The Falcons football team lost to the Ohio Bobcats 48-30 in the team’s homecoming game on Saturday afternoon, as the team continues to get deeper into their Mid-American Conference opponent schedule.
“I really feel like we did not take advantage of our opportunities like we should have in the first half,” Falcons head coach Mike Jinks said. “With that, I was proud of our defensive ability to respond when we got the turnovers. They created ones of their own.”
The Falcons got off to a promising start early, with a pair of field goals from junior kicker Jake Suder putting the team ahead 6-0. However, in the second quarter Ohio took the lead with a touchdown run and an extra point to go up 7-6. Less than two minutes later, the Falcons retook the lead, taking advantage of a pair of long rushes from freshman running back Andrew Clair, with Clair eventually punching it in for the touchdown. Midway through the second, Ohio returned an interception for a touchdown to regain the lead once again. However, the Falcons continued the back-and-forth scoring with a Suder field goal to make it a 16-14 game. Ohio got the last score of the half with a rushing touchdown, taking a 21-16 advantage into halftime.
“We really ran the ball well in the first half,” Jinks said. “I think we had 195 to 200 yards rushing in the first half, and they weren’t going to let us do that anymore, so we were getting our one on ones. The frustrating thing is that we were winning.”
While the third quarter did not see as much scoring, the Falcons did come back as sophomore quarterback James Morgan passed to senior tight end Hunter Folkertsma for a touchdown. Ohio responded to this on their next drive with a 75 yard rushing touchdown, allowing them to take a 27-23 advantage going into the fourth quarter. In the fourth, Ohio began to pull away with a 40 yard passing touchdown and another short running touchdown, taking a 41-23 lead. The Falcons tried to keep themselves in the game as Clair ran for another touchdown. That would be all they could get as Ohio scored another touchdown late to seal the 48-30 victory.
The team went back to chances earlier in the game as moments that could have turned around their fortunes later on.
“It’s frustrating because you’re moving the ball, but you’re settling for field goals,” Jinks said. “You’re getting turnovers and really, prior to the pick six, you definitely feel like you’re in control of the ball game. Then you come back and respond, so in that first half against a team like that, you’ve got to take advantage of those opportunities, because they’re going to make a run.”
The team will play next on Saturday afternoon at home against the Northern Illinois Huskies.
