BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – New Jersey improved to 8-1 on the season and clinched the North Division after defeating Michigan 25-23 on Saturday afternoon at Protective Stadium.
The Generals’ Darrius Shepherd hauled in eight catches for 99-yards and a touchdown. The New Jersey defense, which held Michigan to 53 rushing yards, was led by Trae Elston with nine tackles and an interception.
Michigan (1-8) was led by Joe Walker, who caught seven balls for a game-high 129-yards and two touchdowns. Quarterbacks Josh Love and Eric Barriere combined for 283 passing yards. On defense, Frank Ginda had a game-high 10 tackles and forced a fumble.
New Jersey got on the board first, by turning a Toby Johnson interception into a field goal. The Generals started the drive the Michigan 40-yard line after Johnson picked off Love and capped the drive with a 36-yard field goal from Austin Jones, which was the only score of the 1st quarter.
A KaVontae Turpin took the first-ever punt return for a touchdown in league history after he went 71-yards to the end zone with 10:16 left in the 2nd quarter. Jones connected on the point after to put New Jersey ahead 10-0.
Michigan responded with a 12-play 69-yard drive that saw Love complete all seven pass attempts. On 4th-and-goal from the 2-yard line, Love found Joe Walker for the score at 3:18 of the 2nd quarter. Point after from Sean Murphy was no good.
On the first play after the 2-minute warning, New Jersey’s Cam Echols-Luper took an end around off a flip from Turpin 24-yards for a touchdown. Point after was wide. With 1:33 left in the quarter, New Jersey extended its lead to16-6.
Michigan made it a 2-point contest with 51 seconds remaining until halftime after Love found Ishmael Hyman for a 20-yard touchdown pass. The Panthers converted the two-point attempt on a flea-flicker – Cameron Scarlett to Connor Davis – which made the score 16-14.
New Jersey opened the 3rd quarter by turning another interception into points. Love was picked off by Elston at midfield, who returned the ball to the Michigan 18. Six plays later, Jones hit his second field goal of the afternoon, this time from 30-yards to make the score 19-14 at 7:34.
Michigan took its first lead of the game, 20-19, with 45 seconds left in the 3rd quarter when Walker grabbed his second touchdown of the game, this time from quarterback Eric Barriere on a 22-yard score. The two-point conversion was no good.
The Michigan defense held New Jersey to a three-and-out on the next drive. The Panthers took the ball 45-yards to extend its lead to 23-19 at 6:37 on Murphy’s 25-yard field goal.
On the ensuing drive, New Jersey regained the lead when Perez found Shepherd in the end zone from 17-yards. Kick was off and with 2:33 remaining in the contest, New Jersey led 25-23.
“The guys made the plays to win the game,” said New Jersey head coach Mike Riley. “It looked kind of bleak for a bit, but when we needed to make plays offensively, we did it.”
New Jersey plays again on Saturday, June 11, at 11 a.m. against Philadelphia, while Michigan takes on Pittsburgh in the first game on Sunday at 11 a.m. Both games will be played at Legion Field.
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