Sports
Ohio Football Looks to Rebound this Week Against South Alabama
By: Joshua Hoerner
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) – Ohio Football looks to get their first win of the season Saturday against South Alabama.
The Bobcats fell 38-22 last week against Syracuse. However, there were some positives to take away from this performance.
Running back Anthony Tyus III led the Bobcats with 16 carries, 203 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Although he was not listed as the starter, head coach Tim Albin stated that the team fed the hot hand.
“Trey got the second level, and they didn’t get him down right,” Albin said. “I mean that’s what the difference is. The burst runs in there. He’s a big back, and the arm tackle didn’t get him down, and the power the pile fell forward, and it wasn’t second and nine.”
Another standout performance for the offense was wide receiver Coleman Owen. He produced 10 catches for 137 receiving yards against the Orange, leading the Bobcats in receiving.
On the defensive side of the ball, safety Austin Brawley lead the team with 12 total tackles and defensive end Bradley Weaver got the team’s only sack.
However, two of the Bobcats were unfortunately hit with the injury bug. Redshirt freshman cornerback Kendall Bannister and senior safety Jeremiah Wood both have suspected ACL injuries. Wood, a captain, was a crucial part of the team’s defense last season.
“Next man up mentality, we’re going to look at some things we’ve been two platooning all fall camp. I mentioned that at maybe the first presser of fall camp the first day we started,” Albin said. “And two platooning means when we have a team session or seven on seven, we switched. We got two groups going on at once.”
As for the Bobcats opponent, South Alabama is coming off a 52-38 loss to North Texas. However, the offense stood out in their past performance.
Quarterback Gio Lopez passed for 432 yards and completed 26 passes. He had four total touchdowns, three in the air and one on the ground. Lopez also led his team in rushing with 62 yards.
Lopez’s favorite target was wide receiver Jamaal Pritchett. He finished with 10 catches for 197 yards and one touchdown.
“Offensively, they’re solid,” Albin said. “I’ll say this. Their skill is as good, if not better than Syracuse. I mean, they return five guys on offense that played like they did last year. We’ve got a huge challenge.”
Ohio will have a tough challenge to get their first win of the season. Kickoff is set for 6:00 p.m. at Peden Stadium on Saturday.