Oct. 8, 2011
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OXFORD, Ohio--Junior quarterback Zac Dysert had a hand in all five touchdowns as Miami University's football team scored 21 unanswered points to overcome a 14-point deficit and pick up the first win for Head Coach Don Treadwell as the RedHawks (1-4) defeated Army (2-4) on Saturday afternoon at Yager Stadium, 35-28.
Dysert finished the day with 342 yards on 24-of-37 passing and four touchdowns in the air and rushed for another touchdown to catapult the RedHawks to their first win of the season.
Sophomore wide receiver Nick Harwell wasted no time tying a Miami record, hauling in six catches to amass 109 yards in the first quarter of the game. It was his fourth straight 100-yard receiving game, which ties Martin Nance for the most consecutive 100-yard receiving games in program history. Nance set the record in 2005. Harwell finished the game with a season-high 186 yards on 10 catches and caught two touchdowns. His 186 receiving yards were the third-most in Miami history. Harwell set the record last season with 219.
Miami scored the go-ahead touchdown with 7:05 remaining when Dysert connected with Harwell on a 20-yard touchdown pass to cap an impressive 98-yard RedHawk drive.
On the subsequent drive, Army moved the ball to the Miami 13-yard line, but the RedHawk defense preserved the win when junior linebacker Jaytee Swanson sacked Army's Trent Steelman on fourth-and-12 from the Miami 15-yard line with 24 seconds left.
Both teams scored on their opening series and a combined four touchdowns were scored in the first quarter.
The RedHawks moved the ball 83 yards on six plays in the opening 1:57 of the game. After a 14-yard rush by freshman tailback Chrishawn Dupuy on the opening play of the series, Dysert fired a 45-yard pass to Harwell to put Miami on Army's 24-yard line. On second-and-10 on the 13-yard line, Dysert again connected with Harwell, this time for 13 yards in the end zone for the RedHawk touchdown with 13:03 remaining in the first quarter. Sophomore Mason Krysinski hit the extra point, giving Miami an early 7-0 lead.
Starting its drive on its own 25-yard line, Army used a 21-yard rush by Jared Hassin on the Black Knights' third play of the series to put the ball into RedHawk territory on Miami's 42-yard line. Army converted on fourth-and-two from the 34-yard line with a two-yard rush by Raymond Maples to keep the drive alive. Two plays later, an 18-yard run up the middle by Larry Dixon put the ball on the 1-yard line to set up the score. Trent Steelman's rush up the middle from 1 yard out put the Black Knights on the board with 8:01 remaining in the opening quarter. Alex Carlton converted the PAT, evening the score, 7-7.
Army took the lead when Maples broke loose up the middle for a 25-yard touchdown with 1:14 left in the quarter, marking the first time this season a team has scored twice on the RedHawk defense in the opening quarter. Maples' touchdown run was the longest play of the eight-play, 75-yard drive. Carlton again hit the extra point, giving Army a 14-7 lead.
Miami struck as the first quarter ended to knot the game, 14-14. Sophomore tailback Erik Finklea rushed for 20 yards during the series. Dysert completed 3-of-4 passes during the eight-play, 75-yard drive -- including strikes to Harwell for 7 and 36 yards and a 16-yard completion to junior wide receiver Andy Cruse -- and then capped it off with a 1-yard rush up the middle for the touchdown with no time remaining in the first quarter. Mason hit the extra point for the RedHawks to tie the game.
Army used a seven-play, 66-yard drive to recapture the lead with 3:19 remaining in the second quarter. Steelman completed a pass to Malcolm Brown who rushed to the end zone on the 45-yard play. Carlton converted the PAT to put Army on top, 21-14.
In the third quarter, Army used five plays to move the ball 80 yards in the opening 2:23 of the second half to take a 14-point lead. A 22-yard rush by Maples followed by a 40-yard run by Steelman bolstered the Black Knight drive. Steelman scored his third touchdown of the day on a 5-yard rush over the right tackle for the score with 12:37 left in the third quarter. Carlton's extra point pushed the Army lead to 28-14.
Miami fired back with three unanswered touchdowns over the final 17:30 minutes of the game to take its first lead since the game's opening series.
Dysert completed four passes on four attempts, including a 17-yard touchdown strike to sophomore fullback Justin Semmes, to spearhead a six-play 61-yard drive to close the gap late in the third quarter. Dysert also connected with Harwell on passes for 14 and 15 yards and redshirt freshman wide receiver Willie Culpepper for 15 yards. The RedHawk score came at the 2:30 mark of the third quarter, and Krysinski's PAT put Miami within seven points, 28-21.
Facing third-and-14 from its own 14 yard-line, pass interference was called on Miami that gave the Black Knights new life. On the ensuing play, however, senior defensive lineman C.J. Marck forced and recovered a fumble by Maples on the Army 35-yard line that set up a game-tying score.
Miami moved the ball 26 yards in five plays over the remainder of the third quarter. The RedHawks opened the fourth quarter with Dysert's third passing touchdown of the day when he hit Cruse in the end zone just four seconds into the final quarter. Krysinski's extra point evened the score, 28-28, with 14:56 to play.
Marching 98 yards in nine plays, the RedHawks took the lead when Dysert, under pressure on third-and-six from the Army 20-yardline, hit Harwell for the touchdown with 7:05 remaining. Earlier in the drive he drilled Culpepper on a 25-yard pass and also rushed for 24 yards to spur the RedHawks. Krasinski hit the extra point to put Miami on top 35-28.
Miami amassed 503 yards of total offense and recovered two Army fumbles, both forced by Marck. Senior linebacker Jerrell Wedge led Miami with 14 tackles, while freshman safety Brison Burris amassed 10 solo tackles, including one for loss.
Steelman was 8-of-8 for 124 yards passing for Army, including one passing touchdown. He also gained 99 yards on the ground and had two rushing touchdowns. Maples rushed for 111 yards and one touchdown for the Black Knights.
Miami hits the road for a pair of games, beginning at Kent State next weekend. Game time is set for 3:30 p.m.
