AMHERST, Mass. – Dorian Brown’s two rushing touchdowns helped the Ohio Bobcats down UMass 58-50 Saturday in an explosive day for offenses at WarrenMcGuirk Stadium.
Along with the touchdowns, Brown rushed for 73 yards, his long of 42 coming late in the fourth quarter, when Ohio put the game too far out of reach.
The Bobcats (4-1) offense . . .
Along with the touchdowns, Brown rushed for 73 yards, his long of 42 coming late in the fourth quarter, when Ohio put the game too far out of reach.
The Bobcats (4-1) offense . . .
. . . finished the game with 473 yards on the day, scoring seven touchdowns. Sophomore quarterback Nathan Rourke accounted for 294 yards of Ohio's offense, passing for two touchdowns and running for two.
Redshirt senior linebacker Quentin Poling led the defensive effort, finishing the game with 19 tackles, a career-high.
The Bobcats reached the UMass quarterback two times and forced seven pass break ups.
An interception from linebacker Chad Moore and a fumble recovery from redshirt junior defensive end Andrew Payne resulted in 10 points for the Bobcats.
The win also marked head coach Frank Solich's 150th career win.
"I didn't really pay much attention," Solich said. "It didn't really hit me until they threw the ball at me. I've been around a lot of great coaches and players, if you're in it as long as I am, you hope you get some wins."
The first quarter saw both teams' offense go-to work. After the Bobcat defense held UMass to a 24-yard field goal on the first possession of the game, Ohio went to work on offense. Redshirt junior A.J. Ouellette's longest run of the drive was a 29-yard dash and Rourke capped the journey with a five-yard touchdown run, putting Ohio up 7-3 in the early minutes.
On UMass' next drive, the Minutemen moved 75 yards on 13 plays, the last being a two-yard rushing touchdown from Ross Comis to put UMass up 10-7.
After the Bobcat offense was stopped on its next drive, UMass mounted another drive that carried into the second quarter, when the hosts hit a 35-yard field goal to increase their lead to 13-7.
The Bobcats first possession of the second period started with a 67-yard kick-off return by freshman Julian Ross -- the longest of his career. Two plays later, Rourke connected with redshirt senior Brendan Cope on a 16-yard corner touchdown, putting Ohio up 14-13.
It wouldn't take long for Ohio to get the ball back. Two plays after Payne recovered a UMass fumble, Rourke took the ball into the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown, his second of the game. Redshirt sophomore Louie Zervos connected on the point after attempt, and the Bobcats took a 21-13 lead.
Moments later, the Ohio defense came up big again, with Moore intercepting Andrew Ford and returning it 33-yards to the UMass 40-yard line. That set up a 25-yard field goal from Zervos, increasing OU’s lead to 24-13.
In total, the Bobcats scored 17 points in the span of two 2:53.
On the ensuing kickoff, Marquis Young returned the ball 81 yards to the Ohio six-yard line. One play later, UMass tallied on a six-yard touchdown pass to Adam Breneman, cutting the Ohio lead to 24-20.
The Minutemen would go on to take a 27-24 lead with 2:26 left in the second quarter.
Ohio managed to put together a 12-play, 45-yard drive that took 1:48 off the clock and was capped off by a 23-yard Zervos field goal, tying the game at 27-27 going into halftime.
Through two quarters, Ohio had 179 yards of total offense, with 105 yards on the ground and 74 in the air. Meanwhile, UMass owned 266 yards of total offense, with 104 rushing yards and 162 passing yards.
In the first half, Rourke went 7-of-16 with 74 yards and one passing touchdown. Ouellette had 55 rushing yards, while Rourke had 46 and two touchdowns. Cope led Ohio's receiving core in the first half, snagging three passes for 38 yards.
Ohio’s offense went to work quickly after the second half kickoff. Rourke found Cope on a 48-yard completion, putting Ohio in UMass territory. A few minutes later, the Bobcats grabbed the lead on a five-yard rushing touchdown from Ouellette. That put the visitors in front, 34-27.
On Ohio’s next possession, the ‘Cats put together a 10-play drive that went 79 yards and took 4:24 off the clock. Ouellette finished with a 12-yard receiving touchdown, putting Ohio up 41-27.
"Our offense is just experienced, whatever teams are going to throw at us we have an answer for," Ouellette said. "Every single one of big runs, our offensive line stepped up. We're just doing our job and executing."
After the Ohio defense forced UMass to turn the ball over on downs at the Bobcats 20-yard line, OU fumbled the snap on the next play, with the ball rolling in the end zone. It was recovered Brown, resulting in a safety for the Minutemen, making the score 41-29.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Ohio defense again forced UMass to turn the ball over on downs.
On the next play, Ouellette registered his biggest gain of the game with a 60-yard carry. That set Ohio up on the UMass 15-yard line. Brown then promptly took the ball for a 15-yard rushing touchdown to increase the Ohio lead to 48-29.
On their next possession, UMass put together a three-minute drive that covered 70 yards in 13 plays and resulted in a touchdown.
The Minutemen would then attempt the two-point conversion, but it was unsuccessful, making the score 48-38 with 10 minutes to go in the game.
Following the UMass drive, the Bobcats got the ball back and put together another scoring drive. During the drive, Rourke had back-to-back rushes of 16 and 26-yards, setting up Zervos' 34-yard field goal, increasing Ohio's lead to 51-35.
