Central Michigan University Athletics
Michael Heldman made two sacks to help spearhead a strong CMU defense in Saturday's 27-6 victory at Bowling Green.
Photo by: Lauren Verellen '26 - @laurenverellen_photography
Football Notebook: Drinkall Draws on Famed Boxing Brawl to Motivate Chippewas
10/19/2025 8:57:00 AM | Football
Matt Drinkall Post-Game Press ConferenceJoe Labas Post-Game Press ConferenceMichael Heldman Post-Game Press ConferenceAngel Flores Post-Game Press ConferenceJordan Kwiatkowski Post-Game Press Conference
Chippewa defense stands tall in 27-6 victory at Bowling Green
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – Matt Drinkall has instilled an old-school vibe in his first year in charge of the Central Michigan football program.
Saturday's 27-6 win at Bowling Green was exactly that, beginning with the pregame motivation.
Drinkall showed his players video of the famous 1985 boxing match – an all-time classic slugfest – between Thomas Hearns and Marvin Hagler.
For those too young to remember that one – look it up on YouTube, kids – the two middleweights went toe to toe from the opening bell, exchanging haymaker after haymaker for three furious rounds.
"We watched that this week and talked about the importance of starting fast and coming out strong and fighting," Drinkall said. "That was the only thing we watched for the pregame speech (Saturday) morning."
Drinkall wanted the Chippewas to begin each and every possession, whether they were on offense or defense, in the manner of Hearns-Hagler.
That is, with fire and fury.
"Every time we came out off the sideline, a new round was starting, and we had to come out like that," Drinkall said.
It worked.
The Chippewa offense moved the ball effectively and the defense was as close to perfect as it could be, making two interceptions, recording three sacks, and stopping the Falcons on its first three fourth-down tries.
Two of those fourth-down stops led directly to Chippewa points.
Key Play 1
The Chippewa defense turned in the game-changing play early in the second quarter when Jordan Kwiatkowski returned an interception 26 yards to the Bowling Green 1-yard line to set up CMU's first touchdown that resulted in a 7-3 lead.
That interception came during a stretch in the game when the CMU defense forced two punts and a turnover on downs.
Meanwhile, CMU's offense scored another touchdown and by then, putting CMU up 14-3.
Answering the Bell
In keeping with the boxing metaphor, the Chippewas made a statement – answering the bell, if you will – by coming back from a 24-13 loss two weeks ago at Akron, a game in which the Chippewas didn't play particularly well.
They also answered the call in taking on a Bowling Green team that one week earlier posted a 28-23 win over archrival Toledo, overcoming a 21-point deficit.
"At Akron we didn't start fast and we were playing catchup the rest of the game and we didn't want that to happen this game," said CMU quarterback Angel Flores, who led the Chippewa run game with 72 yards and three touchdowns. "We made it an emphasis to start fast and play our game.
"That Akron loss was really tough on us. That definitely fueled us all week. Just coming off that loss, I think it's a great turning point for this program."
To a man, the Chippewas said the Akron loss was a strong motivator.
"One loss doesn't define us as a team, but the way we went into that bye week, it hurt, it really hurt," said defensive end Michael Heldman, who had two of the Chippewas' three sacks. "We had to get more energy and our main focus throughout this week was coming out with energy.
"We were out there flying around. (The win) gives us more energy and it's like, 'This is who we are,' and we're going to continue to do this week after week."
Where They Stand
The Chippewas are tied for fourth place in the MAC with Ohio at 2-1 in conference play. Toledo is one-half game behind at 2-2.
Buffalo, Miami (Ohio) and Western Michigan share the lead at 3-0.
The Chippewas go to Western Michigan on Nov. 1 and entertain Buffalo on Nov. 12.
Streak Breaker
The win snapped a 10-game MAC losing streak. CMU's last MAC road win before Saturday's came at Northern Illinois, 35-22, on Nov. 2, 2022.
The win was also the seventh in a row for the road team in the CMU-Bowling Green series.
Defensive Leaders
Kwiatkowski led the Chippewa defense with a season-high 14 tackles and Dakota Cochran made eight stops.
Keshawn Hayden had the other sack and Jaion Jackson had CMU's other interception, returning it 19 yards.
