AKRON, Ohio – The Ohio football team (7-2, 5-0 MAC) went on the road to start midweek MACtion, facing off against Akron (1-8, 0-5 MAC) in a game where a second-half surge lifted the Bobcats to a 28-20 win.
Individually, graduate student quarterback Nick Poulos (Granite Bay, Calif) threw for 197 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 45 yards and a touchdown. Redshirt sophomore wide receiver Dom Dorwart (Leonardtown, Md) had four catches for 108 yards and a touchdown while fellow redshirt wide receiver Riley Neer (Bellefontaine, Ohio) had four catches for 54 yards. Junior running back Duncan Brune had 111 rushing yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, redshirt senior linebacker Michael Molnar (Mason, Ohio) had 16 tackles and a tackle for loss while redshirt senior linebacker Jack Fries (Cincinnati, Ohio) had 10 tackles. Redshirt junior safety DJ Walker (Aliquippa, Pa) had four tackles, and an interception returned for a touchdown. Senior defensive lineman Nehemiah Dukes (Douglasville, Ga) had three tackles and two tackles for loss.
Ohio's defense stood tall on the game's opening drive, forcing a 40-yard field goal that Akron missed. When the Zips regained possession, they sunk a 42-yard field goal to take a 3-0 lead with 3:36 remaining in the quarter.
After the Bobcat offense was forced to punt, Walker jumped a route at the 45-yard line and raced to the end zone for a pick-six, giving Ohio a 7-3 lead with 19 seconds remaining in the first quarter. This marked Walker's first interception of the season and first career touchdown.
The Bobcats' defense stepped up again on the ensuing drive. As Akron was nearing the red zone, James-Hamilton forced a fumble, and Fries recovered to give Ohio the ball back.
Just before the two-minute warning in the second quarter, Akron cut Ohio's lead to 7-6 with a 47-yard field goal.
The Zips opened scoring in the second half, adding another field goal to take a 9-7 lead after the Bobcat defense held strong on the goal line.
Ohio responded on the next drive, with Poulos finding Dorwart for a big gain to put the Bobcats inside the five-yard line. A few plays later, Poulos scored the game's first offensive touchdown with a 5-yard run to take a 14-9 lead with just under five minutes to play in the third quarter.
With 9:35 left in the fourth quarter, Akron got its first touchdown of the game, punching it in to put the score at 17-14 after a successful two-point conversion.
It took just one play for Ohio to respond back, with Poulos finding Dorwart again, this time for a one-play, 60-yard touchdown to take a 21-17 lead.
The Zips' offense drove down the field, but the Bobcat defense yet again refused to break, holding Akron out of the end zone and getting off the field after forcing a turnover on downs.
That turnover on downs gave Ohio the ball at its own nine-yard line, and one play was all that was needed again. Brune was able to burst through the line of scrimmage, outpacing the Akron defense for a 91-yard touchdown, the fourth longest touchdown in Ohio history and the longest run for Brune to take a 28-17 lead.
Akron got into range again on the ensuing possession, converting a 40-yard field goal to cut the Ohio lead to 28-20 after the two-minute timeout.
After an onside kick, Ohio ran out the clock and ended the game with a final score of 28-20, extending its five-game winning streak in the MAC and starting 5-0 in conference play for the first time since 1997.
Up next, the Bobcats will hit the road again as they travel to Oxford, Ohio, to take on rival Miami (Ohio) in the Battle of the Bricks. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. at Yager Stadium and can be seen on ESPN2.
