The BG football team came back to defeat the University of Akron Zips 31-14 after falling behind 14-3 in the first quarter.
“I’m really proud of them,” head coach Dave Clawson said. “I believe Akron is a good football team. I think before the year is over they’re going to win some football games. They’re a lot more physical than they’ve been and that game was a battle. I’m really proud of our team for the way we bounced back.”
The offensive line had a rough start to the game, allowing the Zips to sack BG quarterback Matt Johnson six times during the half.
“I think coming out we underestimated them just a little bit,” running back Travis Greene said. “Second half we went in and made the corrections and picked everything up.”
Despite the rough start for the line, Greene was able to rack up 95 yards during the first half. He was able to collect 50 yards in the second half for a total of 145 against the Zips. This marked Greene’s third game with over 100 yards rushing.
“We thought it was going to be a tough game,” Greene said. “We did a great job executing.”
Kicker Tyler Tate hit a 29-yard field goal for BG’s first points of the game early in the first quarter.
The Falcons were trailing 14-3 at the end of the first quarter but they were able to reduce that deficit at halftime following a 22-yard touchdown pass from Johnson to wide receiver Shaun Joplin.
The second half was all BG. The Falcons’ two touchdowns in the third quarter included a two-yard run by running back Willie Houston and a shuffle pass from Johnson to Greene that resulted in a 30-yard touchdown pass to put BG up 24-14 going into the fourth quarter.
Greene was able to rack up one more rushing touchdown on a drive that lasted eight minutes and one second during the fourth quarter leading to BG’s final score of 31-14.
Defensive back Aaron Foster led the Falcons with ten tackles on the game, and BooBoo Gates tallied seven against the Zips Saturday.
Johnson’s 229 passing yards marked the fourth-straight week he has thrown more than 200-yards and was not sacked at all in the second half.
“It’s what we should have done the whole game,” Johnson said. “We knew what they were going to do and in the second half we showed what we can do.”
With the win, BG’s record moves to 4-1 on the season and Akron falls to 1-4.
BG hosts the University of Massachusetts for Homecoming on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at Doyt Perry Stadium.
