FOOTBALL

Roster  |  Coaches  |  Schedule / Results  |  News

BUFFALO, NY - All-American candidate Tim Lester completed 22-of-36 passes for 407 yards and three touchdowns to lead Western Michigan to a 45-17 victory over the University at Buffalo on Saturday night at Waldo Stadium in a Mid-American Conference clash.

Lester got hot after intermission by completing 14-of-21 passes for 256 yards and tossing three touchdown passes as Western Michigan (5-2, 4-0 in the MAC) were able to pull away from a game Bulls' team that battled the heavily-favored Broncos on even terms the first half. Buffalo fell to 0-6 and 0-5 in the MAC with the loss.

The Bulls came storming out of the gates and took the opening kickoff 67 yards in 16 plays before being stopped on fourth-and-one at the Broncos' nine-yard line. Buffalo struck first in the game when Scott Keller (Amherst, NY/Amherst Central booted a 29-yard field goal with 2:00 left in the first quarter.

Lester, however, led WMU to three straight second quarter scores as the Broncos captured a 21-3 lead before Buffalo responded. The Bulls executed the two-minute drill to perfection and quarterback Joe Freedy (Bethel Park, PA/Bethel Park) hit flanker Drew Haddad (Westlake, OH/St. Ignatius) from 12 yards out with just :21 left in the first half to cut the lead to 21-10.

The second half, however, belonged to Lester. After a 31-yard field goal by Brad Selent made the lead 24-10, Lester hooked up with senior split end Steve Neal for back-to-back touchdown aerials from 11 and 18 yards out before Buffalo's Dan Shefferly (Grosse Pointe Woods, MI/Grosse Point North) scored the first touchdown of his career with 12:40 left in the game from one yard out. That score came after safety Craig Rohlfs (Cincinnati, OH/Moeller) forced a fumble by Neal on a punt return that was recovered by Kevin Johnson (Pittsburgh, PA/Valley). Rohlfs finished the game with a team-high eight tackles. Teammate Eric Pipkins (Pittsburgh, PA/Valley) added six tackles, an interception and a blocked kick for the Bulls.

Lester closed the scoring with a 33-yard hookup with Joshua Bush to reach the final margin. The Bulls squandered opportunities to make the game closer in the second half. Pipkins intercepted a Lester pass early in the third quarter at the Western 35 and returned it 22 yards to the Bronco 13. However, the Bulls failed to convert a fourth-and-one at the WMU four-yard line.

Offensively for the Bulls, Freedy finished 18-of-35 passing for 191 yards with an interception and a touchdown. Haddad, meanwhile, saw a streak of four straight 100-yard receiving games broken but still had nine catches for 87 yards, going over 200 career receptions (201) in his career.

Sophomore tailback Derrick Gordon (Brooklyn, NY/August Martin) had a career-high 30 carries for 97 yards. Freshman split end Andre Forde (Penfield, NY/Penfield) had a career-best five catches for 69 yards and also returned three kickoffs for 53 yards.

"It's doubly frustrating because we think we were doing a pretty good job in the first half defensively,"said head coach Craig Cirbus. "Lester's a great player and they have a great offense and that second half we just couldn't put a hold on him. I thought the plan of attack was good. We're just struggling with executing it all and being consistent with it and when you play a good team and little mishap and they can capitalize on it even when you have good coverage."