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Central Michigan Runs Past Wyoming in 24-10 Cowboys Loss
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Wyoming suffered a 24-10 loss to Central Michigan on a rainy Saturday here at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
The Cowboys (1-2) were out-gained 339-162 in rushing yards by the Chippewas (2-1).
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UW trailed 17-0 at the intermission after CMU ran 43 plays for 246 yards (214 rushing) compared to the visitors' 20 plays for 113 yards. The Cowboys turned the tide in the second half, finishing the game with 342 total yards, but two fourth-quarter interceptions thwarted the comeback bid.
Tyler Hughes connected with Kyle Frendt on a 39-yard pass to get the Pokes in the red zone, but Eric Richardson was stopped short of the line to gain on a fourth-and-4 at the CMU 10-yard line.
On the ensuing possession, quarterback Angel Flores, who had 144 yards rushing and two scores in the first half, ran for a 1-yard touchdown run to finish a 17-play, 90-yard drive with two second remaining in the second quarter. Earlier in the frame, Flores capped an 11-play, 80-yard drive with a 25-yard touchdown to give the Chippewas a 10-0 lead.
"I don't think there was a lack of preparation or a lack of energy to play. What we didn't do is respond to adversity when we got to that in a certain point in the first half the way we needed to," UW head coach Jay Sawvel said. "We've got challenges that we've got to work through right now a little bit within not getting down in certain phases of the game. That's been frustrating because I think that by and large, there's maturity on the team, but our leadership, it's got to be better. It can't be us coming in at halftime and getting changed. It can't be us coming in during a lightning delay and getting changed. We've got to be able to change it while we're on the field."
The Cowboys finally got on the scoreboard with a 37-yard field goal by Erik Sandvik with 6:13 remaining in the third quarter. Brock Townsend answered with a 38-yard touchdown run to extends the Chippewas' lead to 24-3.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, Markell Holman ran for a 6-yard touchdown to cut UW's deficit to 24-10.
Frendt had four catches for 95 yards and Hughes rushed for 78 yards to lead the Cowboys. Linebackers Gary Rutherford and Dash Bauman has 13 and 12 tackles, respectively, to highlight the defensive effort.
"I thought we fought hard in the second half. I thought we were much better in the second half," Sawvel said. "But we also made a couple of critical mistakes in the second half that keep us from being in a position where we had a chance to win the game."
UW will host Hawaii in the Mountain West opener next Saturday at War Memorial Stadium (1 p.m., The CW).
This is a UW press release.
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