Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • Page 45

Sunday, September 20, 1998 The Detroit News 110 U-M 59, EMU 20 Game Report Notebook ill i 1 y.fe. A i Scoring summary Eastern Michigan 0 7 7 -20 Michigan 17 7 14 21 -S IIRST QUARTER 7 MICHIGAN Anthony Thomas 2 run with 13:59 remaining. Jay Feely kick. Drive: 69 yards, 4 plays. Time of possession: 1:01.

Key play: Thomas 36 run on first play of game. Michigan 7, Eastern Michigan 0. MICHIGAN Thomas 2 run with 9:06 left. Feely kick. Drive: 39 yards, 6 plays.

Time of possession: 2:24. Key play: Andre Weathers Interception of Walt Church and returned 24 yards. Michigan 14, Eastern Michigan 0. MICHIGAN Feely 24 field goal with 4:02 remaining. Drive: 47 yards, 8 plays.

Time of possession: 2:30. Key play: Thomas 12 run and EMU 15 penalty for late hit for first down at EMU 13. MkM-gan 17, Eastern Michigan 0. EASTERN MICHIGAN Ethan Vannoy 1 run with 2:44 left. Kick blocked.

Drive: 77 yards, 4 plays. Time of possession: 1:18. Key play: Brandon Campbell 71 pass from Walt Church to U-M 1. Michigan 17, Eastern Michigan SECOND QUARTER MICHIGAN William Peterson 51 Interception return. Feely kick.

Michigan 24, Eastern Michigan I THIRD QUARTER EASTERN MICHIGAN Jermaine Sheffield 37 pass from Walt Church with 13:11 remaining. Justin Ventura kick. Drive: 37 yards, 1 play. Time of possession: :07. Key play: Ken Philpot recovery of James Whitley's fumbled punt return at U-M 37.

Michigan 24, Eastern Michigan 13. MICHIGAN Thomas 4 run with 559 left. Feely kick. Drive: 80 yards, 16 plays. Time of possession: 7:12.

Key play: EMU penalized for roughing the kicker on field goal attempt for U-M first down. Michigan 31, Eastern Michigan 13. MICHIGAN David Terrell 13 pas from Tom Brady. Feely kick. Drive: 63 yards, 5 plays.

Time of possession: 1:43. Key play: Knight 34 pass from Brady to EMU 29. Michigan 38, Eastern Michigan 13. FOURTH QUARTER MICHIGAN Terrell 32 pass from Drew Henson. Feely kick.

Drive: 39 yards, 4 plays. Time of possession: 1:27. Michigan 45, Eastern Michigan 13. MICHIGAN Anthony Jordan 32 Interception return with 11:05 remaining. Feely kick.

Michigan 52, Eastern Michigan 1J. EASTERN MICHIGAN Vannoy 4 pass from Church with 6:10 left. Ventura kick. Drive: 80 yards, 12 plays. Time of possession: 4:55.

Michigan 52, Eastern Michigan 20. MICHIGAN Justin Fargas 1 run with 1:41 remaining. Hayden Epstein kick. Drive: 1 yards, 8 plays. Time of possession: 2:38.

Michigan 50, Eastern Michigan 20. Attendance: 110,438. TEAM STATISTICS Todd Mclnturf The Detroit News U-M's Andre Weathers is congratulated by teammates after making a tackle against Eastern Michigan. VI 'f James Borchuck The Detroit News Dhani Jones corrals Eastern Michigan quarterback Walter Church. It was U-M's second sack of the season.

Sheffield imeiresses Down on third down Opponents have converted on 22 of 46 third-down attempts against Michigan this season. Here is how Michigan has fared against its opponents in third-down situations: Opponent Fared U-M Notre Pame. 9-18; Syracuse 7-14 3-15 EMU 7,17 Total 22-46 15-42 Century mark again Michigan's running game had been lacking in the first two games, but senior Clarence Williams did rush for 114 yards against Notre Dame, and freshman Walter Cross had 104 against Syracuse. Anthony Thomas, last year's Big Ten freshman of the year, who gained 46 yards on 19 carries in the first two games, finally got himself on track against Eastern Michigan with 117 yards and three touchdowns. Thomas accounted for all the yardage on the Wolverines' first drive, rushing 69 yards, including a 2-yard touchdown run.

He has eight career scores. Peterson sparks Sophomore William Peterson made his first play of the season a memorable one. Peterson, who missed the first two games with an injury, returned an interception 51 yards to give the Wolverines their final score of the first half. Walt Church's pass deflected off the fingers of intended receiver Eric Powell into Peterson's hands. It was Peterson's first career interception.