Turnovers
The Chippewas are now a plus-six in turnovers on the season (11 gained, five lost). They entered the game No. 1 in the MAC and 29th among Football Bowl Subdivision teams nationally.
Last season, CMU ranked 133rd in the nation in turnover margin when it finished minus-17.
Offense
The Chippewas were outgained in total yardage, 310-276, but held a 219-187 edge in rushing yards.
CMU had two touchdown drives covering 75 or more yards and took advantage of good field position, the result of its defense stopping the Falcons on downs three times and intercepting two Bowling Green passes.
Bowling Green finished with 153 passing yards to the Chippewas' 73.
Labas and Flores combined to complete three of their five pass attempts.
Key Play 2
CMU's biggest pass play – and one of the game-turning plays – was a 63-yarder from Labas to Collin Payne. It came on third-and-10 with CMU at its own 21-yard line after Labas had thrown incomplete on first and second down.
It was a gutsy call by offensive coordinator Jim Chapin followed by solid execution from Labas and Payne as Labas hit Payne in stride against single-safety coverage near midfield.
Payne picked up 36 yards after hauling in the ball. It was the fourth catch of the season for Payne, a junior transfer from Golden West (Calif.) CC. It marked CMU's second longest play from scrimmage of the season.
The resulting first down at Bowling Green's 16 led to a CMU touchdown and a 14-3 lead with just over eight minutes to play in the first half.
"I think coach Chapin has all the confidence in us to keep calling those plays even off a couple of an incompletion, or even a couple of incompletions," Labas said. "We know we can do it, and at a high level too."
Special Teams
Chippewa punter Declan Duley averaged 34.8 yards on five punts. While his average appears less than stellar, four of his punts were downed at or inside the Falcon 20-yard line as the Chippewas played the field-position game to protect their lead.
CMU placekicker Cade Graham booted field goals of 38 and 47 yards, the latter tying his career long and giving him six consecutive makes.
Graham has made 11 of his 13 field goal attempts this season and ranks third in the MAC with an 84.6 percent success rate.
Graham also kicked off six times, averaging 57.5 yards, with three touchbacks.
Next
The Chippewas entertain MAC newcomer UMass on Saturday, Oct. 25 (3:30 p.m.) at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
The Minutemen are 0-7, 0-3 MAC after a 28-21 home loss to Buffalo on Saturday.
The game is Central Michigan's homecoming.
Saturday's 27-6 win at Bowling Green was exactly that, beginning with the pregame motivation.
Drinkall showed his players video of the famous 1985 boxing match – an all-time classic slugfest – between Thomas Hearns and Marvin Hagler.
For those too young to remember that one – look it up on YouTube, kids – the two middleweights went toe to toe from the opening bell, exchanging haymaker after haymaker for three furious rounds.
"We watched that this week and talked about the importance of starting fast and coming out strong and fighting," Drinkall said. "That was the only thing we watched for the pregame speech (Saturday) morning."
Drinkall wanted the Chippewas to begin each and every possession, whether they were on offense or defense, in the manner of Hearns-Hagler.
That is, with fire and fury.
"Every time we came out off the sideline, a new round was starting, and we had to come out like that," Drinkall said.
It worked.
The Chippewa offense moved the ball effectively and the defense was as close to perfect as it could be, making two interceptions, recording three sacks, and stopping the Falcons on its first three fourth-down tries.
Two of those fourth-down stops led directly to Chippewa points.
Key Play 1
The Chippewa defense turned in the game-changing play early in the second quarter when Jordan Kwiatkowski returned an interception 26 yards to the Bowling Green 1-yard line to set up CMU's first touchdown that resulted in a 7-3 lead.
That interception came during a stretch in the game when the CMU defense forced two punts and a turnover on downs.
Meanwhile, CMU's offense scored another touchdown and by then, putting CMU up 14-3.
Answering the Bell
In keeping with the boxing metaphor, the Chippewas made a statement – answering the bell, if you will – by coming back from a 24-13 loss two weeks ago at Akron, a game in which the Chippewas didn't play particularly well.
They also answered the call in taking on a Bowling Green team that one week earlier posted a 28-23 win over archrival Toledo, overcoming a 21-point deficit.
