18 carries.
EMU’s Ben Bryant was 35-for-48 passing for 331 yards with a TD but was intercepted twice. Darius Boone scored two rushing touchdowns for the Eagles.
Hall, with 10 catches for 58 yards for Ball State, notched his 301st career reception to lead all active FBS receivers. He has caught a pass in an FBS-leading 50 straight games.
More games
► (At) Western Michigan 64, Kent State 31: Kaleb Eleby threw three touchdown passes, ran for a fourth and Western Michigan routed Kent State.
The Broncos came in with the top rushing defense in the MAC and held the Golden Flashes to just 124 yards on the ground while Sean Tyler piled up 169 yards, including a 64-yard dash for a touchdown, on 17 carries for Western Michigan.
Eleby opened the game with a 27-yard touchdown pass to Skyy Moore, then found Jaylen Hall with a 68-yard strike to make it 17-7 after one quarter. He hit Moore for a second time in the third quarter to make it 36-17, then ran 25 yards for a final touchdown with 3:33 left to complete the rout.
Nick Mihalic kicked three field goals and converted seven of eight PATs for the Broncos (5-2, 2-1).
Dustin Crum was 15 of 26 for 210 yards and two touchdowns for Kent State (3-4, 2-1).
►(At) Central Michigan 26, Toledo 23, OT: Marshall Meeder kicked a 38-yard field goal in overtime to win it for Central (4-3, 2-1 MAC). Meeder had kicked a field goal with 6:12 left in the fourth quarter for a 23-13 lead but Toledo (3-4, 1-2) erased that lead on a 50-yard field goal by Thomas Cluckey, then an 18-yard run by Dequan Finn with 35 seconds left. Daniel Richardson completed 20 of 34 passes for 172 yards, and Lew Nichols III rushed for 134 yards on 29 carries for Central.
► Wayne State 16, (at) Davenport 3: Karmi Mackey and Myran Harris ran for touchdowns and Wayne State (1-6, 1-2 GLIAC) won its first game since Nov. 16, 2019.
Harris gained 131 yards on 19 carries and scored on a 26-yard run early in the fourth quarter. Mackey gained 50 yards on 13 carries and gave Wayne State the lead for good with a 1-yard run in the second quarter. Davenport (2-5, 1-2) led 3-0 after one quarter on a 26-yard field goal by Bryan Plegue.
More scores
Adrian 36, Alma 21
Albion 49, Kalamazoo 0
Ferris State 35, Grand Valley State 28
Hope 31, Olivet 16
Michigan Tech 21, Northern Michigan 14
Saginaw Valley 31, Northwood 13