Anders Has Career Night As Falcons Open Home Slate Against South Alabama

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BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University football team played their first home game of the 2021 season on Saturday (Sept. 11), falling to the University of South Alabama by a score of 22-19.

The Falcons' defense controlled the first half, scoring a safety and returning an interception for a touchdown to give BGSU an 8-6 halftime lead. The Orange and Brown scored a touchdown and field goal in the third quarter to take a 19-12 lead into the final quarter. South Alabama scored a touchdown to tie the game 19-19 with 1:39 remaining. After recovering a fumble, the Jaguars won the game on a 44-yard field goal by Diego Guajardo as time expired.

Matt McDonald threw for a career-high 308 yards on the night. Patrick Day blocked a punt that led to a safety and Darren Anders returned an interception for a touchdown.

HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Falcons forced a Jaguar punt on the game's opening drive and Darren Anders broke through to block the punt. The ball caromed through the back of the end zone, giving the Falcons an early 2-0 lead.
- The teams traded punts and turnovers on downs before a Matt Naranjo punt pinned the Jaguars inside the 20. On the second play of the drive, Anders intercepted a Jake Bentley pass and returned the ball 27 yards for a score. The extra point was wide right, giving the Falcons an 8-0 lead.
- The Jaguars got on the board early in the second quarter, with Diego Guajardo's 22-yard field goal capping a 13-play, 71-yard drive.
- After receiving the ball near midfield, South Alabama ended the first half with another field goal by Guajardo. His 41-yard boot made the halftime score 8-6 in favor of BGSU.
- On the opening drive of the second half, the Falcons completed an eight-play, 53-yard drive, completed with a 40-yard field goal from Nate Needham. Early in the drive, Matt McDonald found Christian Sims for a 51-yard catch-and-run on third down.
- South Alabama responded with a six-play, 75-yard drive. In a span of just 1:28, the Jaguars scored the first offensive touchdown of the game. They completed passes of 15 and 42 yards to reach the red zone, then punched it in with a one-yard rush by Kareem Walker. The two-point conversion attempt was no good, with Sy Dabney breaking up a pass in the end zone.
- The ensuing Bowling Green drive was also explosive, with a 47-yard Tyrone Broden reception on the first play. Three plays later, McDonald hit tight end Andrew Bench for a 33-yard score to put the Falcons back on top. The Falcons were successful on the two-point conversion, with McDonald scrambling and finding Broden in the end zone to give BGSU a 19-12 advantage.
- With 8:38 remaining, the Jaguars started a drive at their own 13-yard line. Quarterback Jake Bentley completed 7 of 8 passes on the drive, with five different receivers making a reception. Running back Terrion Avery closed the drive with a 13-yard touchdown run with 1:39 on the clock. Guajardo made the extra point to tie the game at 19-19.
- The Falcons fumbled on their next drive, giving South Alabama the ball at the BG 33-yard line with 1:21 remaining. After three consecutive rushes by Avery, the Jaguars ran the clock down to 0:02 and took their final timeout. Guajardo put his 44-yard field goal attempt through the uprights, giving South Alabama a walk-off victory.

STAT LEADERS
- QB Matt McDonald
23-of-32 passing, 308 passing yards
- TE Christian Sims
8 receptions, 76 receiving yards
- WR Tyrone Broden
3 receptions, 76 receiving yards
- CB Davon Ferguson
11 tackles, 1.5 TFLs
- LB Darren Anders
8 tackles, 1 INT (returned for TD), 1 blocked punt

PICK-6‼️

Darren Anders snags the pass and rumbles 27 yards into the end zone. PAT was no good.

BG leads, 8-0, with 4:53 left in the first quarter.

Watch Live on ESPN+ https://t.co/QyBf43DGPv #AyZiggy 🟠🟤 pic.twitter.com/YoSCHWVIEL
— BG Football (@BG_Football) September 11, 2021

NOTABLES
- S Patrick Day blocked South Alabama's first punt of the game. The block went through the back of the end zone for a safety.
- ILB Darren Anders notched a "pick-6" in the first quarter, returning it 27 yards for the score. He was the first Falcon with a "pick-6" since Brandon Harris returned one 63 yards at Ohio State in 2016.
- It was the first interception of his career.
- TE Christian Sims had a career-long 51-yard reception on the opening drive of the third quarter.
- Sims finished with a career-high eight receptions for a career-high 76 receiving yards.
- WR Tyrone Broden had a career-long 47-yard reception in the third quarter.
- Broden finished with career highs in receptions (3) and receiving yards (76).
- DL Demetrius Hardamon finished with a career-high 1.0 sacks and 1.5 tackles for loss. They were the first of his career.
- TB Taron Keith had a career-long 44-yard reception in the third quarter.
- QB Matt McDonald threw for a career-high 308 yards. It is the first time in his career he has passed for more than 300 yards in a game.

FROM THE LOCKER ROOM
"I thought he [Matt McDonald] really changed, and he stepped it up in the second half. We had a comedy of errors in the first half, kind of went back and did some things that we did last year. They snapped back out of it, which I'm really proud of. We got 24 hours of grief, and then we're going to bounce back and we're going to come to get our first win. I like the attitude of our kids, the maturity. We need to help our guys along with locked in and laser focus." - Bowling Green head coach Scot Loeffler

UP NEXT
• The Falcons will be at home for next weekend's homecoming game on Saturday, Sept. 18. They host Murray State at 5 p.m. in Doyt Perry Stadium.

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