Hilltoppers and Broncos not lacking for firepower
By Art Garcia
There was plenty to occupy the days and nights of the Western Michigan and Western Kentucky coaches leading up the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl. The rosters are dripping with talent, along with award-winning difference-makers on both sides of the ball.
Add on top of that two first-rate coaching staffs who know how to win and get the most out of their respective student-athletes. Not surprisingly, the respect runs deep on each side as the Broncos and Hilltoppers prepare to clash at Gerald J. Ford Stadium on Dec. 30 in Dallas.
WKU (8-4) is playing in its sixth bowl game in the past eight years and 29th postseason contest overall. The Hilltoppers went 6-2 in Conference USA this past season, placing four players on the league’s first team. Thee more made the second team, nine garnered honorable mention and three were on the all-freshman squad.
Among those honored was receiver Lucky Jackson, who corralled a league-high 77 receptions for 985 yards and three touchdowns, and running back Gaej Walker, who moved from defensive back in the spring and tallied 226 carries and 1,115 yards, with a team-best eight rushing touchdowns.
Though he didn’t appear on conference teams, quarterback Ty Storey passed for 2,209 yards and 12 touchdowns, completing 70.1 percent of his throws.
Defensive end DeAngelo Malone anchored the top scoring defense in the league, ranking tied for fourth in the country with 21.0 tackles for loss and 11th in the nation with 11.5 sacks. WKU allowed just 20.1 points per outing.
“Getting to watch them and getting to know them a little bit, their defense has done an unbelievable job in modern-day college football when you’re averaging 20 points a game or less, you’re a top 20 defense in the country,” Western Michigan coach Tim Lester said. “They’ve obviously done a great job. They’ve got a 2,000-yard passer that completes 70 percent and a 1,000-yard rusher, so this will be a great challenge.”
Lester and WKU defensive coordinator Clayton White coached together at Western Michigan. The Broncos (7-5) are playing in their 10th bowl game all-time, and sure have the attention of Hilltoppers coach Tyson Helton.
Western Michigan running back LeVante Bellamy was voted the 2019 Mid-American Conference Vern Smith Leadership Award winner as the league's most valuable player and the MAC Offensive Player of the Year, while junior linebacker Treshaun Hayward was tabbed the MAC Defensive Player of the Year. In all, 12 Broncos earned 13 all-league awards with six first-team selections, four second-team picks and three third-team accolades.
Bellamy, a Doak Walker Award semifinalist, leads the nation with 23 rushing touchdowns and ranks 10th in the country with 1,412 yards on the ground this season. Hayward totaled a team-high 132 tackles, second in the MAC and fifth nationally, along with 10.5 tackles for loss and 5.0 sacks.
“We’ve really just got to do what we try to do every single week – establish the run, we’ve got to limit turnovers on offense and try to find the explosive plays,” Helton said. “The game is about explosive plays and we need to be able to create those plays. If we can get to 30 (points) and our defense can play good defense, then hopefully that will be enough to go win the game.”
Neither program has appeared in the First Responder Bowl. The teams have played 15 times, but not since 1947. Western Michigan leads the series 11-3-1.