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University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
0-3
Eastern Michigan
2-1
Massachusetts Football Falls To Eastern Michigan, 42-28
September 18, 2021 | Football
Ellis Merriweather posted his first career 100-yard rushing game and Brady Olson threw for 288 yards in his second straight start.
Merriweather ran for 142 yards on 23 carries, the first 100-yard game for a Minuteman since 2019. Olson completed 22 of 38 passes for 288 yards and threw for two touchdowns. Josiah Johnson had two TDs, one on the ground and another in the air, matching his single-season career high as the UMass offense ecliped the 30 first down plateau for the first time since 2018.
For Eastern Michigan, quarterback Ben Bryant threw for 298 yards (14 of 21) and a touchdown, while Jawon Hamilton ran for 122 and a touchdown and Hassan Beydoun had 101 yards on six grabs.
The Eagles struck on the opening drive of the game, taking a 7-0 lead after going 75 yards on six plays, capped by a one-yard touchdown run by Preston Hutchinson at the 12:22 mark.
Eastern Michigan added another TD on the ground to go up 14-0 with 4:48 left in the first, courtesy of an eight-yard run by Darius Boone and started the second quarter by finding the end zone once more as the Eagles got the ball back after an interception by David Carter with 1:17 to go in the opening quarter.
Johnson put UMass on the board at the end of an eight play 80-yard drive with a one-yard rush for his first touchdown of the year with 3:25 remaining in the second, which brought the score to 21-7, Eagles.
EMU drove down to the UMass 20 on its final series of the half, but Da'Shon Ross came up with a sack for a five-yard loss and the Eagles missed a 43-yard field goal attempt, keeping it a two-score game.
The Eagles ultimately pushed their lead back to 21 with 2:48 left in the third quarter, courtesy of Boone's second trip to the end zone of the day, followed by Hamilton's TD on a 10-yard rush at the 12:36 mark of the fourth quarter.
UMass responded with a 13-play, 75-yard drive that set up Carter Scudo's first career touchdown, a two-yard rush with 6:27 remaining in the fourth.
EMU countered by stretching its lead back to 21 with a 54-yard touchdown grab by Zach Westmoreland at the 4:07 mark in the final stanza.
The Minutemen completed the scoring with 53 seconds to go in the contest as Johnson picked up his second score of the day, a 29-yard pass from Olson that brought the final to 42-28.
UMass will be back in action on Saturday, September 25, when the squad travels to Coastal Carolina for a 1 p.m. matchup.
Team Stats
EMU 7, UMASS 0
EMU - HUTCHINSON, P. 1 yd run (RYLAND, Chad kick), 6 plays, 75 yards, TOP 2:38
EMU 14, UMASS 0
EMU - BOONE, Darius 8 yd run (RYLAND, Chad kick), 7 plays, 69 yards, TOP 2:44
EMU 21, UMASS 0
EMU - EVANS, Samson 13 yd run (RYLAND, Chad kick), 9 plays, 51 yards, TOP 4:18
EMU 21, UMASS 7
UMASS - Johnson,Josiah 1 yd run (Carson,Cameron kick), 8 plays, 80 yards, TOP 3:36
EMU 28, UMASS 7
EMU - BOONE, Darius 1 yd run (RYLAND, Chad kick), 9 plays, 56 yards, TOP 4:15
EMU 28, UMASS 14
UMASS - Hill,Melvin 45 yd pass from Olson,Brady (Carson,Cameron kick) 3 plays, 79 yards, TOP 0:57
EMU 35, UMASS 14
EMU - HAMILTON, Jawon 10 yd run (RYLAND, Chad kick), 5 plays, 80 yards, TOP 2:24
EMU 35, UMASS 21
UMASS - Scudo,Carter 2 yd run (Carson,Cameron kick), 13 plays, 75 yards, TOP 6:09
EMU 42, UMASS 21
EMU - WESTMORELAND,Z. 54 yd pass from BRYANT, Ben (RYLAND, Chad kick) 5 plays, 75 yards, TOP 2:20
EMU 42, UMASS 28
UMASS - Johnson,Josiah 29 yd pass from Olson,Brady (Carson,Cameron kick) 8 plays, 80 yards, TOP 3:14
