BGSU spoils Homecoming with a bold fourth-down conversion late in the game.
The Akron Zips (1-4, 0-1 MAC) were just three minutes away from forcing a defensive stop and getting the ball back against the Bowling Green Falcons (2-3, 1-0 MAC) with an opportunity to win in front of the Homecoming crowd at InfoCision Stadium.
The two teams, tied at 20 points apiece in a back-and-forth contest, broke their huddles and met on the Zips 30-yard line, setting in motion what would be the deciding play on fourth-and-two with the Falcons possessing.
The snap to Connor Bazelak was clear, and the hand-off exchange to a streaking Harold Fannin Jr. was smooth, with the speedy tight end rounding the corner and forcing an Akron defender to miss as he crossed the first-down marker, then turning on the after-burners and turfing another oncoming defender en route to the endzone.
The score put the Falcons up 27-20, and the Zips were unable to respond on their final offensive drive, with Ben Finley tossing the ball away from a double blitz up the middle to effectively seal the result.
BGSU, who held the endcap score, was also the game’s first team to score on the night, with a Jaison Patterson touchdown run from two yards out allowing the Falcons to take a 7-0 lead.
The Zips would need some time to come up with an answer, but a promising drive set up in part by a 33-yard Ben Finley rush stalled out at the BGSU 30-yard line, forcing a Garrison Smith field goal with 4:08 left in the quarter to put the margin at 7-3.
Both teams exchanged punts after that, but the second boot would prove to be vital, as Akron punter Avery Book’s 46-yard punt floated to the BGSU six-yard line in front of seemingly undecided Justin Pegues. Pegues muffed the catch attempt, and the ball bounced eight yards backwards into the endzone, with Akron long snapper Liam Reardon recovering the ball— after a few attempts at landing on top of it himself— to put the Zips up 10-7 with eight seconds to go in the first quarter.
The two teams would stalemate for the vast majority of the second quarter, but eventually, BGSU broke through with 10 unanswered points to end the half, scoring on a 45-yard Jackson Kleather field goal and a Jaison Patterson nine-yard rushing touchdown to put the tally at 17-10.
The third quarter played out much the same way, with both teams exchanging punts to start the second half and neither team able to get on the scoreboard. Kleather would trot on for a field goal to start the fourth quarter after a delay-of-game penalty on fourth-and-two from the Akron eight-yard line, sinking it from 31 yards out to extend the lead to 20-10.
The exchange was a huge win for the Akron defense, which forced the Falcons to settle for a field goal after sitting on the ball for over seven minutes and gave the offense the ball back still within two scores.
Akron responded with their most effective attack of the afternoon, as Ben Finley found Adrian Norton for a 48-yard pass to open, then tossed another dot to Bobby Golden down the middle of the field for a 22-yard gain before backup QB Tahj Bullock finished the drive with a five-yard scramble touchdown on a covered pass play to get within three.
The Zips defense once again delivered, forcing a three-and-out, and the Zips offense rumbled down the field to threaten. Jordon Simmons came alive on the possession, with long runs of 19 and 22 yards, and Ben Finley scrambled twice to keep the play alive to place Akron at the BGSU 15-yard line.
They were unable to get a touchdown, however, with an untimely sack and a four-yard loss on third-down forcing Akron to settle for a field goal to tie the game at 20 with 7:13 remaining.
The Falcons re-established their dominance on the next drive, grinding the clock down over four-and-a-half minutes with good possession offense. But the Zips defense had one last stop up their sleeves, as Bryan McCoy and Nathan Kapongo combined to stuff Jaison Patterson on third-and-two to force BGSU head coach Scot Loeffler into a decision.
Loeffler opted not only to go for it, but to give his best player the ball. By the time the triple zeroes showed, the decision would prove to be right.
The Falcons moved the ball effectively throughout the game, with three drives lasting over four minutes, including a seven-minute drive and an eight-minute drive which both ended with field goals.
Connor Bazelak finished the afternoon 24-of-30 for 268 yards for no touchdowns or interceptions on a day highlighted by the rushing game. Jaison Patterson had 14 carries for 52 yards and two rushing scores and also picked up 15 receiving yards on two catches. but the true star of the BGSU offense was once again the do-it-all tight end Harold Fannin Jr., who had nine catches for 138 yards and the game’s deciding rushing score on his second carry of the afternoon.
Saturday marked the fourth-straight game Fannin Jr. surpassed the 130+ receiving yards mark and scored at least one touchdown.
Finn Hogan (six receptions, 67 yards) also had some timely catches, while Malcolm Johnson (six catches, 44 yards) also contributed to the receiving efforts.
Darius Lorfils led the Falcons in tackles with seven total, while Charles Rosser (five tackles) led the team in solo tackles-for-loss and sacks (two each), and Darius McClendon picked up a 17-yard sack on his own. Four players combined for two additional assisted TFLs.
Jackson Kleather was a perfect 2-of-2 on field goals, while John Henderson averaged 45.8 yards per punt.
The win vs. Akron marked Bowling Green’s 300th victory against a league member all-time since joining the Mid-American Conference.
For Akron, they’re left to wonder why yet again in a game where they were fully competitive to the end.
Ben Finley had one of his best games as a Zip, passing for 206 yards on 21-of-32 attempts— though he also had no touchdowns or interceptions. The lone touchdown of the day belonged to backup QB Tahj Bullock, who scored a rush from five yards out.
Jordon Simmons salvaged his day late, finishing with 73 yards on nine attempts, while Finley contributed 65 pre-sack yards on the ground. Adrian Norton was once again the deep threat, averaging 26 yards per pass on three catches. Simmons held the joint-lead in receptions (five) and had 32 yards from the halfback spot, with Israel Polk grabbing 17 yards on his five receptions.
Bryan McCoy once again set the pace with 12 tackles to lead all defenders, with Paul Lewis III and Aman Greenwood each picking up seven tackles as well. Bennett Adler, CJ Nunnally IV and Bruno Dall all had a solo sack each in what was a productive day for the front seven, with Dall also collecting Akron’s lone pass break-up.
Garrison Smith went 2-of-2 on field goal attempts, while Avery Book averaged 39.5 punting yards on five punts.
Akron gets set to travel to Kalamazoo next weekend to take on the Western Michigan Broncos, while BGSU will host the NIU Huskies.
Both games are set for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff on Saturday, Oct. 12.