Oct. 22, 2011

Final Stats | Notes

TOLEDO, Ohio--Toledo scored three first-quarter touchdowns and added two more in the second period, cruising to a 49-28 Mid-American Conference victory over Miami Saturday night at the Glass Bowl.

Toledo won its fourth consecutive MAC game (4-0) and improved its overall record to 5-3. Miami's streak of five straight MAC road victories ended as the RedHawks fell to 2-5 overall and 1-2 in conference play.

Junior quarterback Zac Dysert passed for 333 yards, completing 24-of-37 attempts--including a 71-yard pass--while freshman wide receiver Dawan Scott hauled in seven catches for 140 yards and sophomore wide receiver Nick Harwell posted his fifth 100-yard receiving performance in six games with 101 yards on five catches.

Senior linebacker Jerrell Wedge led all players with 15 tackles, including five solo stops.

Toledo racked up 497 yards of total offense, including 269 yards on the ground.

After Miami went three-and-out on its first possession, Toledo took over at the RedHawk 48. Three plays and 55 seconds later, David Fluellen's three runs of 34, 7 and 7 yards put Toledo in the endzone. With 12:33 left on the clock, the Rockets led by a score of 7-0.

Miami picked up a first down on its second possession, but a Dysert pass was deflected by the intended receiver and picked off by Rocket Desmond Marrow. On third down and goal at the two-yard line, Morgan Williams swept around right end for the second Toledo touchdown, giving UT a 14-0 lead with 7:50 remaining in the first period.

For a third straight possession, the RedHawks were forced to punt. On its first play from its own 24-yard line, Toledo's Adonis Thomas eluded several tacklers and ran 67 yards all the way to the Miami nine-yard line. Two plays later, Thomas took it in from the three and, with 5:01 left in the first quarter, the Rockets led 21-0.

Miami sophomore Zac Murphy punted a fourth time and this time Toledo took over at its own 19-yard line with 3:36 left in the first. The Rockets drove down to the Miami 23 but missed a 40-yard field goal. However, Toledo cashed in less than three minutes later when Robert Bell recovered Dysert's fumble and raced 55 yards down the near sideline to paydirt, giving UT a 28-0 lead at 11:58 of the second quarter.

The RedHawks got on the scoreboard on Dysert's 8-yard pass to sophomore fullback Justin Semmes at the 9:04 mark of the second quarter, allowing Miami to draw within 21 points, 28-7, after the sophomore Mason Krysinski extra point. The biggest play in MU's drive was a 37-yard reception by Scott.

On the very next possession, Toledo drove down the field again. A 32-yard run by Williams set himself up for a 1-yard TD, extending UT's lead to 35-7.

Miami's last possession of the first half started with a bang as Dysert connected with Harwell on a 71-yard pass play, moving the ball all the way down to the Toledo 9-yard line. After an 8-yard pass to Justin Semmes, sophomore running back Erik Finklea took the ball into the end zone on a 1-yard TD, closing the gap to 35-14 at halftime.

In the third quarter, Miami and Toledo traded punts three times, and the score remained in favor of the Rockets, 35-14.

Toledo opened a flurry of fourth-quarter scoring with a 9-yard touchdown strike from Austin Dantin to Jerome Jones with 11:44 remaining. A good extra point extended the Rockets' lead to 42-14.

Miami came back with a nine-play, 60-yard drive that was capped by a 3-yard touchdown pass from Dysert to junior wide receiver Andy Cruse with 8:32 remaining. Krysinski tacked on the extra point to cut the Rocket lead to 42-21.

A 10-yard Terrance Owens pass to Justin Olack, marked Toledo's final touchdown of the game with 2:31 to play. Ryan Casano's extra point extended the Rockets' lead to 49-21. Miami put the final points on the board when sophomore quarterback Austin Boucher hit redshirt freshman wide receiver Willie Culpepper for a 25-yard touchdown with 30 seconds remaining. Krysinski's extra point made the final tally 49-28 in favor of the Rockets.

Miami returns home for two straight games, beginning with Homecoming Weekend when the RedHawks host Buffalo at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 29.

A crowd of 25,910 attended Toledo's Homecoming game at the Glass Bowl.