Bobcats win
Weller’s 47-yard field goal beats Buffalo, 27-24By Jason Aarkley, Special to The Times
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BUFFALO, N.Y. - It was another nail-biting, fantastic finish.
And in 2009 - the self-anointed Year of the Cat - of course it went the Bobcats' way.
Matt Weller gave Ohio the lead with a 47-yard field goal with 1:25 remaining, and Shannon Ballard made it stand up with a late interception as the Bobcats held off Buffalo 27-24 Tuesday night in front of 13,032 insideUB Stadium.
It was a win that has become all too typical, and expected, of the Bobcats this season. Ohio (7-3, 5-1 Mid-American Conference) came up with just enough plays down the stretch to pick up yet another road victory. The Bobcats are now 5-1 on the road this season, and have won five straight MAC road games - the program's longest streak since 1959-61.
"Yeah, there is a real theme going on," said Ohio head coach Frank Solich. "You keep working hard long enough, and good things happen.
"We just never give up on one another."
It was the third-straight gut-wrenching loss for the Bulls (3-7, 1-5 MAC), the defending MAC champions who will not be bowl eligible this season.
With the game knotted 24-24, Ohio got the ball with 6:58 remaining. The Bobcats were able to take off 5:33 during the ensuing drive, which included a crucial fourth-and-one conversion at theUB 38-yard line thanks to Chris Garrett's 10-yard run.
Facing fourth-and-12 at the Bulls' 30, Ohio handed the ball to Weller - the 'Cats cool-as-ice redshirt freshman kicker. With a cold wind blowing in his face, Weller calmly booted home the go-ahead 47-yard field goal. He even shrugged off some jeering from the Bulls on the field.
"I don't know whether they were yelling or not," said Weller. "I was blocking it all out.
"I just let my body do what it knows how to do."
Still, Ohio needed a defensive stand. UB quarterback Zach Maynard (17-of-36 for 230 yards) and flanker Naaman Roosevelt (eight catches for 165 yards and three touchdowns) had found seams in the Bobcats defense all night long.
But facing third-and-10 at the Ohio 33 with 32 seconds remaining, Maynard's pass glanced off receiver Marcus Rivers in the left flat and Ballard snared the interception. Ballard returned the ball across midfield, Ohio took a knee and the Bobcats had wrapped up another win.
"You can't give up," said Ballard, who plays predominantly as the 'Cats nickel back in passing situations. "I kept doing my job, waiting for a mistake and then went for the ball."
Ohio receiver LaVon Brazill had a career-high 10 catches for a career-high 99 yards, and Taylor Price added six catches for 81 yards as the Bobcats turned in another uneven offensive performance. Ohio racked up 269 yards in the first half, but managed just 115 yards after the break.
Ohio quarterback Theo Scott was both brilliant, and aggravating, and mirrored the inconsistency. He completed his first 12 passes, and finished 22-of-28 for 221 yards. But he also lost a fumble on Ohio's first possession while falling into the Buffalo end zone, and had a costly fourth-quarter interception.
"Theo makes a lot of plays," Solich said. "But every now and then he gets something he wishes he had back to do over again."
The Bobcats twice had double-digit leads, at 21-7 and 24-14, but couldn't finish off the Bulls.
Buffalo, after Richie Smith tipped and then intercepted an Ohio screen pass, notched a 24-24 tie with 7:04 remaining. Smith made the pick and then returned it to the Ohio 40-yard line, and eight plays later A.J. Principe booted home a 26-yard field goal that tied the score.
But Ohio answered with another game-winning drive in the fourth quarter.
"We had to keep moving those chains, keep that clock moving," Brazill said.
The Bobcats went swinging for an early knock-out, but the Bulls managed to hang around after a wild first half.
Ohio scored three touchdowns in the span of four plays, and raced out to a 21-7 lead exactly one play into the second quarter.
The Bobcats took the initial lead late in the first quarter thanks to their own version of the Wildcat offense. Freshman back-up quarterback TylerTettleton took a first-and-goal snap from the nine-yard line and faked an inside hand-off. Tettleton , who replaces Scott a couple snaps every game, then bolted through a gigantic hole through the left side and went untouched for a nine-yard touchdown run.
Weller's subsequent PAT kick gave Ohio a 7-0 lead.
The Bulls wasted no time tying it up. Roosevelt hauled in a 76-yard touchdown strike from starting quarterback Jerry Davis on the first play of the next series to tie it up.
Back came the Bobcats. Ohio needed just two plays to jump out in front once again. After a short kickoff from the Bulls, Scott hit Price with a 48-yard gainer down the right sideline. On the next play, Vince Davidson squeezed through a hole on the right side for a 10-yard touchdown run as Ohio took a 14-7 lead.
Ohio then forced a punt, and took over in UB territory after a personal foul call on the Bulls.
On the first play of the series Brazill got the ball on an apparent end around, but pulled up and found a wide open Terrence McCrae with a 48-yard pass.
McCrae fumbled the ball crossing the goal line, but recovered his own bobble in the end zone for a touchdown and a 21-7 lead with 14:51 left in the second quarter.
But the Bulls stayed alive. After a 22-yard sack scuttled Ohio's last possession of the half, UB took over on its own seven-yard line with 1:59 left in the half.
Maynard, who sat out the first quarter as punishment for an unspecified violation of team rules, hit 7-of-11 passes on the drive - which culminated in a 21-yard touchdown pass to Roosevelt with just three tics left on the clock. The 93-yard march cut Ohio's halftime lead to 21-14.
Ohio cashed in a Buffalo fumble early in the third quarter with Matt Weller's 46-yard field goal for a 24-14 lead with 10:22 left in the third.
The Bulls drew to within 24-21 with 7:58 left in the third after Roosevelt hauled in a 22-yard touchdown pass from Maynard.
The win snapped a two-game skid for Ohio against Buffalo, and was just the 'Cats second win at Buffalo since the Bulls joined the MAC.
"This is my first time beating Buffalo," said Brazill, a junior. "I felt we all had a lot to prove. I know I had a bad game up here as a freshman. I was wanting to redeem myself."
Ohio will have some time to gather itself for a final push. The Bobcats don't play again until they face Northern Illinois on Nov. 21 insidePeden Stadium.
