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After watching Bowling Green take a 42-35 lead with 32 seconds left, Idaho head coach Robb Akey decided that if his Vandals managed to score a touchdown, they would go for the two-point conversion.

Idaho covered 66 yards in 28 seconds to get that touchdown, which pulled it to within one point. After a time out, Akey reaffirmed his game-deciding strategy.

It paid off when quarterback Nathan Enderle hit Preston Davis in the back of the end zone to give the Vandals a 43-42 victory.

It was a dramatic ending to a wild game. The two teams finished two quarters locked in a 14-14 tie. They erupted for a total of 57 points over the final two quarters, however, as both offenses churned out touchdowns.

DMaundray Woolridge, who led all rushers with 126 yards on 22 carries, scored twice in the third quarter to put  Idaho up by 14 points.

Bowling Green needed to stem the Vandals tide, and it answered quickly with a pair of touchdown passes by Tyler Sheehan. The fifth-year senior completed 33-of-47 for 387 yards with one interception and four TDs.

Tight End Jimmy Scheidler caught his first touchdown pass of the season with 3:40 left in the third quarter as the Falcons drove 57 yards in four plays.

Bowling Green used 13 plays to cover 67 yards on its next drive. Sheehan found his favorite target, classmate Freddie Barnes, on a five-yard TD pass for the score.

Barnes had a huge day to cap a record-setting career with the Falcons. He had 17 catches for 219 yards and three touchdowns against the Vandals. Along the way, he set an NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision record for the most receptions in a single season. His fifth catch of the game – a seven-yard reception late in the first quarter – moved him past Manny Hazard (142 receptions, Houston, 1989).

Barnes credited Sheehan with helping him succeed Wednesday and during the season. “He’s been unbelievable this year (with) all the faith he’s had in me throughout the season,” Barnes said.

The Chicago Heights, Illinois native had 297 receptions for 3,290 yards and 30 touchdowns in his Falcon career.

“He’s been a great player all year,” Falcons head coach Dave Clawson said. “Everybody knows its coming, and he is still productive. We never would have got here without him, and we wouldn’t have gotten back in the game without him.”
 

Freddie Barnes-file photo    

Davis slipped a tackle after a pass from Enderle as the Vandals regained the lead on a 30-yard play midway through the final quarter.
 
Bowling Green came back with a two-yard Willie Geter touchdown run at 3:51 and a key defensive stop on the Vandals next possession.

 “We called the same play earlier in the drive, and I missed something early,” Sheehan said. “The coaches coached me up during the time out, and we came back and did the same thing. So I knew if I had time and moved around … Freddie would be open.”

With little time to waste, Idaho went long on its first play from scrimmage after the kickoff. Enderle’s 50-yard bomb was pulled in by Davis at the BGSU 16.

“They had probably four plays to go 60-70 yards, so we were kind of in a prevent coverage,” Clawson said. “We were deeper than their deepest (receiver) and their kid went up and got the football.”

After an incompletion and Idaho time out, Enderle connected with Max Komar for a touchdown. The senior’s first catch of the day set up a one-point kick (to tie) or two-point try (to win/ lose) decision. Akey opted for the latter, and the Vandals converted.

“They made some big plays – first to get the ball down the field, then for the touchdown, then for the two-point conversion,” said Clawson, who had been considering his own PAT options earlier.

“If we had scored with a little less time left, I had been playing with the idea of going for two,” he said. “I think they probably felt like we did. I don’t think they felt confident they were going to stop us, and when you have offensive momentum like they did, and you get one play for three yards (to decide the outcome), they probably felt their chances of getting it were pretty good.”

Idaho, which lost two games while Enderle was out with an injury, finished the season 8-5. Bowling Green, meanwhile, closed 2009 with a 7-6 mark.

“I’m certainly proud of our football team. Our players played hard, coming back from 14 points (down) in the second half and taking the lead,” Clawson said. “I can’t fault the effort or … the preparation. They played their hearts out.”