ATHENS, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University football team dropped a 35-10 decision at Ohio University Wednesday, Nov. 13, in the Eagles’ first midweek #MACtion game of the season. The Eagles (5-5, 2-4 Mid-American Conference) made several big plays, but were unable to turn those into points as the Bobcats (7-3, 5-1 MAC) pulled away in the second half.
How It Happened
Following a scoreless first quarter that included Joey Zelinsky (Cressona, Pa./Blue Mountain/Hudson Valley CC) blocking a 31-yard field goal attempt, Eastern Michigan tallied the first points as Delbert Mimms III (Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis/NC State) caught a shovel pass from Cole Snyder (Lakewood, N.Y./Soutwestern/Rutgers/Buffalo) and ran it into the end zone for a 7-0 lead early in the second. The Bobcats answered five minutes later with a score of their own before adding a second touchdown before the end of the stanza for a 14-7 score at halftime.
In the second half, The Eagles thwarted a drive with an interception by Quentavius Scandrett (Lovejoy, Ga./Lovejoy), but a Snyder pick saw the Bobcats take a 21-7 lead after a 25-yard run on the ensuing play. The fourth opened with Jesús Gómez (Puebla, Mexico/Prepa Tec Puebla) knocking in a 29-yard field goal with 13:13 remaining, but the hosts would go on to add two more scores for the final tally.
Game Notes
» Jesús Gómez tallied four points in the game on one PAT and one 29-yard field goal. With those kicks, he brought his season total to 81 points, marking just the 10th time an EMU player has scored 80+ points in a single season while becoming the first player to do so twice in a career after scoring 89 in 2022. Additionally, his 227 career points have him ranked fifth all-time in program history.
» Delbert Mimms III extended his team lead in touchdowns scored this season to nine as he collected his first receiving touchdown of the year to go along with eight ground scores. Mimms finished the game 71 yards on 16 rushes and 21 yards on three catches with one touchdown to give him 92 all-purpose yards.
» Late in the first quarter, the Bobcats attempted a 31-yard field goal, but the kick was blocked as Joey Zelinsky got his hand up to deny the attempt for his first career blocked kick. It marked the fourth blocked kick of the season and the first since Joey Mattord (Hartland, Mich./Hartland) blocked a St. Francis punt, Sept. 21, that resulted in an EMU touchdown. As it stands, the Eagles are currently tied for sixth nationally with four blocks and have 26 blocks in the 11 years Chris Creighton has led the program and the 13th against a MAC opponent.
» Quentavius Scandrett recorded his first interception of the season and the fourth of his career when he picked off the Ohio quarterback in the third quarter on a tipped pass. Scandrett, who last picked a pass last year at Central Michigan (Sept. 30, 2023), recorded the team’s fifth interception of the year with five different Eagles recording a pick, including Ali Abdul-Barr (Atlanta, Ga./Woodland-Stockbridge), David Carter Jr. (Ecorse, Mich./River Rouge), Dramarian McNulty (Brookhaven, Miss./Niceville (Fla.)/WCU/Mississippi Gulf Coast CC), and Luke Murphy (Massillon, Ohio/Massillon Washington/Kent State).
» Cole Snyder tallied 155 yards through the air with one touchdown and added 23 yards on the ground. He now has thrown for 2,242 yards and 12 scores, marking the second-highest season passing yardage in his career (3,030 with Buffalo in 2022). To date, Snyder’s 2,242 yards rank 14th on the program’s single-season ledger.
» Cole Snyder once again shared the ball well as he found eight different EMU receivers for at least one reception in the game, marking the seventh time in nine games he has hit eight or more receivers in a single game. Oran Singleton (Clewiston, Fla./Clewiston/Akron/Hutchinson CC) led the way 70 yards on five grabs while Markus Allen (Dayton, Ohio/Northmont/Wisconsin/Butler CC) and Delbert Mimms III each had three receptions.
» Mitchell Tomasek (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne) recorded a 65-yard punt in the second quarter, marking his third 65+ yard punt of the season. He recorded a 66-yard punt at Washington (Sept. 7) and added a 65-yard punt at home against Central Michigan.
» Luke Murphy recorded a team-high 12 tackles in the game while posting a team-leading 1.5 tackles-for-loss. Murphy, who recorded nine solo tackles, recorded double-digit tackles in back-to-back games after posting 11 last week against Toledo while also making 10 stops against Miami. For the season, he leads the team with 70 tackles and ranks third with 6.0 TFLs.
Historical Notes
» With the loss, the Eagles fell to 5-5 overall and 2-4 in MAC play while the Bobcats improved to 7-3 overall and 5-1 in MAC play.
» Eastern fell to 12-21-1 all-time in its series with Ohio and lost three consecutive meetings. The last time the Eagle defeated the Bobcats was Oct. 15, 2016, in a 27-20 decision in Athens.