By DOUG ZALESKI
dzaleski@muncie.gannett.com

MUNCIE — A dose of good fortune never hurt any winning football team.

Central Michigan was deep in its territory late in the first half Wednesday against Ball State, facing third-and-11 from its 18-yard line. Quarterback Dan LeFevour cranked up a deep throw that appeared intended for Cody Wilson along the sideline.

But out of nowhere, Chippewas wide receiver Antonio Brown came into the area and caught the ball near the 50-yard line.

Wilson’s momentum carried him into Ball State safety Kyle Hoke, and he leveled Hoke to open a running lane for Brown.

Brown easily cruised through the opening and outran Ball State cornerback Charlie Todd to the end zone for an 82-yard touchdown. The play gave the Chippewas a 21-3 lead with 46 seconds left in the first half.

WR ties record

Central Michigan junior receiver Bryan Anderson tied an NCAA record when he made his first catch in the game.

Anderson has caught at least one pass in 51 consecutive games.

The catch that tied the mark was a 10-yard touchdown reception with 10:56 remaining in the opening quarter.

Anderson shares the record with Taurean Henderson of Texas Tech and Michael Larkin of Miami.

Cardinal clatter

• Backup C Jordan Applegate, a fifth-year senior for Ball State, sang The Star Spangled Banner on senior night before the game against the Chippewas. Applegate was one of 11 Ball State seniors honored before the game.

• Central Michigan freshman WR Cody Wilson is a son of former Ball State QB Dave Wilson. Cody Wilson entered Wednesday’s game with 13 catches for 112 yards and one TD this season. Dave Wilson was a four-year letterman for the Cardinals (1976-79) and ranks eighth in school history with 4,009 career passing yards.

• Ball State announced a crowd of 5,736 for the game. The actual number of fans in the stadium was about 1,500.

Contact sports writer Doug Zaleski at 213-5813.