Falcons Open MAC Play With Impressive 37-23 Win at Miami

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OXFORD, Ohio -- The Bowling Green State University football team created momentum-swinging plays in all phases of the game, capped off by a school-record 96-yard touchdown run by Anthon Samuel, as the Falcons defeated the Miami University RedHawks, 37-23, on Saturday (Sept. 24) in the Mid-American Conference opener for both teams.

The biggest swings came in the second half.

The Falcons carried a slim 20-17 lead into halftime, but Miami returned the second-half kickoff to the BGSU 22. Six plays later, Miami was at Bowling Green's one-yard line and threatened to take the lead. On fourth down, Zac Dysert pitched to Erik Finklea. DeVon McKoy and Keith Morgan immediately chased Finklea backwards and caught him at the ten yard line to give Bowling Green the ball on downs.

Matt Schilz followed the stout defensive play with a steady 16-play, 89 yard drive for a touchdown that gave BGSU a 14 point lead. Schilz capped off the drive, which took 8:13 off the clock, with a seven yard pass to Kamar Jorden. The key play on the drive was a third-and-eight pass of 24 yards to Eugene Cooper.

The Falcons forced a three-and-out on Miami's next possession and, after the punt, took over at midfield. The team drove inside the 20 before settling for a field goal and a 30-17 lead.

Miami responded with a touchdown drive of their own, which Dysert finished by running up the middle for a one-yard score. On the ensuing kickoff, Cooper was hit hard and fumbled the ball. The ball rolled all the way back to the Falcons' 2 before Ray Hutson recovered. Samuel broke off his record-breaking run two plays later to cap the scoring at 37-23.

In the first half, the teams traded scores three times. The back-and-forth was started when Dawan Scott fumbled for Miami and Keith Morgan recovered at the RedHawks' 13 midway through the first quarter. Five plays later, Jordan Hopgood took a direct snap and ran the ball into the end zone from two yards out. Despite a missed extra point, Bowling Green led, 6-0.

After the Falcons forced a punt and took over the ball at their own 12, Schilz received pressure up the middle and threw a pass that was tipped and intercepted by Wes Williams. Williams strolled into the end zone for a six-yard touchdown return and a 7-6 lead. Each team followed with touchdown drives, and Miami led 14-13 as the first half wound down.

With two minutes left in the half, Miami was forced to punt from deep in their own territory. Hutson blocked the punt, and Bowling Green recovered at the Miami 1. Kendall Montgomery took in a one-yard pass from Schilz as the Falcons took a 20-14 lead that they would never relinquish.

Bowling Green held Miami to 134 yards in the second half and only 308 overall. The Falcons held Miami to just 43 yards rushing on 31 carries. On the offensive side, the team finished with 310 yards after only producing 100 in the first half. The offense was very balanced, earning 183 yards in the air and 127 on the ground.

The Falcons created three turnovers (2 interceptions, one fumble) while turning over the ball only twice themselves. The special teams created the blocked punt that led to a second quarter touchdown, and the team was penalized only three times for 32 yards. BGSU was 5-for-12 on third downs while allowing Miami four conversions in 13 attempts. Miami was 0-for-2 on fourth down.

Schilz was 19-for-24 for 183 yards, three touchdowns and just one interception. Samuel finished the day with 16 carries for 121 yards and his record-breaking score. Jamel Martin added 15 yards on three carries, while Hopgood had 17 yards on nine carries plus a touchdown. Jorden led all Falcon receivers with nine catches for 91 yards and a touchdown. Cooper had three catches for 51 yards.

In total, Schilz completed his passes to nine different receivers.

Defensively, six Falcons had sacks. Dwayne Woods added a forced fumble and an interception to his. #Gabe Martin, #D.J. Lynch#, #Jerry "BooBoo" Gates#, Chris Jones and Ronnie Goble had the other sacks.

For Miami, Dysert was 25-for-40 for 265 yards and two interceptions. Finklea (9 carries, 25 yards) was the only Redhawk with over ten rushing yards. Nick Harwell led Miami receivers with eight catches for 139 yards.

Bowling Green now takes the momentum of this victory to Morgantown, W.Va. next Saturday (Oct. 1) at 3:30 p.m. as the Falcons take on the West Virginia Mountaineers in the team's final non-conference game of the regular season.

Notes
* Ronnie Goble recorded his first career sack.

* Redshirt freshman Kendall Montgomery had just one catch, but it was for a touchdown, the first catch of his career. Fellow tight end Alex Bayer, also had just one catch, but went for a 4-yard score.

* The Falcons had a season-high eight tackles for loss. Seven different Falcons recorded TFLs.

* Anthon Samuel had 16 carries for 121 yards, including a 96-yard run in the fourth quarter. It is the third 100-yard game of the season for the freshman. His 96-yard run was the longest run in school history. The previous long was a 93-yard run for Mike McGee versus Central Michigan in 1987.

* The Falcons had six sacks in the win. The last time BGSU had at least that many sacks for versus Central Michigan last season where they also had six.

* Matt Schilz now has 14 touchdown passes on the season after throwing eight scores in 2010.

* Kamar Jorden matched his season-high with nine catches. He had nine catches last week versus Wyoming.

* DeVon McKoy had a career-high eight tackles.

* Dwayne Woods did a little of everything. He was second on the team with seven tackles and had a sack, tackle for loss, forced fumble and an interception.

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