By DOUG ZALESKI
dzaleski@muncie.gannett.com
YPSILANTI, Mich. — A classic goal-line stand by Ball State in the second quarter of Saturday’s football game became a major reason why it was able to win for the first time this season.
Eastern Michigan appeared to take a 14-6 lead when Corey Welch ran for a 5-yard touchdown with 10:59 left in the second period. A review ruled Welch went down at the 1, which gave the Eagles first and goal.
Dwayne Priest was tackled by Ball State’s Theon Dixon for no gain on first down. The Cardinals’ Drew Duffin stopped Priest for a loss of 1 yard on second down. Robert Eddins and Alex Knipp stopped Alex Gillett for a loss of 2 yards on third down.
Instead of what seemed a sure touchdown, Eastern Michigan settled for a field goal and a 10-6 lead. The four-point swing became huge later in the game as Ball State held on for a 29-27 victory to break a nine-game losing streak.
“We went to the sideline (during the replay review), and coach said, ‘We’ve got another chance for a reason,’ ” Eddins said. “We took that into consideration, and put our feet in the ground.
“We put the burden on the D-line because we’re the most experienced group, and we can handle it. This should be what we want.”
Inspired by former C?
Ball State’s offensive line gave perhaps its best performance of the season, and maybe not coincidentally it came with former center Dan Gerberry exhorting the group from the field.
Gerberry, a four-year starter who finished his career last season, is on the Detroit Lions’ practice squad this year. He attended the game with the Lions on a bye.
With his trademark ponytail in place and wearing a short-sleeved shirt on a raw, 46-degree afternoon, Gerberry made his presence known during pregame drills and from the sideline in the game.
Quarterback Tanner Justice headed right toward Gerberry after throwing a third-quarter interception and seemed to receive encouraging words.
Gerberry’s former offensive line mates helped open massive running holes during the game for tailbacks Quale Lewis and Cory Sykes. Lewis rushed for a school-record 301 yards, and Sykes piled on 203.
WR held in check
Receiver Briggs Orsbon was held without a catch against Eastern Michigan for the first time in his career. He had caught at least one pass in each of his first 21 games as a Cardinal.
Orsbon didn’t have many opportunities to catch passes. The Cardinals threw just 10 times, and only two were directed at Orsbon.
Orsbon also was replaced as the Cardinals’ punt returner by Charlie Todd. Coach Stan Parrish said on Sunday he knew Orsbon probably would be involved in 80 offensive plays, so he removed him from the punt return team in favor of Todd, who the coach said has made improvement in that area.
Todd returned three punts for 14 yards, with a long runback of 7 yards.
Cardinal clatter
• Parrish hasn’t shown much patience for missed kicks, and that job could be up for grabs again this week. Steven Schott, who replaced Ian McGarvey on field goals and PATs two games ago, suffered a blocked extra point and blocked field goal against Eastern Michigan.
• Justice, who made his first career start, completed only 2-of-10 passes against the Eagles. The only time since 1993 that the Cardinals completed fewer passes was in 2000, when they connected on 1-of-8 throws in a 76-0 loss at Kansas State.
— Contact sports writer Doug Zaleski at 213-5813.