Sports

Ohio University Football holds on in the final minutes to win 102nd Battle of the Bricks 

By: Evan Johnson
Posted on: Wednesday, November 5, 2025

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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) – Midweek MACtion returned to Peden Stadium as Ohio University Football (6-3, 4-1 MAC) took on Miami (5-4, 4-1 MAC) in the 102nd meeting of the Battle of the Bricks. After a low-scoring first half, the offenses took off, trading big scores. A 49-yard touchdown catch by Rodney Harris and an interception by Jalen Thomeson in the final minutes, lifted Ohio 24-20 in a classic.

The Battle of the Bricks, a rivalry that has been played for 117 years. Miami has owned the series record 56-43-2. The two teams faced off twice last season, with the RedHawks taking the first one 30-20. They met again in the MAC Championship for the first time ever, with the Bobcats dominating 38-3.

Defend the Frank has been a phrase Ohio Football has lived by the last couple of years. Since naming the field in honor of Frank Solich, the Bobcats have been 21-1 at home. The one loss came against Miami in 2023. 

“It just means the world to us to play on that field. The fans show up every week. We’ve got the best fans in the MAC, if not the nation,” Running back Sieh Bangura said.

This season, both squads have found themselves back at the top of the conference. Miami remained the only team in the MAC to be undefeated in conference play. Ohio was tied for second with their only loss coming to Ball State. 

The explosive offenses were quiet to start the game. The Bobcats leaned heavily on Sieh Bangura, giving him seven carries in the first quarter. The RedHawks looked more to the air to find success, relying on seventh-year quarterback Dequan Finn. Neither team was able to move the ball, with the first four drives all ending in punts. 

Ohio switched up the play calling, letting Parker Navarro show off his arm. After driving down the field, Navarro lobbed a one-on-one ball to Chase Hendricks, but Miami’s Eli Coppess came down with the ball in the end zone to keep the game scoreless. 

The next scoring opportunity for either team came late in the second quarter. Miami had the ball inside the Ohio two-yard line but were stuffed three plays in a row. After two timeouts, the RedHawks were called for a false start, and they settled for a field goal. Dom Dzioban chipped it in for the first points in the game. 

With less than two minutes left in the first half, Ohio drove down the field and David Dellenbach nailed a 35-yard field goal to tie the game at three heading into halftime.

“I think our, our defense and defensive staff did a great job with, you know, knocking out the run and eliminating big plays,” said head coach Brian Smith.  

The Bobcats had another costly turnover out of the half. Corban Hondru knocked the ball out of Navarro’s hands and recovered it, giving Miami great field position. 

The Ohio defense stayed strong yet again, forcing a quick three-and-out. Dzioban was able to knock down his second field goal of the game, this time a 46-yarder to take the lead 6-3. 

The Bobcats responded again; they marched down the field, and Sieh Bangura broke off a 22-yard touchdown for Ohio’s first lead of the night.  

Miami had another long drive. After 13 plays, Dequan Finn found Braylon Isom in the middle of the endzone for a four-yard passing touchdown.  

Yet again, the Bobcats had an answer, and this time it was the special team’s unit that stepped up. Bangura faked a pitch to Duncan Brune on the kickoff and broke through for a 97-yard touchdown. Ohio regained the lead 17-13 at the beginning of the fourth quarter. 

“Coach [Cavanaugh] is coaching them, and they’re trusting and believing in what he’s doing, and they’re getting better throughout the year,” Smith said on the special teams unit. 

The back-and-forth trend continued as Miami quickly made their way down the field. After a big sack, the RedHawks were backed up to a fourth-and-9 on Ohio’s 27-yard line. Miami Head Coach, Chuck Martin, elected to go for it, and it paid off with Finn finding Kam Perry wide open in the end zone for a 27-yard touchdown to take the lead back 20-17. 

The offenses slowed down for a bit as each team’s next drive ended in a punt. 

With just a couple of minutes left, Ohio was in a bad position. After a crucial holding call, the Bobcats were backed up to third-and-14 on their own 36. On the very next play, Ohio was bailed out as Miami was called for a face mask on Navarro. A broken play led to Navarro finding Rodney Harris II on the sideline, who created separation and took it to the house for a 49-yard touchdown. Another lead change was in favor of Ohio 24-20, with just over two minutes remaining.

It was then Miami’s turn to take a chance at the game-winning drive. Finn connected with Braylon Isom again for 27 yards on the first play of the drive. Just one play later, Finn looked to Josh Ringer, but Ohio’s Jalen Thomeson jumped the route and snatched his first career interception to save the game. 

“Finish the game, steal the game. This is it. This is that play to get the W. So I made it happen,” Thomeson said on what was going through his head on the play. 

Bangura burst up the middle for 13 yards to cap off the victory and Ohio was able to Defend the Frank yet again, 24-20.  

“It was a tremendous team win. It was great to see all three sides of the ball make plays that were differences in the game. So again, just couldn’t be more proud of the kids and the staff in our program right now,” Smith said. 

The win tightens up the MAC standings even more, with four teams now all with one loss in the conference. 

Ohio will hit the road again as they travel to Kalamazoo to take on Western Michigan on Nov. 11.