Rockets fight hard in Camellia Bowl

Savannah Joslin / IC

This year’s bowl game for the University of Toledo would prove to be a tough one for the Rockets. Appalachian State University won the coin toss and chose to differ, giving Toledo a chance to set the tone for the rest of the game. A holding penalty stopped this opportunity, forcing Toledo to punt the ball away to the Mountaineers. The Toledo defense had no trouble stopping the Appalachian State offense, but a pass interference penalty against the Rockets kept the drive alive. The Mountaineers continued to charge down the field, resulting in a 16 yard touchdown from second-year Appalachian State wide receiver Deltron Hopkins. After a successful extra-point attempt, the score stood 7-0, Appalachian State lead.

The Rockets then took the field at their own 25 yard line and opened up the drive with an explosive 58 yard pass from fourth-year quarterback Logan Woodside to fellow fourth-year wide receiver Corey Jones. Just two plays later, the Rockets evened the score to 7-7 after a 15 yard pass from Woodside to fourth-year tight-end Michael Roberts. The Mountaineers retook the field at their own 23 yard-line with 6:47 left in the quarter, but were stopped by the Toledo defense after 6 plays and only 18 yards gained. Toledo took the ball at their own 10 yard line after the punt, and looked to score again with just 3:15 left in the quarter. But after a run for a loss of 2 yards by fourth-year running back Kareem Hunt, a dropped pass and a false start penalty, the Rockets found themselves punting again. Appalachian State took the field and started an explosive drive down the field, gaining 32 yards on just five plays before the end of the first quarter.

The Rockets managed to stop this momentum in the second quarter, forcing the Mountaineers to punt and give the ball back to Woodside and the Rocket offense. The Mountaineer defense played just as well and the ball was punted away after just three plays and three yards. The defensive stalemate continued into the next Mountaineer drive, after a first down catch was reversed and changed to an incompletion after official review. The Rockets continued to be plagued by penalties and took the ball at their own 35 yard line after a 25 yard punt return from Corey Jones was called back for holding. The Rockets continued the second-quarter tradition of punting after three plays, but this time a nicely placed punt by fourth-year punter Nick Ellis that put Appalachian State at their own 12 yard line.

The bad field position did not stop the Mountaineers, who drove 79 yards in just five plays, putting them well within scoring position. Appalachian State did not let their opportunity go to waste and fourth-year running back Marcus Cox scored his first touchdown of the game on a 13 yard rush, giving Appalachian State a 14-7 lead. Cox was the MVP of last years Camellia Bowl, in which Appalachian State defeated Ohio University by a score of 31-29.

With 3 minutes left to go in the half, the teams exchanged punts and Toledo took the field again. The Rockets wasted no time getting to the end-zone, scoring after a 25 yard pass from Woodside to third-year wide receiver Cody Thompson and then a 26 yard rushing touchdown from Hunt. This carry gave Hunt the push he needed to win the all-time rushing yards record (4,861) for the University of Toledo, surpassing Chester Taylor (4,849).

Appalachian State took the field with the game all tied up at 14, but failed to score and instead choosing to punt the ball back to Toledo with 15 seconds left in the half. Toledo only managed to get one play off before ending the half with the score tied at 14.

Despite the tied score, Woodside had been severely outperforming Appalachian State quarterback Taylor Lamb at the half. Lamb had gone 9-21, with 81 yards recorded. Woodside, on the other hand, had 130 yards on 8 fewer attempts and one more completion. The Mountaineers have been beating the Rockets on the rushing side of the ball: Appalachian State with 161 yards, and Toledo with just 42.

The second half started off with Appalachian State taking the field, looking to use their running game to out pace the Rockets defense. The Rockets held strong and stopped the Mountaineer offense after just four plays and four yards. Toledo did not manage to do much better on their turn with the football and punted possession back to Appalachian State after failing to get a first down. Appalachian State’s running game picked up steam on their second drive of the half, with a 28 yard rush from Lamb for a Mountaineer first down. The drive seemed to stall after this run, but a pass interference call on the Rockets put Appalachian State on the Toledo 22 yard line, and gave Appalachian State a much needed first down. The Rockets defense forced a fourth down, but Appalachian State took the risky move to go for it instead of kicking the easy field goal. The risk paid off. Lamb carried the ball 13 yards for an Appalachian State touchdown, bringing the score to 21-14 and giving the Mountaineers the lead.

The Rockets took the field in an attempt to tie the game back up and went back to their proven method of quick, explosive passes to get the job done. Woodside powered down the field in a 14 play, 75 yard drive that resulted in a four yard touchdown pass from Woodside to Thompson, tying the score once again, this time at 21.

Appalachian State responded to the Toledo score extremely quickly. On the kickoff, first-year special teams member Darrynton Evans took the ball back 94 yards for a touchdown and the longest play in Camellia Bowl history. This gave the Rocket offense the ball back, but with another 7 point deficit to fix. Toledo answered the Appalachian State insane play with their own explosive play; a monster 58 yard pass from Woodside to Thompson, putting Toledo inside the five yard line. Kareem Hunt took it from there, hurdling into the endzone to tie up the game 28-28.

The Mountaineers took possession at the end of the third quarter and headed into the final quarter with the game all tied up. Appalachian State slowly powered down the field, backed by a 31 yard rush from Lamb. The Rockets managed to put a stop to the drive and, after a failed fake field goal, the Rockets took the field with a chance to take their first lead of the game.

The drive started slow, with Appalachian State starting with a big sack and then a tackle for a loss to force a third down and long try for the Rockets. Toledo could not convert and were forced to punt after an unsuccessful drive. Appalachian State took the field and their running game exploded again. This time it was fourth-year running back Marcus Cox who had a 26 yard carry to put the Mountaineers within field goal range.

This time the Mountaineers opted to not fake the kick and instead put the ball through the uprights to gain a 31-28 lead. The Rockets took the ball at the 43 yard line after a nice 31 yard return from Corey Jones. Kareem Hunt put the team on his back and had three rushes for 41 yards to start the drive. All of this was for a disappointing end, with the Rockets missing a field goal needed to tie the game, giving the ball back to Appalachian State with 1:48 left in the game.

Appalachian State let the time run out during the final play and finished the game with a score of 31 to Toledo’s 28. The Mountaineer’s quarterback Lamb was awarded game MVP.