UMass | 24 |
---|---|
Ball State | 10 |
AMHERST — Mark Whipple returned to the University of Massachusetts with the stated intention of delivering championships. That’s what he told an adoring assemblage during his coronation-like reintroduction on campus back in January.
An 0-6 start to the season made it evident, however, that Whipple would not be making the same splash he had back in 1998, when his initial stint on the UMass sideline began with a Division 1-AA national title.
That’s not to suggest that Whipple 2.0 has failed to deliver, though. He’s brought something palpable to those who followUMass football: entertainment.
The Minutemen put on a performance Wednesday night that, while flawed, had stretches of prime-time worthiness. Junior receiver Tajae Sharpe fueled the high-test offense with a record-tying night and the defense got into the act courtesy of a spotlight showing by linebacker Trey Seals, as UMass won for the third time in its last four games, 24-10, before 13,374 at McGuirk Alumni Stadium.
But victory came at a cost. Blake Frohnapfel, the showstopping quarterback who leads the Mid-American Conference in passing yards and touchdowns, injured his right leg on a scramble late in the first half, limped his way through the third quarter, and finally left the game with 10 minutes to go and was carted to the locker room. Whipple offered no injury update after the game, saying only, “I don’t think it’s good.”
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Frohnapfel (28 of 44, 424 yards, 2 interceptions) was replaced on the next possession by redshirt freshman Austin Whipple, the coach’s son. The Minutemen led by a touchdown at the time, and Seals had just made the defensive play of the game — or at least one of his defensive plays of the game. After already having forced one fumble, recovering another, and producing a drive-halting sack, the redshirt junior picked off a pass by Jack Milas (23 of 37, 210 yards, 2 interceptions) at the Cardinals’ 42 with 8:42 left and returned it to the 36.
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“Trey Seals was immense,” said Whipple.
From there, the UMass offense consisted of Shadrach Abrokwah running, Lorenzo Woodley running, and Whipple . . . handing off. The Minutemen went 36 yards on six plays — the final one a 7-yard scoring run out of the wildcat by reserve Elgin Long — to make it 24-10. Later they killed off the game’s final 4½ minutes with a 10-play drive consisting of all runs.
“It was on the offensive line,” said Whipple. “They knew the situation.”
Woodley finished with 87 yards — 34 on eight carries during the final drive — and a touchdown, Abrokwah had 54 and a score.
The big numbers on this night were Sharpe’s, though, and his show started early. It took UMass (3-7, 3-3 MAC) all of 62 seconds to raise the curtain, as Frohnapfel connected with Sharpe for 8 yards on the game’s first play, then 61 on a deep post to put the ball on the Ball State (3-7, 2-4) 3-yard line. From there, Abrokwah ran it in to put the Minutemen ahead barely a minute into the game.
By night’s end, Sharpe would have 13 catches to match a UMass record he already shared with three others. His 239 receiving yards were a career high, and he surpassed Victor Cruz for fifth place on the school’s career list with 2,015 yards.
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“Tajae had a great game,” said Whipple.
Will he see the ball, though, when UMass faces Akron Tuesday night? With Whipple — he of the 0 for 0 stat line — expected to be under center, UMass will likely be more grind-it-out than air-it-out.
“I don’t think we’ll throw for 420,” said Whipple the coach. “Froh is a special guy. But our guys will rally behind whoever’s back there.”