 TOLEDOROCKETS.NETYour source for information on Rocket Football! |
TOLEDOROCKETS.NETYour source for information on Rocket Football! |
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By Karl Rofkar A win is a win is a win, even the ugly ones. The Toledo Rockets eeked out a one-point victory in a game riddled with penalties and soft defense at the Glass Bowl Saturday night. And they had to come from behind in the 4th quarter to do it. The troubles started with short kickoffs, which has been an issue for a couple of years now, and were quickly compounded by another boogeyman, penalties. The solid play of freshman QB D J Lenehan together with a solid running game for senior Jalen Parmele and sophomore DaJuane Collins, along with key defensive stops to finish out the 4th quarter, allowed the Rockets to improve to 2-4 (0-2) on the season. Liberty took the opening kickoff at their own 4 (the deepest kickoff of the night for Toledo) and set up shop at their own 20. Nine plays later, the Flames drew first blood with a 2 yard run by Rashad Jennings, he would finish with 160 yards on 24 carries. The drive was aided by a personal foul penalty and a pass interference call against Toledo. Toledo answered with a field goal after a 14-play drive stalled at the Liberty 12. This drive was also affected by 3 Toledo penalties - holding, illegal procedure, and a false start. UT took its first lead of the game at the 9:44 mark of the 2nd quarter on an 8 yard run by DaJuane Collins. Collins would finish the game with 86 yards on 15 carries. This drive was another good sustained one, running 9 plays and chewing up 3:59 on the clock. The Rockets finished the game with a 37:12 to 22:47 advantage in time of possession with a run-heavy attack. However, Liberty didn’t need much time of possession for their next score, covering 63 yards in one play to go up 14-10 just 14 seconds later. Toledo took the kickoff and went on another sustained drive, covering 73 yards in 8 plays and just over 3 minutes, with Jalen Parmele finishing it off with a one yard run for the first of his 4 touchdowns of the night. Closing out the first half, Liberty drove to the Toledo 27 where the defense held and the field goal unit came on. Greenbaum’s kick was wide left, but Toledo was flagged for a VERY shaky roughing the kicker penalty, giving the Flames another 4 downs. They took advantage by driving to the Toledo 3, where Greenbaum made the chip shot as time expired, ending the half at 17-16 Liberty. Toledo’s first play of the 2nd half was a pass that saw Lenehan (19-23-1-2, 226 yds) get picked off for the first time of the night at the Toledo 47. It took Liberty 8 plays to get it into the endzone, finishing with a 19 yard pass and giving the Flames a 24-16 lead. The Rockets went 74 yards in 11 plays, finishing with a 28 yard scoring strike from Lenehan to Parmele and Toledo was within 24-22. Amstutz went for 2 for the tie, but Lenehan was blitzed and the attempt failed. The ensuing kickoff had a nasty familiarity to it: Krispinski kicked it to the 10, but Liberty’s Bolden returned it 72 yards to the Toledo 18, where Andrew Hawkins and Matt Schumaker combined for a touchdown saving tackle. The defense held and the Flames were forced to kick a 27 yd field goal for a 27-22 lead with 4:31 left in the 3rd quarter. Two holding calls and Lenehan’s 2nd interception later and the Flames were back in the endzone, returning the pick 35 yards for the score and a 34-22 lead, and fan grumbling was growing. To the meager crowd’s credit, they stayed in the game. Using only 3:11 on the game clock, the Rockets grounded out 70 yards in 11 plays to close to 34-28 on a Parmele 4 yard run for a TD. Again the Rockets tried and failed on a 2-pt conversion. The defense rose up on the next series and held Liberty to five plays, forcing a punt and taking over with 11:25 left in the game. Liberty helped the cause with a personal foul around midfield, then an offside call. Toledo returned the favor with a false start, but they were now down to the Liberty 13 with 1st and goal. Lenehan passed to Stephen Williams for 8, then Parmele finished it off with a nice 5yd run. Steigerwald’s kick gave Toledo the lead once again at the 3:47 mark, the D held Liberty on downs, and Toledo was able to run out the clock for the win. It was an ugly game, marred by penalties, and a porous defense again. But in all other phases of the game, Toledo had a commanding lead. In today’s Lynchburg, VA News & Advance, Liberty running back Rashad Jennings is quoted, “We had them. We’re better than them. We know we are. But they won.” While Jennings had a great night, and the Flames moved the ball very well and put up 34 points, the stats don’t agree with his assessment. Toledo had a 27-15 advantage in first downs, 211 more yards of offense, split about even between passing and rushing. The Rockets ran 78 plays to Liberty’s 50. The big stat Liberty did win was penalties: they were flagged for only 3 in the game, for 25 yards, while Toledo was caught for 10 for 88 yards. The Rockets punted once all night to Liberty’s 3. Perhaps the most important stat for Toledo was 3rd down conversions. A problem area this year, the Rockets were 12-15 Saturday night, while Liberty was 4 of 11. The Midnight Blue and Gold also had a serious one-two punch with Parmele and Collins in the backfield with both performing well, and had 6 different receivers catch a pass (Liberty had 3). Defensive lineman Skylaar Constant said they knew Liberty was a running team, and that’s very true. Jennings had a big night. But they had one horse to ride, and he couldn’t do it all. Toledo faces off against the Buffalo Bulls next week in a road, MAC crossover matchup. 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