Freshman linebacker Anthony Jordan also returned his first collegiate interception 32 yards for a touchdown. This was only the second time the Wolverines have returned two interceptions for touchdowns in a game. Dave Debich and Rich Seabron against Northwestern in 1975 were the first to accomplish the feat. Injury update Senior receiver Tai Streets missed much of the game with a sprained right ankle. "I hurt all over, but I'm fine," said Streets, who was walking without a noticeable limp after the game.

Redshirt freshman linebacker P.J. Cwayna injured a knee in the game, Carr said. Junior cornerback Andre Weathers had to leave the game with a breathing problem, probably asthma-related, according to Carr. Freshman receiver Marquise Walker played Saturday with a broken finger suffered last week in practice. Walker had one catch for 4 yards.

Angelique S. Chengelis U-M's Carr says EMU receiver 'can play By Chris McCosky The Detroit News ANN ARBOR He looked a little like Herman Moore, didn't he? That was No. 84 for Eastern Michigan who was jumping over defenders to make catches. His name is Jermaine Sheffield and he caught five for in yards against Michigan on Saturday. ij "He's an outstanding receiver," Michigan Coach Lloyd Carr said.

"He could play anywhere in the country." Sheffield, who is 6-foot-5, took advantage of Michigan's smaller defensive backs. He caught a 25-yarder over 6-1 Andre Weathers. He caught a 14-yarder over 6-0 DeWayne Patmon. He caught a 25-yarder over 5-10 Todd Howard. And on his 37-yard touchdown pass, he beat 5-11 James Whitley.

"We expect to score, that's our mentality," said Sheffield, a junior from Strongsville, Ohio. He also played basketball for Eastern last season. "We expect to score on anybody that we step on the field against," he said. "And we expect to score more points than they do." Fighting Eagles The game looked over in the first six minutes. Michigan went 69 yards on four Anthony EMU Mich.

FIRST DOWNS Total 19 24 Rushing 5 14 Passing 12 8 Penalty 2 2 3rd-downeff. 717 39 4th-downeff. 01 00 RUSHING NoTYdS 3381 41237 Avg. rush 2.5 5.8 PASSING AttCmps 4532 2517 Interceptions 4 1 Avg. per pass 0.0 0.0 SackedYds lost 00 18 Passing yards 343 181 Total yards 424 418 PUNTS NcAvg.

642.5 442.3 Kick returnsyds. 335 255 Punt returnsyds. 210 680 Int returnsyds. 10 4120 Penaltiesyds. 551 423 Fumbleslost 10 21 Time Of POSS.

34:01 25:59 EMU STATISTICS RUSHING Alt Yds Avg Lg TD Vannoy 13 42 3.2 7 1 Powell 13 27 2.1 8 0 Barbera 2 15 7.5 10 0 Church 5 -3 2 0 PASSING Art Cmp Vdt TD hit Church 24 32 343 2 4 Barbera 3 0 0 0 0 RECEIVING No Yds Lg TD Christian 10 60 24 0 Sheffield 5 111 37 1 Powell 5 45 18 0 Vannoy 4 17 5 1 Ibom 3 20 10 0 Stevens 3 13 0 Campbell 1 71 71 0 Nylkes 1 18 18 0 PUNTING NO Yds Lg BL Avondet 6 255 65 0 PUNT RET. No Yds Lg TD Douglas 2 10 6 0 KICK RET. No Yds Lg TD Dupree 2 25 15 0 TACKLES Solo Ast Sacks Tot Johnson, D. 6 1 0 7 McCall.D. 4 2 0 6 4 2 0 6 Russell, S.

3 3 0 6 WllnghmJ. SO 0 5 Dupree, L. 4 0 0 4 Short, J. 4 0 0 4 Drlscoll.M. 4 0 0 4 Taylor, D.

4 0 0 4 Simmons, T. 3-0 0 3 Campbell, T. 3 0 0 3 Smith, A 12 0 3 Rushing, M. 2 0 0 2 Turner, J. 2 0 0 2 Howard, D.

10 0 1 Danzy.V. 1001 Chorak, M. 10 0 1 Robinson, C. 10 0 1 Carroll, J. 10 0 1 Philpot, K.

1001 Vltatoe.D. 10 0 1 Travis, A. 0 1 0 1 lames Borchuck The Detroit News Michigan rushed for 237 yards against James Hughes, right, and EMU, including 117 by Anthony Thomas. Ray's status the same A decision on whether U-M senior tri-captain Marcus Ray will return to the team could come as early as Tuesday. Ray was suspended indefinitely because of NCAA allegations of improper contact with an agent.

