09-25-2005, 07:37 AM
Sunday, September 25, 2005By Graham Couch
gcouch@kalamazoogazette.com 388-7773
PHILADELPHIA - It was a game filled with turnovers, penalties, injuries -- and it came down to a kick. After that kick, for a fleeting moment, none of the mistakes or season-changing bad breaks mattered.
Nate Meyer's 33-yard field goal as time expired gave Western Michigan University a 19-16 victory over host Temple on Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field. His boot sent players joyfully running onto the field, having won two in a row and beaten a Division I-A team, both for the first time since 2003.
``They deserve it,'' WMU head coach Bill Cubit said of his players. ``They go in fighting and do everything we ask them to do. They battled all the way through.''
The Broncos (2-2) may need a little extra fight the rest of the way. Late in the third quarter, senior quarterback Ryan Cubit badly injured his lower his right leg as he was hit by multiple defenders. He left the field on a cart, an air cast on his leg, broken in two spots, his season done.
Ryan Cubit was scheduled to head to the hospital upon the team's arrival in Kalamazoo Saturday night, with surgery scheduled for early this morning, his mother, Nancy Cubit, said.
``It's tough, it's tough,'' Bill Cubit said, tears flooding his eyes. ``He's the best kid I ever had. I don't know what happened. God's got different plans for different people.''
Cubit's loss was felt immediately. With the game knotted at 16 apiece since halftime, both teams struggling to score, and the Broncos threatening in Temple territory, backup Robbie Haas threw an interception on his first pass.
Fortunately for Western, its struggles on offense were more than matched by the Owls (0-4), which capitalized by moving four yards in three plays and punting.
Four possessions later, Haas made amends. The senior, who started the Broncos' near miss at Virginia, led WMU on a 10-play drive, completing all three of his passes for 33 yards. His poise, coupled with the sure-footed running of Mark Bonds, set up the winning field goal.
``(Robbie) did a great job,'' Bill Cubit said. ``His first pass was intercepted but he made big throws on the last drive. He got it done in the end.''
Haas wasn't the only Bronco with the weight of his team's fortunes on his shoulders. Meyer, who missed a 43-yarder left in the third quarter, had to stand alone with his thoughts through three timeouts -- one by Western, two by Temple -- before booting the most important field goal of his short career.
``I tried to take the focus off the big situation and focus on doing what I do every day in practice,'' Meyer, a junior, said. ``I was thinking how much I wanted this for the team.''
If not for five turnovers -- four of which stalled drives with potential, the other which led to a quick Temple score -- Meyer's leg may never have been needed.
Ryan Cubit, who took a bevy of shots before his injury, coughed up two of Western's three lost fumbles, the second while scrambling downfield inside the Owl 15-yard line just before the half. That coupled with Meyer's first miss, Haas' pick and a fourth-quarter Trovon Riley fumble, made the game closer than it might have been.
Temple had its own issues, with two lost fumbles, a pair of interceptions, a blocked punt and a blocked extra point which Western's Ameer Ismail returned for a two-point conversion following the Owls' opening drive.
Yet, it wasn't all Temple's fault that the Broncos won.
WMU's offense moved the ball with ease on three straight possessions, scoring twice, after falling behind 13-2 in the first quarter.
The defense pressured Temple quarterback Mike McGann throughout the second half, with a sack, five hurries -- three by Ismail -- and an interception.
Senior tight end Tony Scheffler had his best game of the season with seven catches for 118 yards.
Fellow senior Greg Jennings had another Jennings-like day, with 11 catches for 79 yards a score, breaking the school mark for career touchdowns with 28.
The running game produced 151 yards, with Riley gaining 91 of those on 27 carries and Bonds, who replaced Riley after his fumble, netting 56 yards on just 11 rushes.
And then there's Ryan Cubit. In his final game as a Bronco, he completed 18-of-29 passes for 191 yards and two touchdowns against one interception.
Bill Cubit, his mind clearly on his son, said he had complete confidence in his new starting quarterback.
``We'll go with Robbie and get one of the freshman ready, two ready,'' Bill Cubit said of Tim Hiller and Caleb Clark.
