The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Bowling Green
Zips Tie Game With Third QB, Fall to BGSU, 38-28, on Senior Night
November 09 | Football
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AKRON, Ohio – Erasing an 18-point deficit in the second half of Wednesday evening's Mid-American Conference contest wasn't enough as the Akron Zips fell short to Bowling Green, 38-28, on Senior Night at InfoCision Stadium – Summa Field.
The Zips honored 22 graduating seniors before the 23rd meeting against Falcons. Bowling Green controlled the first half. However, Akron scored 18 unanswered points, tying the game 28-28 with 10:48 left in the fourth quarter. Seven minutes later, the Falcons regained the lead with a 27-yard field goal. On the ensuing kickoff, BGSU recovered a fumble, which led to a 22-yard touchdown run by Donavan Wilson.
As a result, the Zips moved to 5-6 overall and 3-4 in Mid-American Conference play, while BGSU improved to 2-8 on the season and 1-5 in the MAC.
Because of two injuries in the first half, Akron was forced to use three quarterbacks on the final showing at InfoCision Stadium. Senior QB Thomas Woodson (Monroeville, Pa.) opened the game behind center, but was injured on the final play of the first series.
Junior QB Tra'Von Chapman (Cincinnati, Ohio) took over the duties, throwing for 58 yards on 7-of-14 attempts while gaining 14 yards on the ground on six attempts with a touchdown. On the final offensive play of the first half, Chapman left the field and never returned.
To open the third quarter, sophomore WR Tyrell Goodman (Yonkers, N.Y.) was the next man up for the job. Goodman completed 4-of-9 passes for 139 yards, hurling a touchdown and gaining 15 yards on the ground. Goodman hit senior WR JoJo Natson, Jr. (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) for a 50-yard pass play and followed with a 64-yard touchdown pass to junior WR Jerome Lane (Akron, Ohio). Lane also converted the two-point conversion to tie the game 28-28 with 10:48 left in the fourth quarter.
Lane led the Akron receivers with 97 yards and a touchdown on five targets, while Natson followed with 56 yards on three catches. Junior WR Austin Wolf (Lebanon, Ohio) added 39 yards to the Zips' 197-yard total with two receptions.
Sophomore RB Van Edwards, Jr. (Cape Coral, Fla.) carried most of the load on the ground, gaining 84 yards on 20 carries with a 28-yard long. Senior RB Denzel Jones, Jr. (Ravenna, Ohio) added 66 yards on 13 carries with a 25-yard long.
Defensively, freshman CB Alvin Davis, Jr. (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) posted a game-high 13 tackles with a fumble recovery. Sophomore LB Ulysees Gilbert III (Ocala, fla.) totaled 10 tackles with three tackles for loss, including two sacks for 21 yards.
Akron outgained the Falcons 374-323 in total offensive yards, including a 197-105 edge in the air. On the ground, BGSU held a 218-177 advantage.
Defense dominated the first quarter of play on both sides of the field until the Falcons' quarterback James Morgan found Teo Redding for a 34-yard pass to the Akron 15-yard line. Two plays later, Fred Coppet found the end zone, gaining the final 15 yards on two carries for the game's first score with 44 seconds remaining in the first frame. At the end of the first quarter BGSU led 7-0.
The Zips opened the second quarter with back-to-back strikes form Chapman to Wolf, gaining 39 yards to the Bowling Green 18-yard line. Facing a third-and-12, Chapman tucked the ball and carried it to the 13-yard line to set up a 30-yard field goal attempt for sophomore PK Tom O'Leary (Tucker, Ga.). O'Leary split the uprights, cutting the Zips deficit to 7-3 with 12:47 left to play in the half.
Bowling Green responded with its second touchdown of the evening, traveling 68 yards on seven plays in 2:19. The Falcons opened the drive with a 42-yard run by Wilson. He carried the ball for 17 additional yards on three attempts, placing the ball on the Akron 9-yard line. Again, Coppet needed two carries to enter the scoring area, lifting the Falcons to a 14-3 advantage with 10:19 on the clock.
Akron quickly retaliated with a nine-play, 63-yard scoring drive that ended with a one-yard quarterback draw by Chapman. Edwards started the drive with a 15-yard run, and after three short passing plays, broke-off a 28-yard run and five-yard carry to move Akron to the BGSU 1-yard line. Chapman finished the drive in 3:50, brining the Zips' within four points for the second time of the game, 14-10, with 6:18 to go in the second quarter.
The Falcons used the next three minutes to enter Akron's side of the field. Staring at a third-and-two from the 43-yard line, Akron's defense stuffed the run as Zips' linebacker Gilbert recorded his second tackle for loss on the day.
The BGSU punt pinned the Zips at their own 7-yard line, and unfortunately BGSU's David Konowalski stripped the ball carrier and the Falcons recovered on the Zips 2-yard line. Ronnie Moore lifted the Falcons to an 11-point advantage on a two-yard run, ending the first half 21-10 in BGSU's favor.
In the second half, Akron forced a fumble on the opening play as Gilbert caused the miscue, and Davis recovered the ball at the Bowling Green 32-yard line. Akron sent its third quarterback of the game as Goodman lined-up behind center. Edwards gained four yards on two carries before Goodman dropped back to throw a pass. Natson broke loose near the goal line, but was taken down by a BGSU defender and drew a pass interference flag. With the ball on the BGSU 13-yard line, the Zips attempt to move the ball was pushed back nine yards before the ball came loose. BGSU's Marcus Milton picked up the loose ball off the turf and ran 76 yards for the Falcons first score of the second half, 28-10.
Over the next five minutes, Akron cut 18-point deficit to 10 points with two consecutive scoring drives. During the first drive, Akron gained 62 yards on six plays while only using 2:22 on the clock. The drive started on the Akron 38-yard line Jones picked-up seven yards on the ground and Goodman aired-out a 50-yard pass to Natson, giving the Zips first-and-goal from the BGSU 1-yard line. Edwards needed two attempts to cross the goal line, making the score 28-17. On the second drive, Akron settled for a 45-yard field goal by O'Leary after a 22-yard punt return from Natson, narrowing the Falcon lead to 28-20 with 7:13 left in the third quarter. With 1:07 remaining in the third quarter, Akron started a drive from their own 1-yard line and gained 11 yards before the clock ran out.
In the final frame, Akron kept the momentum going, finishing a 99-yard drive to tie the game with 10:48 left, highlighted by a 64-yard touchdown pass to Lane. In addition, Lane converted the two-point opportunity to make it 28-28, but BGSU responded with 10 points for the win.
After a 13-day break, Akron closes the regular season at Ohio on Tuesday, Nov. 22, in a 7 p.m. game.
