Rockets finish strong

Boca Raton, Fla – The University of Toledo’s football team capped off its 2015 season with a 32-17 win over the No. 24 ranked Temple Owls in the Marmot Boca Raton Bowl.

With the win the Rockets finish the season with 10 wins for the seventh time in school history.

Toledo (10-2, 6-2 MAC) was led by the Boca Raton Bowl offensive MVP senior Phillip Ely who made his return to the sunshine state.

The Florida native finished the contest with 285 passing yards and two touchdowns on 20 of 28 passing. He had a game long 80-yard bomb to sophomore Cody Thompson early in the fourth quarter that changed the momentum of the game for UT.

Thompson was one of eight Rockets to receive a pass from Ely and finished with 119 receiving yards. Senior Alonzo Russell broke the record for most consecutive games with a catch. His streak reached 50 with a six-yard reception in the fourth quarter breaking the previous mark of 49 set by Steve Odom in 2006.

Junior Kareem Hunt paced UT on the ground with 79 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carriers. Sophomore Terry Swanson contributed 53 yards on 11 carriers.

Defensive MVP senior Rolan Milligan anchored the defense with a team high seven solo tackles and two pass break-ups.

The defense held the Owls to just 99 yards on the ground and held Temple without a touchdown until 2:50 left in the game.

The Rockets offense struggled in the first quarter picking up just 28 yards of offense on nine plays.

Both teams had to adjust to weather as heavy rains poured in the stadium for the majority of the game.

Temple (10-4, 7-1 AAC) jumped out to a 3-0 lead after a 29-yard field goal by sophomore place kicker Austin Jones with a little over a minute left in the quarter.

After a career long 64-yard punt by UT junior Nick Ellis, the Owls took over at their own 10-yard line.

Two plays later, Ja’Wuan Woodley met Jahad Thomas in the back field and forced a fumble that rolled out the back of the end zone for a safety.

Following the safety kick, the Rockets drove 55 yards for a touchdown to take their first lead of the game 9-3 with 12:16 left in the first half.

Jones took Ely’s pass 26 yards to the house making five defenders miss on the way.

Toledo got on the board again with a 38-yard field by freshman Jameson Vest with no time on the clock to end the half with a 12-3 lead.

The Owls came out of the locker room driving 67 yards down to the Toledo 8, but UT’s red zone defense ranks third in the country and the Rockets came up big once again. Temple was forced to settle for a 25-yard field goal. Jones kick was good and Toledo lead was cut to 12-6 with 11:38 remaining in the third quarter.

After a Rocket three and out, the Owls drove it 37 yards down to the UT 17 but the defense would hold for a third straight time. Jones came in to attempt the 35-yard field goal and split the uprights making it 12-9 with 6:11 left in the third quarter.

On Toledo’s first drive in the fourth quarter they opened up with an 80-yard touchdown pass from Ely to Thompson jumping out to a 19-9 lead with 12:41 left in the game.

UT wasn’t done, on their ensuing possession UT drove it 74 yards on 12 plays capped off with a 1-yard touchdown run by Hunt. The Rockets extra point attempt was blocked and UT took a 25-9 advantage with 5:46 showing on the clock.

Temple wasn’t willing to go quietly and responded with a 11 play 68-yard drive concluding with a 2-yard rushing touchdown from Kip Patton on an end-around play. The Owls elected to go for two and converted to trim the lead to 25-17 with 2:50 left in the game.

On the ensuing kick-off, Temple attempted an onside kick which Thompson recovered but the play stirred controversy as the Owls protested that they had possession of the ball first.

Two plays later Hunt took it 41 yards to the house making a few people miss on the way to ice the game at 32-17 with 2:29 to go.