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Athens, Ohio —The Ohio Bobcats would host the Florida Atlantic Owls in the 2nd week of the College Football season. The Owls would look to continue the winning ways after a dominating 43-13 win over Charlotte last week, and the Bobcats would want to start the season off with a winning record. The Owls would get off to a hot start, as QB N’Kosi Perry would march down the field to complete a 20 yd touchdown pass to WR Je’Quan Burton to open the scoring to give the Owls the 7-0 lead with 11:10 to go in the 1st Qtr. The Owls would manage to get the ball back quickly, but a muffled punted from returner LaJohntay Wester, would allow the Bobcats to recover the ball in their red zone with 8:43 to go in the 1st Qtr. But the Owls’ defense was resilient! After a quick 3 and out, Ohio’s kicker Nathaniel Vakos would make a 29 yd FG, making the game 7-3 with 7:00 mins left to go in the 1st qtr. The Owls would have a productive 2nd drive, with an 11-play 68 yd drive ending with Kicker Morgan Suarez converting a 24 yd FG to keep the Owls up 10-3 with 2:50 left in the 1st qtr.
The Ohio Bobcats would waste no time opening the scoring in the 2nd qtr. QB Kurtis Rourke would complete a 6 yd touchdown pass to WR Sam Wigusz to make the game 10-10 with 14:13 in the 2nd Qtr. The Owls’ offense was able to move the ball at will on Ohio. And the stats showed this with the Owls leading in total yards. But the Bobcats continue to stay in the Owls pocket. Fau would have a huge rush for 53 yds by RB Zuberi Mobley called back for a holding call. The owls would not be deterred. QB N’Kosi Perry would compete the drive with a wide-open 7 yd touchdown pass to WR Jahmal Edrin, to make the game 17-10 w/ 10:38 left in the 2nd qtr. The Owls defense was playing well with the team having 2 total sacks on QB Kurtis Rourke and in the run game. The Bobcats’ defense would make some improvements and cause the Owls to punt on the next ensuing drives. Not only would they hold Fau from getting point on the board but capitalize on those. Ohio kicker NicholasVakos would make a 24 yd FG to make the game 17- 13 going into halftime.
The 2nd half would start how the end of 1st ended with the Bobcats offense having started to find its rhythm and marching down the field with QB Kurtis Rourke shining. After completing 11 play – 87 yd drive, WR Sam Wigusz would cap off the drive with a 5 yd TD pass. Ohio would take its first lead of the game, with 10:33 left of the 3rd qtr. The score was 20-17. After a promising start to the game, the Owls offense would go stale. Punting on the next 4 drives; Ohio would capitalize on those punts to add more to the score. A touchdown from WR Miles Cross and QB Kurtis Rourke would make the score 34-17 with 12:20 left to go in the 4th qtr. The Owls would have some 4th qtr magic up their sleeves. Two quick touchdowns from WRs Tony Johnson and Jahmal Edrine would put the Owls right back in the game with 6:09 left, with a score of 31-41. After an excellent special team plays from the Owls, the Bobcats would start the drive on their own 1 yd line. A quick 3 and out and a great return from the Owls LaJohntay Wester, would see FAU start their drive on Ohio 7 yd line. From there, QB N’Kosi Perry would connect with LaJohntay Wester for a 7 yd touchdown pass to make the game with 4:09 left in the 4th qtr. The magic would not last. The Bobcats defense would come up big to give Ohio their first win of the season.
In a game that was truly a roller coaster, the Owls would open strong, with the defense and offense coming in strong. But as QB Kurtis Rourke started to settle into the game, the Bobcats started to mount their comeback and eventually take the game over and move the ball at will. The halftime adjustment of going no hurdle tired the Owls defense out and allowed the game to get too far ahead for the Owls to make the late 4th qtr comeback. Both QBs had excellent games but it was the defense that would ultimately decide the game. The Owls new motto “So What, What Now” will be in full effect next week as they face South Eastern Louisiana in a non division game as they look to get back on track.
Notable Stats:m
- QB N’Kosi Perry 23-41, 346 yds 5 TDs
- WR Je’Quan Burton 5 catches 115 yards, 1 TD
- WR Jahmal Edrine: 8 catches; 87 yards. 2 TD
- RB Larry McCammon: 14 rush attempts; 60 yds
- QB Kurt Rourke; 27-34 345 yds; 4 TDs