"At Akron we didn't start fast and we were playing catchup the rest of the game and we didn't want that to happen this game," said CMU quarterback Angel Flores, who led the Chippewa run game with 72 yards and three touchdowns. "We made it an emphasis to start fast and play our game.
"That Akron loss was really tough on us. That definitely fueled us all week. Just coming off that loss, I think it's a great turning point for this program."
To a man, the Chippewas said the Akron loss was a strong motivator.
"One loss doesn't define us as a team, but the way we went into that bye week, it hurt, it really hurt," said defensive end Michael Heldman, who had two of the Chippewas' three sacks. "We had to get more energy and our main focus throughout this week was coming out with energy.
"We were out there flying around. (The win) gives us more energy and it's like, 'This is who we are,' and we're going to continue to do this week after week."
Where They Stand
The Chippewas are tied for fourth place in the MAC with Ohio at 2-1 in conference play. Toledo is one-half game behind at 2-2.
Buffalo, Miami (Ohio) and Western Michigan share the lead at 3-0.
The Chippewas go to Western Michigan on Nov. 1 and entertain Buffalo on Nov. 12.
Streak Breaker
The win snapped a 10-game MAC losing streak. CMU's last MAC road win before Saturday's came at Northern Illinois, 35-22, on Nov. 2, 2022.
The win was also the seventh in a row for the road team in the CMU-Bowling Green series.
Defensive Leaders
Kwiatkowski led the Chippewa defense with a season-high 14 tackles and Dakota Cochran made eight stops.
Keshawn Hayden had the other sack and Jaion Jackson had CMU's other interception, returning it 19 yards.
Turnovers
The Chippewas are now a plus-six in turnovers on the season (11 gained, five lost). They entered the game No. 1 in the MAC and 29th among Football Bowl Subdivision teams nationally.
Last season, CMU ranked 133rd in the nation in turnover margin when it finished minus-17.
Offense
The Chippewas were outgained in total yardage, 310-276, but held a 219-187 edge in rushing yards.
CMU had two touchdown drives covering 75 or more yards and took advantage of good field position, the result of its defense stopping the Falcons on downs three times and intercepting two Bowling Green passes.
Bowling Green finished with 153 passing yards to the Chippewas' 73.
Labas and Flores combined to complete three of their five pass attempts.
Key Play 2
CMU's biggest pass play – and one of the game-turning plays – was a 63-yarder from Labas to Collin Payne. It came on third-and-10 with CMU at its own 21-yard line after Labas had thrown incomplete on first and second down.
It was a gutsy call by offensive coordinator Jim Chapin followed by solid execution from Labas and Payne as Labas hit Payne in stride against single-safety coverage near midfield.
Payne picked up 36 yards after hauling in the ball. It was the fourth catch of the season for Payne, a junior transfer from Golden West (Calif.) CC. It marked CMU's second longest play from scrimmage of the season.
The resulting first down at Bowling Green's 16 led to a CMU touchdown and a 14-3 lead with just over eight minutes to play in the first half.
"I think coach Chapin has all the confidence in us to keep calling those plays even off a couple of an incompletion, or even a couple of incompletions," Labas said. "We know we can do it, and at a high level too."
Special Teams
Chippewa punter Declan Duley averaged 34.8 yards on five punts. While his average appears less than stellar, four of his punts were downed at or inside the Falcon 20-yard line as the Chippewas played the field-position game to protect their lead.
CMU placekicker Cade Graham booted field goals of 38 and 47 yards, the latter tying his career long and giving him six consecutive makes.
Graham has made 11 of his 13 field goal attempts this season and ranks third in the MAC with an 84.6 percent success rate.
Graham also kicked off six times, averaging 57.5 yards, with three touchbacks.
Next
The Chippewas entertain MAC newcomer UMass on Saturday, Oct. 25 (3:30 p.m.) at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
The Minutemen are 0-7, 0-3 MAC after a 28-21 home loss to Buffalo on Saturday.
The game is Central Michigan's homecoming.
Players Mentioned
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/ FootballJordan Kwiatkowski Post-Game Press Conference at BGSU
Sunday, October 19
Angel Flores Post-Game Press Conference at BGSU
Sunday, October 19
Michael Heldman Post-Game Press Conference at BGSU
Saturday, October 18
Joe Labas Post-Game Press Conference at BGSU
Saturday, October 18