Rockets reign again

BOWLING GREEN — The University of Toledo’s football team rolled to their sixth straight win over Bowling Green in a 44-28 road victory to return the Battle of I-75 trophy back to the Glass City.

The Falcons’ 28-point game marks a tie for their lowest-scoring game of the season. The last time BG scored only 28 points was in a game against Buffalo in a 28-22 road victory on Oct. 3.

The Rockets (9-1, 6-1 MAC) were led on the ground by junior running back Kareem Hunt who rushed for 153 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carriers.

Senior quarterback Phillip Ely helped the Rocket offense with 208 passing yards and two touchdowns — one rushing, one passing.

Bowling Green (8-3, 6-1 MAC) was led by senior Matt Johnson, who passed for 274 yards and three touchdowns. Johnson was also responsible for two interceptions both picked off by Toledo’s senior Cheatham Norrils.

The UT defense was stifling, causing five turnovers on the night and holding the Falcon running attack to just 94 yards on 30 attempts.

The Rockets jumped on the board first after an interception by Norrils on the first play of the game. Toledo would need just four plays to travel 27 yards for the opening touchdown of the game with a five-yard run from Hunt.

Toledo would force the Falcons to a three-and-out on their next possession. Toledo needed just 50 seconds to drive 67 yards behind the legs of Hunt and sophomore Terry Swanson.

Swanson would punch it in for the Rockets on a 23-yard scamper to extend UT’s lead to 14-0.

The Rocket’s defense continued to hold strong, giving up just two yards and forcing the Falcons to another three-and-out.

UT’s offense drove down to the Bowling Green one-yard line, but was unable to punch it in. Freshman Jameson Vest knocked in the 20-yard field goal, giving UT an early 17-0 lead with 3:10 left in the first quarter.

On the ensuing Falcon possession, senior linebacker Chase Murdock stripped BG’s Fred Coppet at the 49 yard line and Trent Voss recovered the ball for the Rockets at the UT 46.

The Rockets would have another drive stall out inside the five-yard line yet again. Vest would come in to knock in the 22-yard field goal to give UT a 20-0 lead with 14:14 left in the second quarter.

Bowling Green answered the field goal with a score of their own with a nine-play, 65-yard drive capped off with a five-yard touchdown run by Coppet.

The UT offense responded nicely on a 10-play, 47-yard drive, but the drive would stall out once again and Vest would come on to nail the 35-yard field goal pushing the Rockets lead to 23-7.

The Rockets defense came up big on BG’s ensuing possession. UT’s John Stepec came up with a huge sack on third-and-18 to get the Falcons off the field.

On BG’s punt, junior Corey Jones returned it down to the 46-yard line but was hit late out of bounce by BG’s Spencer Cairo, giving UT great field position at the BG 39.

Toledo would need just three plays to punch it with Hunt for his second rushing touchdown of the night with 5:58 remaining in the half to give UT a 30-7 lead.

The Falcons answered the Rockets’ touchdown with one of their own to end the half. Johnson found Gehrig Dieter for a five-yard touchdown pass to cut the Rocket lead to 30-14.

On the first possession of the second half, on a third-and-12, Ely’s pass was intercepted by BG’s Austin Valdez at the UT 39.

Bowling Green needed just four plays to find the end zone. Johnson would find Dieter on another fade route, this one from three yards out to cut the Toledo lead to 30-21.

On the ensuing Rocket possession, the Falcons forced UT into a three-and-out and made them punt for the first time in the contest.

On the first play after the punt, senior defensive tackle Allen Covington sacked Johnson and forced him to fumble. Senior defensive lineman Orion Jones recovered the loose ball and returned it 22 yards down to the BG 8.

Toledo would need two plays to score after Ely kept it on the read option for his first collegiate rushing touchdown and to give Toledo a 37-21 advantage with just over 11 minutes left in the third quarter.

But they weren’t finished. On a play that looked like it would be a sack, Johnson was able to elude the UT pressure and find an open Dieter from 11 yards out.

Up 37-28 in the fourth quarter, Johnson found Dieter for a gain of 14 before being stripped at the Toledo 28 by senior free safety Rolan Milligan. Junior Dejuan Rogers recovered the fumbled and returned it 23 yards to the BG 49 but an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty would bring the Rockets back to the UT 36-yard line.

Toledo would respond with a nine-play, 64-yard drive and milk over five minutes off the clock in the process. On third-and-nine, Ely found Russell for a 15-yard passing touchdown to give the Rockets a 44-28 lead with 8:38 remaining in the game.

In BGSU’s last hope to get back in the fight, senior cornerback Cheatham Norrils picked off Johnson for Toledo’s fourth takeaway to ice the game.

With the win, the Rockets keep their Mid-American Conference Championship dream alive. If Western Michigan beats Northern Illinois tonight, and we beat Western Michigan in our last game of the regular season on Friday, Nov. 27, we’ll see the Falcons again in December for the MAC Championship game.