The university is conducting an investigation. "I would like to have it done even before (Tuesday)," U-M Athletic Director Tom Goss said. "It's moving along smoothly. They're going to give me a report on everything maybe Monday, but probably not until Tuesday because I'm going to be out of town most of the day on Monday." Michigan Coach Lloyd Carr had nothing to say about Ray after Saturday's game. "I'm not going to make any comments until at least after (the Michigan State) game about Marcus," Carr said.

"We're focused on Michigan State. We're not worried about things we can't control." Epstein gets his kicks The stories about U-M freshman kicker Hayden Epstein already have reached mythical proportions. Did you hear the one about Epstein's 63-yard field goal in practice? And how about the time he kicked off and split the uprights? While the 63-yarder in practice hasneverbeenconf rmed, Epstein did send one of his 10 kickoffs through the goalposts, good for a mythical 75-yard field goal In Epstein's first collegiate game, seven of his 10 kickoffs went into or through the end zone. The others were deep in Eastern Michigan territory, and the Eagles managed 35 return yards. EMU's best starting position off an Epstein kickoff was the 23-yard line.

"Epstein did a tremendous job in there," Carr said. "That does a lot of things for us, particularly in terms of field position. That's a tremendous asset. He can boom the ball." Carr said he might eventually use Epstein on long field-goal situations. Epstein also got his first extra point after freshman tailback Justin Fargas scored the Wolverines' final touchdown.

Quotable Carr on whether the Wolverines can take much from a victory over a team from the MidAmerican Conference: "I don't think this was a laugher." Carr on facing rival Michigan State next week at Michigan Stadium: "It's going to be a backyard brawl like it always is. I don't think there's a more intense football game that we play all year long. They have an outstanding football team. Anyone who saw them a week ago against Notre Dame knows what they're capable of. We've got a lot of work to do to get ready," TMchmzn schedule Data Sept.

5 Sept. 12 'Sept. 19, Date Sept. 26 3 Oct. 17 Oct.

24' Oct. 31 5. Nov. 14 Nov. 28 Opponent Notre Dam Syracuse Eastern Mich, Opponent Michigan St.

attowa at Northwestern 7 Indiana ,2 at Minnesota 2:30 'PennSt Wisconsin TBA 'at Ohio St at Hawaii and we did. We fought right to the end." On a bizarre two-play set early in the third quarter, the worst two plays of Michigan cornerback James Whitley's young career, the Eagles closed to 24-13. Whitely, returning a punt, was hit by Derek Vitatoe and fumbled the ball into the arms of Ken Philpot. On the next play, Whitely was beat by Sheffield on a 37-yard scoring pass. "Eastern played hard," Michigan's Jon Jansen said.

"They played hard for 60 minutes. They never gave up on that line. They were always fighting." The future Saturday was the coming-out party for Michigan freshman receiver David Terrell. "I think he gave you a glimpse of what he can do," Carr said. Terrell had four receptions for 65 yards and was ESPN's player of the game.

He also caught his first two touchdown passes, a 13-yarder from Tom Brady and a 32-yarder from Drew Henson. "I just came in with a level head and try to do my best," he said. "I treat every game like it's the Super Bowl. They are all important to me." Running hard How determined was Michigan to establish a running game? The first 10 plays from scrimmage were runs. The result: 100 yards and two touchdowns.

"We had to establish the run," Jansen said. "We can't go into the Big Ten season without a confident running attack. We got that today." The Wolverines averaged 5.8 yards and totaled 237 yards rushing. Thomas had 117 yards. "We finally started getting some push off the line 'and opened some holes," Jansen said.

victory Every team that comes in here is gunning for us and they are going to give us their best shot. That's what Eastern did. You can't give them enough credit. But we have to be better. We can't relax." Carr didn't dwell long on the negative.

He said that U-M stopped Eastern's running game (81 total yards) and made four interceptions. Two of those, by William Peterson (51 yards) and Anthony Jordan (32 yards), were returned for touchdowns. "I can't remember the last time we scored twice on defense," Carr said. The fact is, though, on each of the scores, Church's pass deflected off the hands of his receiver. "We have a lot of work to do, no question," senior nose le Rob Renes said.