``This stuff happens. Unfortunately it happened to a great player.''
gcouch@kalamazoogazette.com 388-7773
PHILADELPHIA - It was a game filled with turnovers, penalties, injuries -- and it came down to a kick. After that kick, for a fleeting moment, none of the mistakes or season-changing bad breaks mattered.
Nate Meyer's 33-yard field goal as time expired gave Western Michigan University a 19-16 victory over host Temple on Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field. His boot sent players joyfully running onto the field, having won two in a row and beaten a Division I-A team, both for the first time since 2003.
``They deserve it,'' WMU head coach Bill Cubit said of his players. ``They go in fighting and do everything we ask them to do. They battled all the way through.''
The Broncos (2-2) may need a little extra fight the rest of the way. Late in the third quarter, senior quarterback Ryan Cubit badly injured his lower his right leg as he was hit by multiple defenders. He left the field on a cart, an air cast on his leg, broken in two spots, his season done.
Ryan Cubit was scheduled to head to the hospital upon the team's arrival in Kalamazoo Saturday night, with surgery scheduled for early this morning, his mother, Nancy Cubit, said.
``It's tough, it's tough,'' Bill Cubit said, tears flooding his eyes. ``He's the best kid I ever had. I don't know what happened. God's got different plans for different people.''
Cubit's loss was felt immediately. With the game knotted at 16 apiece since halftime, both teams struggling to score, and the Broncos threatening in Temple territory, backup Robbie Haas threw an interception on his first pass.
Fortunately for Western, its struggles on offense were more than matched by the Owls (0-4), which capitalized by moving four yards in three plays and punting.
Four possessions later, Haas made amends. The senior, who started the Broncos' near miss at Virginia, led WMU on a 10-play drive, completing all three of his passes for 33 yards. His poise, coupled with the sure-footed running of Mark Bonds, set up the winning field goal.
``(Robbie) did a great job,'' Bill Cubit said. ``His first pass was intercepted but he made big throws on the last drive. He got it done in the end.''
Haas wasn't the only Bronco with the weight of his team's fortunes on his shoulders. Meyer, who missed a 43-yarder left in the third quarter, had to stand alone with his thoughts through three timeouts -- one by Western, two by Temple -- before booting the most important field goal of his short career.
``I tried to take the focus off the big situation and focus on doing what I do every day in practice,'' Meyer, a junior, said. ``I was thinking how much I wanted this for the team.''
If not for five turnovers -- four of which stalled drives with potential, the other which led to a quick Temple score -- Meyer's leg may never have been needed.
Ryan Cubit, who took a bevy of shots before his injury, coughed up two of Western's three lost fumbles, the second while scrambling downfield inside the Owl 15-yard line just before the half. That coupled with Meyer's first miss, Haas' pick and a fourth-quarter Trovon Riley fumble, made the game closer than it might have been.
Temple had its own issues, with two lost fumbles, a pair of interceptions, a blocked punt and a blocked extra point which Western's Ameer Ismail returned for a two-point conversion following the Owls' opening drive.
Yet, it wasn't all Temple's fault that the Broncos won.
WMU's offense moved the ball with ease on three straight possessions, scoring twice, after falling behind 13-2 in the first quarter.
The defense pressured Temple quarterback Mike McGann throughout the second half, with a sack, five hurries -- three by Ismail -- and an interception.
Senior tight end Tony Scheffler had his best game of the season with seven catches for 118 yards.
Fellow senior Greg Jennings had another Jennings-like day, with 11 catches for 79 yards a score, breaking the school mark for career touchdowns with 28.
The running game produced 151 yards, with Riley gaining 91 of those on 27 carries and Bonds, who replaced Riley after his fumble, netting 56 yards on just 11 rushes.
And then there's Ryan Cubit. In his final game as a Bronco, he completed 18-of-29 passes for 191 yards and two touchdowns against one interception.
Bill Cubit, his mind clearly on his son, said he had complete confidence in his new starting quarterback.
``We'll go with Robbie and get one of the freshman ready, two ready,'' Bill Cubit said of Tim Hiller and Caleb Clark.
``This stuff happens. Unfortunately it happened to a great player.''
