BUFFALO, NY - Central Michigan used a grind-it-out offense and an opportunistic defense to hold off Buffalo, 16-8, in a Mid-American Conference game at UB Stadium on Saturday night.

The Chippewas (2-2, 1-1 in the MAC) ground out 285 yards on the ground, including a career-high 123 yards on 29 carries by Terrance Jackson, to control the clock and game. Central Michigan ran 93 plays to Buffalo's 60 leading to an 11:00 edge in time of possession.

Central opened up a 16-0 lead in the first half on a 20-yard touchdown run by Robbie Mixon and three field goals (44, 33 and 19 yards) by Paul Savich. The Bulls (1-3, 0-2 in the MAC) did not allow a second-half defensive touchdown for the second straight week and made things interesting in the final minutes.

Chad Bartoszek

Junior tight end Chad Bartoszek (Salamanca, NY/Salamanca) caught a 32-yard touchdown pass from Joe Freedy (Bethel Park, PA/Bethel Park) with :45 left and the two hooked up again for the two-point conversion to cut the score to 16-8. However, CMU's Tedaro France - who had seven tackles and a key interception in the game -recovered Buffalo's onside kick and the Chippewas ran out the clock for the win.

The Bulls missed some early chances to get on the board which would come back to haunt them later. After stopping Central Michigan on their first two possession, the Bulls drove the ball to the CMU 31-yard line -thanks to a 20-yard hookup from Freedy to junior flanker Maurice Bradford (Binghamton, NY/Binghamton). However, Dallas Pelz (Holland, NY/St. Francis) missed a 41-yard field goal with 7:50 remaining in the first quarter.

The Chippewas took advantage, driving 76 yards in six plays, capped by a 20-yard burst by Mixon. Central extended their lead to 10-0 with a 44-yard field goal by Savich with 2:01 remaining in the first quarter after UB cornerback Mark Graham (Monroe, MI/Monroe) broke up a deep pass on third down. Graham had three pass breakups on the game.

Mark Graham

Central got another Savich field goal, this one from 33 yards out, early in the second quarter. The Chippewas had 38 yards on the ground in the 51-yard drive.

Buffalo could not take advantage of another first-half chance when senior nose guard Bob Dzvonick (Pittsburgh, PA/Shaler) recovered a fumble forced by strong safety Youdlain Marcellus (Longueil, Quebec/Vanier Prep) at the Buffalo 25-yard line. Dzvonick had five tackles in the game while Marcellus had a career-best 10 tackles.

The Bulls drove to the CMU 32, with key passes from Freedy to Andre Forde (Penfield, NY/Penfield) for 30 yards and Freedy to Bradford for 15. However, Pelz' 40-yard attempt was blocked and Buffalo could not mount another scoring drive in the first half.

The Bulls stayed within striking distance in the second half thanks to a sterling effort by the UB defense. The Chippewas moved inside the UB 20-yard line on three occasions but could not get points on the board. The Bulls stuffed CMU on two plays from the Bulls' one-yard line - first by junior linebacker Ryan Buttles (Pike, NY/Letchworth) on third down - and by seniors Duane Williams (Detroit, MI/Denby) and Chris Shelly (Pittsburgh, PA/Shaler) on fourth down. Williams and Shelly stopped Kenan Lawhorne behind the line of scrimmage on a fourth-and-inches to the UB end zone. Williams had a career-best 12 tackles and a pass breakup while Shelly had seven stops and a half-sack.

Bobby Johnson

Senior linebacker Bobby Johnson (Trabuco Hills, CA/Trabuco Hills) had a career-best 17 tackles and a pass breakup to pace the Buffalo defense that kept the Bulls close in the second half. Johnson leads the team with 43 tackles this season.

Offensively, UB tailback Marquis Dwarte (Baltimore, MD/Perry Hall) led the rushing game with 17 carries for 75 yards. Freedy finished 17-for-36 for 194 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Forde had five catches for 68 yards while Bartoszek had four catches for 71 yards and his third career touchdown.

Freedy moved into fourth place all-time in career passing yardage (4,435) in the game and tied Gordon Bukaty for fifth place in career touchdown passes (25). Safety Craig Rohlfs (Cincinnati, OH/Moeller) had 11 tackles in the game, including eight solo stops which leapfrogged him from eighth to sixth-all time in career solo stops (128). ALIGN="CENTER"> Post-Game Comments

Buffalo head coach Jim Hofher...

"I don't think we lost, we just ran out of time. The offensive output was clearly too little, too late. The turnovers were a big part of the game, who knows what happens if we don't have the turnovers. We had some chances to get some points and we didn't. Our guys did not back down, regardless of whether they were a size disadvantage. Central Michigan was very physical. They didn't necessarily rip us with long runs as much as consistent gains."

Junior tight end Chad Bartoszek

On his second half touchdown

"I just wish the catch would have happened a little earlier. If we had another chance to get on the field I think it would have been a different ball game. I'm glad Joe gave me a look on the play and I'm glad I had a chance to make a play."

Senior linebacker Bobby Johnson

"We feel that we have to step it up a notch when the opposition gets into scoring territory. I find my success when I use my quickness. Sometimes I am a little small to engage with the linemen, so I try to get around them instead of going head-up with them."