The year was 1982 when Michigan captain Dave Perpich got the better of Bowling Green captain Roger Mazzarella. The Midwest regional final game of that season went to Michigan, by way a 44-12 victory for the Blue and Yellow.
Now fast forward 26 years to Saturday, where the Falcons, now coached by Mazzarella, trounced the Wolverines 47-0, giving them their 47th win over Michigan in their last 48 tries.
While Perpich may have found a way to get his Wolverines into the win column before anyone playing in this game was born, he couldn’t even manage to get them into the end zone on this day.
“That game was a methodical dissection of a team whose offense is very familiar to us,” Mazzarella said. “They had a great run early in the game, but all of that effort only netted them seven yards.”
It was a typical Midwestern spring game for the Falcons on Saturday, with a mix of rain, sleet and, at one point, even some snow, hitting the players dead on, no matter the direction they ran. Mazzarella stated that he made the decision early in the game to rein in his offensive scheme, in an attempt to avoid fumbles and to give his forwards a chance to run more.
That, and everything else the Falcons threw at the Wolverines, worked to perfection. Nick Viviani, as expected, led the way, scoring 22 of the Falcons’ 47 total points, including several kicks that were made incredibly difficult by the gusting winds. Eric Nutter made the initial, and go ahead score, early, and Nick Viviani’s brother Mark scored soon after. Nick added tries to each score, as well as a penalty kick in between, and the Falcons jumped out to a 17-0 lead.
Later in the half, Scott Wallace scored on a try from the 25 yard line, and, after two more kicks from Nick Viviani, made it 27 – nothing. It was clear that the route was on. The perfect example of Michigan pure inability to stop the Falcons came in the second half, when Bryce Pitney broke the tackles of three separate Michigan defenders on his way in for the score.
After another Nick Viviani conversion and a successful penalty kick try, the Falcons had cemented their lead at 47.
Even before this dominant performance against the Wolverines, the boys in orange and brown had received a bit of good news.
Following a loss by Air Force the previous weekend, Bowling Green had moved to no.3 in the nation, behind only California and Brigham Young. The team’s record for the entire year now stands at an outstanding 47-3, with one loss attributed to each team, a, b and c.
The B squad also put on a dominant performance on Saturday, blanking the Wolverines 43-0. The squad spread the points around, and, as was the case with the first game, made the Michigan offense look more discouraged than a Wolverine football fan at an Appalachian State game.
The Falcon C squad, while not in quite as dominating of style, still managed to once again blank the Wolverines, winning 10-0.
Next up for the Falcons is a sweet 16 match up with Kutztown State this Saturday in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Another impressive performance for the Falcons this weekend will land them in California on March 3rd for the national championship – a perfectly obtainable goal.
