Irish Rock Spartans 38-18
Turnovers were the name of the game on Saturday night in East Lansing. The Irish took huge advantage and rolled to an easy 38-18 win over the Michigan State Spartans. Brandon Wimbush was 14 of 20 for 173 yards and a score and also ran for another. Josh Adams had 56 yards on the ground and Deon McIntosh and Dexter Williams also scored on the ground. After a tough game Equanimeous St.Brown had four catches for 61 yards.
Brian Lewerke finished 31 of 51 for 333 yards and 2 touchdowns for the Spartans but was picked off by Julian Love and also lost a fumble. L.J. Scott had 61 yards on the ground and Darrell Stewart had six receptions for 41 yards and a touchdown
The Irish moved to 3-1 with the victory and will head to Miami(OH) next week. While the Spartans dropped to 2-1 and will play the Iowa Hawkeyes next week.
The Spartans outgained the Irish 496-355 but turned the ball three times and it flipped the game on its head.
After a few incompletions, Lewerke got the Spartans into the red zone with nice pass over the middle to Matt Sokol. After a few short yardage plays, the Spartans were forced to go for it and failed, giving it back to the Irish deep in their own territory.
A nice throw and catch from Wimbush to Alize Mack got the Irish some breathing room out to their own 25-yard line. Another big third down play got the Irish beyond midfield. Wimbush took the ball and ran after a broken play and gained 32 yards down the sideline.
The Irish drive stalled after that and Justin Yoon then converted a 45-yard field goal to give the Irish a 38-10 lead with just 4:51 left in the game. The Spartans got the chains moving after a few completions by Lewerke. They got over midfield after two straight receptions by Hunter Rison.
The Spartans got into the end zone finally after a 25-yard touchdown on a screen pass by Lewerke to Gerald Holmes. The Spartans then tacked on a two-point conversation to cut the Irish lead to 38-18 with 3:09 remaining. Ian Book came into the game for the Irish with little time left to close it out.
The Irish were 8 of 14 on third downs and kept the Spartan defense on the field in critical situations.
The Spartans received the second half kickoff down 21 and took over at their own 25-yard line. Lewerke got into a nice rhythm after a pitch and catch to the tight end Sokol. A 20-yard pass to Trishton Jackson got Michigan State into Irish territory.
Jerry Tillery sacked Lewerke on third down forcing the Spartans into a 40-yard field goal cutting the Irish lead to 28-10 with 11:13 to play in the third. The Irish took the ensuing kickoff to their own 38 after a nice return by C.J. Sanders. After an offside penalty got the Irish over midfield Wimbush completed a quick pass to Chase Claypool for a first down.
A few short runs got the Irish moving and then Wimbush hit Claypool with a beautiful throw to get the Irish into the red zone. McIntosh took care of the rest two plays later scoring on a 9-yard touchdown run to give the Irish a 35-10 lead with 7:46 to go in the third.
The Spartans took over after a nice kick return and got over midfield thanks to an Irish penalty. The Spartans were then forced to punt after their drive failed to get any true yardage and the Irish took over at their own 20 with 6:29 to play in the third.
McIntosh got the call on the next drive and got a nice gain of 14 yards on second down. Wimbush then found Miles Boykin for 12 yards to get the Irish over midfield. The Irish were then forced to punt after a couple negative plays. The Spartans got the ball back at their own 12 with three and half minutes to go in the quarter.
The Spartans got some momentum going on their next drive as Lewerke got a couple passes completed including a throw into double coverage that Stewart came down with. Another pass to Felton Davis picked up a first down and it put the third quarter in the books with the Irish ahead 35-10.
The Irish were four for four in the red zone and were nearly flawless in that area overall.
The Irish received the opening kickoff and Sanders returned it to the Irish 21. Wimbush completed his first pass of the game to Claypool for a first down and then hit Claypool again for a nice gain as the Irish approached midfield. Wimbush then found St. Brown deep down the middle of the field for 31 yards, setting Irish up in the red zone.
Wimbush capped off the drive with a 16-yard touchdown scamper and the Irish went up 7-0 just 1:55 into the game. The Spartans started their first drive at their own 35 and were able to cross midfield on a nice slant throw from Lewerke to Stewart on third down. The drive stalled and then Lewerke was picked off by Love who took 59 yards for a score. The Irish lead jumped to 14-0 with 10:33 left in the first quarter.
On the ensuing drive, the Spartans got into a rhythm running the football with Scott until Lewerke broke off a 52-yard gain to put the Spartans in the red zone. Lewerke then found Stewart in the end zone to cut the Irish lead in half at 14-7 with 6:33 left in the quarter.
Sanders took the ensuing kickoff up to the Notre Dame 29. Wimbush made a nice throw to St.Brown to pick up a first down on third down to get the Irish drive moving. But the drive then stalled as Wimbush was brought down on third down giving the football back to Michigan State.
The Spartans took over at their own 25 with 3:32 remaining in the quarter. After a few solid runs by Scott, Lewerke got sacked by Drue Tranquil putting the Spartans in a tough spot. The Spartans then punted it away giving the Irish the ball back with under a minute left in the quarter at their own 30-yard line.
An Adams run closed out the quarter with the Irish still ahead 14-7. The Irish got a big break on a late hit on Wimbush which got them over midfield. The Irish were unable to get anything going and punted it back to the Spartans who took over at their own 18 with 12:50 to play in the half.
The Spartans had nothing doing on their next drive and Lewerke lost the ball on third down and the Irish recovered with great field position at the Spartan 24-yard line. A couple of runs for short yardage by Williams got the Irish inside the 10. Wimbush then found Williams near the sideline for a touchdown giving the Irish a 21-7 lead with 9:32 left in the half.
The Spartans began their next drive at their own 26 and crossed midfield after a nice run by Lewerke. Stewart then made a clutch grab on third down giving the Spartans some much needed momentum. A beautiful throw from Lewerke to Jackson. L.J. Scott appeared to score a play later but Shawn Crawford punched it out at the last second, giving the Irish possession.
On the first play of the drive, Adams took a handoff 30 yards to midfield and thanks to a Spartan penalty, the Irish got down to the Michigan State 35-yard line. A great pass from Wimbush to Durham Smythe got the Irish into the red zone and Williams scored on the next play to give the Irish a 28-7 lead with 4:47 left in the half.
On the Spartans next drive they stalled early but then Jackson made a big catch on third down to keep the drive alive. Lewerke then completed a 20-yard pass to Rison to get the Spartans over midfield. After a penalty, the drive stopped abruptly and the Spartans punted it away to the Irish with 1:06 remaining in the half.
A few short runs by Adams closed the half with the Irish still on top 28-7. Wimbush was 9 of 15 for 110 yards and had a touchdown through the air and score on the ground. Adams was the rushing leader with 54 yard and St.Brown was the receiving leader with 4 catches for 61 yards. Lewerke for the Spartans was 10 of 19 for 95 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Lewerke also had 54 yards rushing which led the team. Stewart led the Spartans with 4 receptions for 25 yards.
Player of the Game: Wimbush. Although not overpowering through the air, he only had six incompletions and looked sharp the whole game.
Unsung Hero: Williams. Fans had been clamoring for the past few weeks to get him more playing time. He more than made up for it with two scores on the night.
Next Week: The Irish will be back home next Saturday hosting the Miami Ohio Redhawks at 5 P.M.