Bilal falls short of rushing mark in Lake Erie loss to Michigan Tech

Unless you were a Michigan Tech player, coach or fan, disappointment was everywhere to be found Nov. 14 at Jack Britt Memorial Stadium.

Not only had the host Lake Erie College Storm come out on the decidedly short end of a (63-23) thumping by the Huskies, but standout senior running back Anthony Bilal gained nowhere near the 187 yards he needed to reach the 6,000-yard plateau in career rushing.

Bilal was limited to 26 yards on 19 carries by the rugged MTU defense. It was by far the lowest output this season for the former Riverside High School standout, who finished with 1,420 yards on 224 carries .

For his career, the 5-foot7, 175-pound Bilal piled up 5,839 rushing yards on 886 attempts and 79 rushing touchdowns, all LEC-record totals.

Bilal was disconsolate in the immediate aftermath of the loss. Many teammates approached him, offering words of comfort and affirmation of what he had achieved in four stellar seasons.

“This one will hurt for a little bit, but overall, it’s been a blessing to play with these guys in front of my family and so many friends,” said Bilal, who hopes to be considered for an invitation to the NFL Scouting Combine.

“This closes one chapter in my football career, but I don’t think I’ve played my last game,” he added.

With the one-sided loss in the season finale, LEC finished 2-9 overall and 2-8 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference South Division. Michigan Tech finished 7-3 overall and in the GLIAC North.

“This was a young, banged-up team that never played up to expectations,” McNellie said. ”I feel bad for our seniors. It was a hard year in every aspect.”

The tone was set during a frantic first quarter. There were seven possessions, five producing touchdowns while the other two ended with turnovers, one by each team.

The Huskies opened the scoring on the game’s first possession. The seven-play, 57-yard drive was capped by a 25-yard TD pass from junior quarterback Brandon Cowie to running back Kevin Miller. The PAT by John King made it 7-0.

Two plays later, LEC answered with a 67-yard TD run by senior running back and former South High School standout Aaron Lindgren. The PAT by B.J. Rhodes evened the count at 7-7.

After the Huskies reclaimed the lead on a 27yard TD run by Cowie, LEC’s Dontrael Brown’s 64-yard return of the kickoff gave the Storm the ball at the MTU 30-yard-line. Two plays later, senior wide receiver Shane Van Fleteren hauled in a 40yard TD pass from junior quarterback John Banyasz to trim the deficit to 14-13. It stayed that way when the attempted PAT hit the upright.

MTU extended its lead to 21-13 six plays and 73 yards later when Miller ran to paydirt untouched from 19 yards out. The PAT made it 21-13.

Ironically, neither of the first-quarter turnovers — the recovery of a fumble by LEC’s Maurice Hale deep in MTU territory or an interception of a Banyasz pass four plays later by MTU’s Nick Brajak — were turned into points.

MTU dominated the second quarter, getting the first of its two touchdowns when Derek Ferris blocked an attempted punt by LEC’s Austin Davis. Cayman Berg-Morales scooped up the ball and ran in from 4 yards out for the score.

Seconds after the Storm pulled to within 28-16 on a 30-yard field goal by Rhodes, MTU’s James Henderson returned the kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown. With the extra point, the Huskies had a 35-16 lead at halftime.

Midway through the third quarter, the rout was on as MTU extended its lead to 49-16 on TD runs of 4 yards by Cowie and 27 yards by John Williams.