 TOLEDO 42, AIR FORCE 41
With 52 seconds left in the game, Falcons quarterback Tim Jefferson found receiver Jonathan Warzeki wide open for an easy 33-yard touchdown reception.
FALCONS GO FOR THE WIN
The score cut the Rockets' lead to 42-41, and Air Force (7-6, 3-4 MWC) came out in a traditional extra-point look, appearing content to once again tie the game. Instead the Falcons ran an option running play. The option pitch was mishandled, however, and the ball rolled out of bounds in the end zone.
Toledo needed just one first down to run out the clock after recovering the Falcons' last-ditch onside-kick. UT got the first down and picked up the win.
OWENS TO REEDY YIELDS THREE TD's
Quarterback Terrance Owens got the starting nod for newly-appointed head coach Matt Campbell, going 19-for-24 for 210 yards and three touchdowns. All three of his touchdown passes went to junior wideout Bernard Reedy, who set a new career-high in single game touchdown receptions.
Eric Page led the Rockets in receptions, catching 13 balls for 59 yards. The receptions improved his career total to 306 and moved him into a three-way for first place on the all-time Mid-American Conference career receptions leaders list. The mark is shared by Josh Davis, a receiver at Marshall from 2001-04, and Jordan White, a senior at Western Michigan.
Senior running back Adonis Thomas led UT in rushing, breaking the 1,000-yard mark for the season, as he toted the ball 22 times for 108 yards and a touchdown. It is the fifth-straight game that Thomas has topped the 100-yard mark.
ROBINSON TAKES IT BACK TO THE HOUSE - AGAIN
With the score tied 28-28 to begin the second half, Falcons quarterback Tim Jefferson's pass was tipped and intercepted by Rockets safety Jermaine Robinson. The junior cut back to the left side of the field and took it 37 yards to the end zone untouched to give UT a 35-28 advantage. The play marked Robinson's third interception of the season, and was his second-straight game taking an interception to the house.
After getting the ball back, the Falcons capped off a seven play, 50-yard drive with a two-yard touchdown rush by running back Mike DeWitt, tying the game at 35-35 with 5:59 left in the third quarter.
Toledo regained the lead, 42-35, off a 33-yard pass from Owens to Reedy. The receiver caught it on the left side, spun off a defender, and cut back to the middle of the field to give the Rockets the lead with 5:01 left in regulation.
With 52 seconds left in the game, a Toledo safety stumbled in coverage, leaving the Falcons' Warzeka wide open for an easy 33-yard touchdown reception from Jefferson, with about six yards coming after the catch. The failed pitch attempt on the fake PAT kick left UT in front by the one-point final margin.
The first half consisted of more back-and-forth action, with Toledo able to build a 14-point advantage over Air Force on two separate occasions. But UT was unable to put the determined Falcons away.
FUMBLE RECOVERY SETS UP SCORE
Toledo jumped out to an early 14-0 lead over the Falcons in a span of 16 seconds. The first score of the game came on a 17-yard pass from Owens to Reedy on the Rockets’ second possession of the game. On the ensuing kickoff, Desmond Marrow forced a fumble by Air Force's Cody Getz. It was recovered by Junior Sylvestre and on the first play of the following possession, Thomas took the handoff from Austin Dantin and scampered 41 yards to pay dirt.
Air Force scored its first points of the game off a 22-yard run by Jefferson with 2:29 left in the first quarter, making it 14-7.
BIG KICKOFF RETURN
Page quickly widened Toledo's lead back to 14 points, returning the next kickoff 87-yards for a touchdown to give UT a 21-7 lead. It was his first kick-off return for a score this season, following a 2010 campaign in which he earned All-American honors as the only player in the country to return three for touchdowns.
Air Force quickly retaliated as running back Mike DeWitt punched it in from three yards out on the next Falcons drive. The tally followed a 60-yard dash around the edge by wide receiver Jonathan Warzeka.
After pulling within seven at 21-14, Air Force tied the game at 21-all with 9:43 remaining in the second quarter. Asher Clark took a pitch wide to the right side to convert from one yard out on fourth down.
Toledo regained a 28-21 advantage at the 7:49 mark of the second quarter when Owens connected with Reedy for the second time of the day, this time on a 49-yard touchdown pitch-and-catch.
The Falcons tied the score 28-28 with 2:07 remaining before intermission when Jefferson connected with Warzeka on a 37-yard touchdown completion on fourth down.
Despite Air Force outgaining the Rockets 407-339 in offensive yardage and converting on five-of-six fourth-down conversion attempts, UT was able to make enough stops to win another nail-biter.
Courtesy of Toledo Athletics
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