Jones feels father's presence during dramatic CMU win
Central Michigan coach Butch Jones buried his biggest fan, his father, last month in Saugatuck.
Jones felt his father's presence during Central Michigan's dramatic 29-27 upset win over Michigan State at Spartan Stadium Saturday.
"I had the I.D. bracelet he wore in the hospital in my pocket during the game," Jones said. "During the timeout, I took it out and put it in Andrew's hand. I told Andrew (senior kick Aguila) 'Hold this. Don't worry. My Dad will do the rest.'"
Aguila then went out and kicked a 42-yard field goal with three seconds left for the difference.
The Chippewas had just scored a touchdown on Dan LeFevour's 11-yard pass to Paris Cotton with 32 seconds left to pull within 27-26, but LeFevour failed to hook up with Antonio Brown on the two-point conversion.
Aguila then executed a perfect onside kick that Bryan Anderson recovered, making the field goal possible.
"I definitely felt his presence," said Jones of his father, Lyle Jones who was chief of police in Saugatuck for more than 25 years and watched his son work the sidelines with great pride. "All the seniors attended the funeral.
"In more than 20 years of coaching football I've never been involved in a game like that where you miss a two-point conversion to try and get the lead, then recover an onside kick and win. It was a great win for our program."
Jones was busy on the hour bus ride back to Mt. Pleasant, handling national interviews with The New York Times and Fox Sports. He talked to his former boss and friend, Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez Saturday night and watched more games, enjoying the highlights from the CMU-MSU game.
"It was overwhelming," said Jones of the phone calls and text messages he received. "I was exhausted."
And most of all Jones felt his father's presence which made the victory - one of the biggest in school history - that much more special.
