Sports
Ohio’s Rushing Attack Leads Bobcats to a 48-3 Throttling of Kent State
By: Mitchell Lyons
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Going into halftime, it appeared to be a classic matchup between the Ohio Bobcats (6-2, 3-1) and the Kent State Golden Flashes (2-6, 1-3). Close and low scoring.
In the second half, the Bobcats left no doubt they were the better team.
Ohio outscored Kent State by 35 points in the second half to cruise to a 48-3 victory.
Ohio blew the game open with four touchdowns in the first seven minutes of the third quarter. Dorian Brown and A.J. Ouellette ripped off 39 and 38-yard touchdown runs respectively. Then Nathan Rourke found tight end Mason Morgan for two touchdowns. The second giving Ohio a 41-3 lead late in the third quarter.
The first half was a classic Ohio-Kent State game. Low scoring and tough to watch for fans of offense. The Bobcats had just 41 total yards in the first quarter and all of them were on the ground.
In the second quarter, Rourke found his magic.
The frame opened with Rourke finding Papi White for a 33-yard gain. That play set up a 34-yard field goal by Louis Zervos to tie the game at three. That field goal was the start of seven straight possessions that ended in points for Ohio.
“We’ve shown that we’re pretty good in the third quarter, coming out of halftime,” Rourke said. “I think we cleaned up our mistakes… We started executing at a higher level. That’s really what happened. It wasn’t really a game plan thing. We just started executing better.”
Ouellette got the carry on back-to-back plays and gained 14 yards. Two plays later, Rourke found the end zone. The six-yard run gave Ohio a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
Another Zervos field goal gave Ohio a 13-3 lead at the half.
After the break, the floodgates opened.
Ouellette had 91 yards on just 10 carries and one touchdown, while Rourke went 8-of-17 passing for 132 yards and two touchdowns. He also had 59 yards on the ground and a score.
For the second straight week, Ohio rushed for over 300 yards. The last time they accomplished that feat was November 2015.
“We know we’re a good rushing team because our [offensive line] is fantastic and execute your assignment, each player and we should keep it up,” Ouellette said.
The win makes Ohio bowl eligible for the ninth year in a row. However, the team has its eyes set on something bigger.
“There wasn’t anyone [player or coach] that talked about becoming bowl eligible with this win. I think that’s a great step for our program,” head coach Frank Solich said. “We don’t ever consider that. We don’t think about that. They’re thinking about other things, which I think is great.”
Ohio has 10 days off before they play the Miami RedHawks, on Halloween. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. at Peden Stadium