by All roads lead to Detroit in the Mid-American Conference, with no stakes outside of the conference championship trophy, the regular season comes to a roaring conclusion between the dominant Western Michigan Broncos and the always consistent Miami Red Hawks.
The path to Detroit was much different for both squads; the Broncos dominated MAC play and were the top dog in the conference. Miami lost to its rival and hoped tie breakers would help it get back to Detroit for the third straight year under Chuck Martin.
It was Western Michigan who claimed the MAC title with a final score of 23-13. This is the 5th MAC Championship for the Broncos. Their last title came in 2016 under now Minnesota coach PJ Fleck.
Both teams started red hot on offense, giving fans the expectation that this would be a shootout. Jalen Buckley was given the ball to move the sticks on a third and short. He instead broke past the Miami defense and entered a foot race 67 yards for an early score.
Buckley has been a star for the Broncos the past three seasons, as he has made a name for himself as one of the top running backs in all of G5. His performance today only proved that when he has space in front of him, he has the speed to break one loose.
Miami responded thanks to back-to-back passes and catches from Thomas Gotkowski to Kam Perry. These plays set up a short run by Jordan Brunson for the early score. The kick after was then blocked by the Broncos; it was a sign for things to come for both teams.
Western Michigan hit a trio of field goals from Palmer Domschke, including a 50-yard bomb, to increase the lead slowly. The Broncos possessed a 16-6 lead to end the first half, and they created more separation in the third quarter as the Miami offense continued to struggle.
The Broncos earned their second touchdown off the legs of Buckley once again as the leading rusher on the day, as he bolted 64 yards and a touchdown that would separate the pride of Kalamazoo from Miami.
Miami was able to find themselves back into the endzone when Henry Hesson found Cole Weaver in the endzone to make it a 10 score game in the fourth quarter. The late QB substitution wasn’t enough for Miami to mount the comeback, as their final attempts were halted as the Western Michigan defense stood tall like they did all game.
Photo Credit
Julia Herzog
