Sept. 29, 2007

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ATHENS, Ohio - Sophomore quarterback Theo Scott (Long Beach, Ca.) threw two fourth quarter touchdowns but the Ohio comeback attempt against Kent State fell short by a score 33-25 Saturday afternoon at Peden Stadium.

The Ohio defense surrendered 230 yards rushing, a career-high, and two touchdowns to Kent State tailback Eugene Jarvis and quarterback Julian Edelman added a passing touchdown which put the Golden Flashes up 27-10 to start the fourth quarter.

But Scott, who relieved senior Brad Bower (Burr Ridge, Ill.) at quarterback, drove the Bobcats down the field twice for touchdowns to junior tight end Andrew Mooney (Lubbock, Tx.) to give the Bobcats hope with the score closed to 33-25 with time ticking away in the game.

A penalty pinned the Bobcats back at their own 30-yard line on the final drive of the game and Scott's completion to senior running back Kalvin McRae (Decatur, Ga.) was short of the first down marker on fourth-and-16, giving the Bobcats their third loss in a row after winning the first two games of the season.

The Bobcats were flagged 16 times in their MAC opener for 155 yards, just six yards shy of tying a school record.  Kent State was whistled 12 times for 110 yards.

McRae was held under 100 yards for the third straight game as well, tallying 74 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. Scott completed 16-of-24 passes for 161 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Bower, before being replaced, compiled 110 yards and one interception on 6-of-16 passing.

Ohio's defensive struggles against the run began early in the game.

For the second week in a row, the visiting team needed little time to reach paydirt against the Ohio defense.  After holding Ohio to a three-and-out in the game's opening possession, Kent State promptly marched 73 yards in just 1:57 to take an early 7-0 lead on Jarvis' 35-yard scamper.

Ohio was able to put together a scoring drive on the ensuing possession.  After a 32-yard kickoff return by Chris Garrett (Bristow, Va.), and a 46-yard pass from Bower to David Carter (Waynesboro, Pa.), Ohio had a first down on the KSU 16.  The Bobcats had to settle for a 28-yard field goal from Michael Braunstein (Gilbert, Az.), however, which cut the Golden Flashes' lead to 7-3 with 9:07 remaining in the opening quarter. Braunstein's field goal was his 16^th consecutive make, the longest active streak in the nation.

The Flashes were able to add 10 more points to the board in their next two possessions, however, and took a 17-3 lead into the first break.  KSU's Shawn Bayes grabbed a high-arcing pass from Edelman with 4:46 remaining, and Nate Reed booted a 27-yard field goal for the Flashes with 39 seconds left in the quarter.

Jarvis and the KSU offense were the story of the first period.  The Flashes' running back rolled up 113 yards on the ground on 11 carries, and as a team KSU outgained Ohio 210-66 in the quarter.

After a first quarter that saw the Flashes' offense move the ball seemingly at-will, the Bobcat offensive and defensive units combined to keep KSU off the board in the second.  After forcing the Flashes to punt for the first time in the game, Ohio got the ball back with 10:13 remaining in the half and proceeded to maintain possession for the next 6:05.  The 12-play, 77-yard drive was capped off by a one-yard plunge by McRae on a fourth-and-goal that reduced KSU's lead to 17-10 with 4:08 remaining.

Following a KSU punt of just 11 yards that gave Ohio the ball on the Flashes' 27, the Bobcats were poised to take their first lead of the game.  The drive ended abruptly, however, as three plays into the possession Bower was intercepted by KSU's Derek Burrell at the 10-yard marker.

On the ensuing drive, the Flashes drove the ball to the Ohio 15-yard line and attempted a 32-yard field goal, but Reed's kick was just wide right as time expired and KSU took a 17-10 edge into the locker room.

Out of the break KSU's Alan Vanderink took the kickoff back 44 yards to the Ohio 47.  The Flashes were able to advance the ball to the Ohio two yard line, but Bobcat sophomore defensive end Kris Luchsinger (Dublin, Ohio) sacked Edelman and KSU had to settle for a 26-yard field goal by Reed.

After forcing an Ohio punt on the ensuing possession, the Flashes needed just two plays to go ahead by 17 points as Jarvis weaved through the Bobcat defense for a 42-yard score.  With the extra point, KSU went ahead 27-10 with 9:28 left in the quarter.

The Ohio offense finally got on the board in the second half as it drove nearly the length of the field to draw within 10 points.  After relieving Bower in the third quarter, Theo Scott's first touchdown pass as a Bobcat capped off a 14-play, 98-yard drive that consumed 5:29 of game clock and cut the KSU lead to 27-17 with 12 minutes remaining in the contest.

As it had done twice previously in the game, the KSU offense answered right back to add more insurance.  Nate Reed connected on field goals of 20 and 38 yards during the middle of the fourth quarter to stretch the lead out to 33-17.

Down 16 late in the fourth quarter, sophomore wide receiver Chris Garrett (Bristow, Va.) gave the Bobcats good field position when he returned the ensuing kickoff 41 yards to the Kent State 49-yard line.

Scott put the field position to good use, moving the ball down to the Kent State 13-yard line before finding junior tight end Andrew Mooney (Lubbock, Tx.) in the back of the end zone for a touchdown on fourth-and-10.

Scott found Mooney again for a two-point conversion and the Bobcats suddenly had life again in the fourth quarter, down just eight points, 33-25.

But Michael Braunstein's onside kick attempt was recovered by the Golden Flashes and it looked like Ohio's chances were finished. A bad snap gave the Bobcats life, bouncing 23 yards down the field to the Kent State 39-yard line, forcing a punt with 1:45 left on the clock.

Scott found Mooney and Chido Nwokocha (Elk Grove, Calif.) on 12- and 15-yard passes, respectively, before another false start penalty pinned the Bobcats back and they failed on a fourth-and-16 play. The Golden Flashes took a knee to run the clock out.

Ohio travels to Buffalo next weekend and will be back in Athens for homecoming on Oct. 13 against Eastern Michigan.