KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Darius Phillips took a kickoff back 100 yards for a touchdown and returned an interception 70 yards for score to lead Western Michigan to a 49-31 non-conference football victory over Georgia Southern Saturday night in Waldo Stadium.

Favian Upshaw threw for 103 yards and two touchdowns for the Eagles (3-1), while Kevin Ellison ran for 46 yards and threw for 65 and a touchdown. 

Phillips added two tackles and a pass breakup and finished with 221 return yards for Western Michigan (4-0), and Zach Terrell completed 18 of 27 passes for 270 yards and four TDs. Jamauri Bogan rushed for 104 yards and a score, and Michael Henry hauled in eight receptions for 125 yards and two touchdowns.

The story
The game turned in favor of the Broncos in a three-minute span in the second quarter after Younghoe Koo hit a 34-yard field goal to trim an early Eagle deficit to 14-10. Phillips took the ensuing kickoff at the goal line, started down the right sideline and cut back left where he found nothing but green turf on his way to a 100-yard touchdown.

On the second play of the Eagles' next possession, Western Michigan's Justin Ferguson faked at Ellison, who tried to pitch the ball on the option play at the last second. Ferguson batted the ball down, and Bronco Eric Assuoa recovered it at the GS 20-yard line.

After picking up a first down on fourth-and-1, Terrell hit Carrington Thompson with an 8-yard touchdown pass to make the score 28-10 midway through the period.

Ellison and Upshaw engineered a nine-play, 83-yard drive on the next GS possession, and Upshaw found Myles Campbell over the middle for a 33-yard touchdown pass to make the score 28-17 with 3:11 left in the half. 

But Western Michigan was not done, and the Broncos zipped down the field for a score in 1:36. Terrell found Thompson for a 29-yard pass down the right sideline and then hit Corey Davis for a 35-yard touchdown to push the lead to 35-17 at halftime.

Phillips picked off an Upshaw pass and took it 70 yards down the left sideline for a Western Michigan touchdown and a 42-17 lead on the first drive of the second half.  GS closed to within 11 points in the fourth quarter on TDs by Montay Crockett and L.A. Ramsby, but Western Michigan put the game away with a 15-play, 87-yard touchdown drive that ate 7:45 off the clock.

Quotable from head coach Tyson Summers
"We have to do a better job of being able to run the ball in the first half, and we didn't create a turnover, had four turnovers, gave up a kick return for a touchdown and an interception return for touchdown and when you do all those things, it's going to be tough to win the football game."
 
"The kids worked their tails off and believed after they scored in the fourth quarter that they were going to have a chance to win the game, but we didn't do enough on defense to get a stop and get off the field. We had some chances but didn't do enough."

"We still have not played our best game yet. You saw improvement tonight with the penalties, but we made enough mistakes and Western Michigan made enough plays to hurt us."

Game Notes
• Captains: #9 Younghoe Koo; #27 Ironhead Gallon; #32 William Bussey Jr.; #71 Max Magaña

• Georgia Southern won the toss and deferred to the second half. It's the third time GS has won the coin toss this year.

• Favian Upshaw connected with Wesley Fields on a 44-yard touchdown play in the first quarter. It was Fields' third career touchdown reception. It was a career-long ompletion for Upshaw.

• Darius Phillips put the Broncos up 21-10 in the second quarter on a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. It was the first time an Eagle opponent has returned a kickoff for a touchdown since Roosevelt Boone of Maine took one back 91 yards for a score in 2011. Phillips later added a 70-yard interception return for a touchdown.

• Myles Campbell scored on a 33-yard touchdown catch in the first half, the first receiving touchdown of his career. It was also a new career long for the junior.

• Western Michigan's 28 points in the second quarter tie the mark set by North Carolina in 2009 for most points ever scored against the Eagles in a second quarter.

• The 35 points Western Michigan scored in the first half were the most since Georgia Tech scored 35 in 2014.

• Upshaw tied his career high with two touchdown passes which he set against Savannah State in this year's opener.

• The Eagles have now lost six straight non-conference road games dating back to the Florida win in 2013.\

Next up
Georgia Southern returns to conference play by traveling to Arkansas State, Oct. 5. The contest is on a Wednesday night and will be broadcast on ESPN2 at 8 p.m. ET.

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