"But this win helps tremendously. You lose a couple of games and you start to lose confidence and you start asking why things are happening the way they are. "Now, we have to look at the films and see where we can get better." U-M's defense shredded in MICHIGAN STATISTICS RUSHING Thomas Fargas Jackson Williams Cross Henson Art Yds 15 117 Avg Lg TD 73 36 3 4.9 18 1 6.8 9 0 5.4 13 0 2.4 8 0 4.0 9 0 PASSING Brady Henson Att Cmp 19 14 6 3 Yds TD Int 128 1 1 53 1 0 RECEIVING Terrell Knight Jackson Streets Tuman Bryant Walker Williams No Yds Lg TD 65 32 2 53 34 24 17 13 7 7 5 12 It 4 4 3 3 Thomas runs to score during its first possession, got the ball back on an interception and scored again to make it 14-0. But instead of grounding the Eagles, it woke them up. "They scored, big deal," said Brandon Campbell, who made a 71-yard reception to set up Eastern's first score.

"That didn't mean anything to me. Just because they scored didn't mean it had to get ugly. I knew we would fight back, same. "We need to tighten things down. That's a real big issue," U-M Coach Lloyd Carr said.

"I don't really know where we are right now. I know we made some improvement. And I know we are going to need to run the football to be a good team because we don't have a dominating defense," Syracuse's Donovan McN-abb picked the Wolverines apart with the option, but Eastern quarterback Walt Church did it with a short, possession passing game. He completed 32 of 42 passes for 343 yards, including a 71-yarder to Brandon Campbell that set up Eastern's first touchdown, and touchdown passes of 37 yards to Jermaine Sheffield and 4 yards to Eddie Vannoy. "Our offensive line gave Walt all day to throw and that is the key in our system," Eastern Coach' Rick Rasnick said.

"Even when we went to a seven-step drop and threw the ball down-field, we had excellent pass protection." Church was sacked once the sack of the season. "Church did an excellent job with their possession game and that Sheffield is a tremendous receiver. He could play anywhere," Carr said. "But we are a zone (defensive) team. We blitz and play zone to prevent the big play.

But teams have learned to attack us with the short pass in the flats. "We aren't getting pressure on the quarterback like we did last year because teams, all teams, have done a better job catching up to our zone blitzes." Carr wouldn't blame the soft play on the loss of safety Marcus Ray, who was suspended early in the week. But, clearly, the secondary has struggled. "We aren't doing a good job covering man to man," he said. "But keep in mind, we have a lot of young guys back there." Indeed, seven of U-M's nine defensive backs who played Saturday were either first- or second-year players.

"We have to step it up," said Jones, who led the Wolverines with 10 tackles. "We're Michigan and we have a tradition. By Chris McCosky The Detroit News ANN ARBOR A victory is a victory, and the Michigan players certainly deserved a few hours Saturday to savor their first of the season. But sometime today, as they begin to prepare for next Saturday's game against Michigan State, the Wolverines should think about this: Eastern Michigan, a team that was held to 10 points by Division i-AA Northern Illinois two weeks ago, came into the Big House and scored 20. Twenty points and 424 total yards 343 passing.

"Any time, as a defense, you give up 20 points in your own house you are displeased," linebacker Dhani Jones said. '1 don't care if you are playing Eastern Michigan, Central Michigan or Michigan State." Michigan allowed 74 points in its first two games, the most in consecutive games since 1935. Poor tackling, no pass rush and a proclivity toward yielding the big play were blamed. On Saturday, it was more of PUNTING NO Yds Lg BL Vinson 4 169 50 0 PUNT RET. NO Yds Lg TD Terrell 1 13 13 0 Whitley 5 67 25 0 KICK RET.

No' Yds Lg TD Williams 1 31 31 0 Fargas 1 24 24 0 TACKLES Solo Ast Sacks Tot DJones 6 4 0 10 E.Bracklns 7 1 0 8 S.Sword 7 0 0 7 A.Jordan 2 0 7 D.Patmon 5 0 0 5 T.Hendricks 14 IS T.Schanskl 4 0 0 4 J.Whitley 3 10 4 A.Weathers 3 0 0 3 J.Frysinger 2 1 0 3 J.Hall 2 1 0 3 C.Young 2 1 0 3 P.Kratus 2 0 0 2 J.WIIIIams 2 0 0 2 T.Howard 2 0 0,2 L.Foote 2 0 0 2 R.Renes 2 0 0 2 N.Miller 1 1 0 2 J.Feazell 1 0 0 1 C.Singletary 1 0 0 1 R.Jackson 10 0 1 K.Bryant 10 0 1 P.McCall 10 0 1 Result Attendance 36-20 80,012 38-28 111,012 53-20 110,438 Time Series leader Noon U-M, 59-26-5 2p.m,,' U-M. 35-8-4 p.m. U-M, 45-13-2 p.m. U-M. 43-9 p.m.

U-M, 62-23-3 Noon PSU.3-2 U-M, 42-10-1 Noon U-M, 54-34-6 Midnight U-M. 1-0.