The last Ohio score of the game came late in the fourth quarter when Brown broke through for a 42-yard run, putting the game out of reach.
Ohio returns to play next Saturday, Oct. 7 for a Homecoming matchup against Mid-American Conference West Division foe Central Michigan. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. ET.
(Courtesy of OU Athletics)
Redshirt senior linebacker Quentin Poling led the defensive effort, finishing the game with 19 tackles, a career-high.
The Bobcats reached the UMass quarterback two times and forced seven pass break ups.
An interception from linebacker Chad Moore and a fumble recovery from redshirt junior defensive end Andrew Payne resulted in 10 points for the Bobcats.
The win also marked head coach Frank Solich's 150th career win.
"I didn't really pay much attention," Solich said. "It didn't really hit me until they threw the ball at me. I've been around a lot of great coaches and players, if you're in it as long as I am, you hope you get some wins."
The first quarter saw both teams' offense go-to work. After the Bobcat defense held UMass to a 24-yard field goal on the first possession of the game, Ohio went to work on offense. Redshirt junior A.J. Ouellette's longest run of the drive was a 29-yard dash and Rourke capped the journey with a five-yard touchdown run, putting Ohio up 7-3 in the early minutes.
On UMass' next drive, the Minutemen moved 75 yards on 13 plays, the last being a two-yard rushing touchdown from Ross Comis to put UMass up 10-7.
After the Bobcat offense was stopped on its next drive, UMass mounted another drive that carried into the second quarter, when the hosts hit a 35-yard field goal to increase their lead to 13-7.
The Bobcats first possession of the second period started with a 67-yard kick-off return by freshman Julian Ross -- the longest of his career. Two plays later, Rourke connected with redshirt senior Brendan Cope on a 16-yard corner touchdown, putting Ohio up 14-13.
It wouldn't take long for Ohio to get the ball back. Two plays after Payne recovered a UMass fumble, Rourke took the ball into the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown, his second of the game. Redshirt sophomore Louie Zervos connected on the point after attempt, and the Bobcats took a 21-13 lead.
Moments later, the Ohio defense came up big again, with Moore intercepting Andrew Ford and returning it 33-yards to the UMass 40-yard line. That set up a 25-yard field goal from Zervos, increasing OU’s lead to 24-13.
In total, the Bobcats scored 17 points in the span of two 2:53.
On the ensuing kickoff, Marquis Young returned the ball 81 yards to the Ohio six-yard line. One play later, UMass tallied on a six-yard touchdown pass to Adam Breneman, cutting the Ohio lead to 24-20.
The Minutemen would go on to take a 27-24 lead with 2:26 left in the second quarter.
Ohio managed to put together a 12-play, 45-yard drive that took 1:48 off the clock and was capped off by a 23-yard Zervos field goal, tying the game at 27-27 going into halftime.
Through two quarters, Ohio had 179 yards of total offense, with 105 yards on the ground and 74 in the air. Meanwhile, UMass owned 266 yards of total offense, with 104 rushing yards and 162 passing yards.
In the first half, Rourke went 7-of-16 with 74 yards and one passing touchdown. Ouellette had 55 rushing yards, while Rourke had 46 and two touchdowns. Cope led Ohio's receiving core in the first half, snagging three passes for 38 yards.
Ohio’s offense went to work quickly after the second half kickoff. Rourke found Cope on a 48-yard completion, putting Ohio in UMass territory. A few minutes later, the Bobcats grabbed the lead on a five-yard rushing touchdown from Ouellette. That put the visitors in front, 34-27.
On Ohio’s next possession, the ‘Cats put together a 10-play drive that went 79 yards and took 4:24 off the clock. Ouellette finished with a 12-yard receiving touchdown, putting Ohio up 41-27.
"Our offense is just experienced, whatever teams are going to throw at us we have an answer for," Ouellette said. "Every single one of big runs, our offensive line stepped up. We're just doing our job and executing."
After the Ohio defense forced UMass to turn the ball over on downs at the Bobcats 20-yard line, OU fumbled the snap on the next play, with the ball rolling in the end zone. It was recovered Brown, resulting in a safety for the Minutemen, making the score 41-29.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Ohio defense again forced UMass to turn the ball over on downs.
On the next play, Ouellette registered his biggest gain of the game with a 60-yard carry. That set Ohio up on the UMass 15-yard line. Brown then promptly took the ball for a 15-yard rushing touchdown to increase the Ohio lead to 48-29.
On their next possession, UMass put together a three-minute drive that covered 70 yards in 13 plays and resulted in a touchdown.
The Minutemen would then attempt the two-point conversion, but it was unsuccessful, making the score 48-38 with 10 minutes to go in the game.
Following the UMass drive, the Bobcats got the ball back and put together another scoring drive. During the drive, Rourke had back-to-back rushes of 16 and 26-yards, setting up Zervos' 34-yard field goal, increasing Ohio's lead to 51-35.
The last Ohio score of the game came late in the fourth quarter when Brown broke through for a 42-yard run, putting the game out of reach.
Ohio returns to play next Saturday, Oct. 7 for a Homecoming matchup against Mid-American Conference West Division foe Central Michigan. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. ET.
(Courtesy of OU Athletics)
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