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Ohio Bobcats Football Beats The Toledo Rockets For Win Number Eight On The Season

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Football

The Ohio football program (8-3, 6-1 MAC) defeated the Toledo Rockets (7-4, 4-3 MAC) Wednesday night (Nov. 20), 24-7. The victory marks Ohio's first win at the Glass Bowl since 2016.

Graduate student quarterback Parker Navarro (Tempe, Ariz.) finished the game 11-for-19 in the air on 129 yards. On the ground, Navarro was a force to be reckoned with, scoring two touchdowns on 18 carries and 104 yards. Graduate student running back Anthony Tyus III (Portage, Mich.) led Ohio's rushers, netting 125 yards on 33 touches with one touchdown. Redshirt junior wide receiver Caleb Gossett (Lewis Center, Ohio) led the receivers with six catches on 86 yards.

On the defensive side of the ball, graduate student linebacker Blake Leake (Culpeper, Va.) and redshirt junior linebacker Shay Taylor (Mount Perry, Ohio) recorded a team-best eight tackles apiece, with five and four solo stops, respectively. Leake, along with graduate student defensive end Bradley Weaver (Hilliard, Ohio), redshirt freshman safety DJ Walker (Aliquippa, Pa.) and graduate student defensive end Ben McNaboe (Rogers, Minn.) each logged a forced fumble while Taylor finished the day with one sack and 1.5 tackles for loss. Redshirt senior cornerback Roman Parodie (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) claimed both of the Bobcats' fumble recoveries.

Sophomore kicker Gianni Spetic (Chardon, Ohio) finished the day 1-for-1 on field goals and 3-for-3 on PATs. Redshirt junior punter Jack Wilson (Lancefield, Victoria, Australia) recorded six punts on 232 yards, with his longest clocking in at 47 yards.

After a scoreless first, the Rockets wrapped up a seven-play, 50-yard drive with a touchdown, leaving Ohio trailing 7-0. Toledo held the Bobcats until the third quarter; after a Toledo interception, Walker and Parodie headed off the Rockets' momentum with a forced fumble and fumble recovery, respectively. The ensuing seven-play, 45-yard drive ended with a rushing touchdown by Navarro, tying the game with Spetic's PAT.

Toledo didn't hold onto the ball long; Leake forced a fumble, which was quickly recovered by junior safety Adonis Williams Jr. (South Euclid, Ohio). The Bobcats opened the fourth quarter with Navarro's second rushing touchdown of the day, launching Ohio ahead, 14-7.

Tyus continued Ohio's streak on the ground, running the ball into the endzone to extend Ohio's lead to 21-7 with 8:01 remaining in the game. Spetic closed the game on a high note for Ohio, kicking a 24-yard field goal to put the final score at 24-7.

The Bobcats return to Frank Solich Field at Peden Stadium for their last regular-season game of 2024 on Friday, Nov. 29 at noon against the Ball State Cardinals.