Thursday’s Football Results
Bowling Green 41 , Fordham 17
Central Michigan 66 , Central Connecticut State 10
Buffalo 30 , Lafayette 13
Toledo 49 , Duquesne 10
Stories Courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications Departments and the Associated Press
Bowling Green 41 , Fordham 17
Box Score
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Justin Pegues returned the game's opening kickoff for a touchdown, and the Bowling Green State University football team never looked back. The Falcons opened the 2024 season with a 41-17 win over Fordham University on Thursday night (Aug. 29) at Doyt L. Perry Stadium.
Terion Stewart ran for 161 yards and three touchdowns for the Falcons, who scored on three-straight possessions after the Pegues kickoff return. BGSU scored the game's first 27 points, and the Falcons were never headed.
The win was the program's 175th-ever victory inside Perry Stadium.
BGSU scored 20 first-quarter points, rolling up 171 yards of offense in that quarter alone.
Connor Bazelak threw for 168 yards in the game, and ran for a score. Harold Fannin Jr. caught six passes for a game-high 67 yards, while Jamal Johnson had four receptions for 54 yards in the win.
HIGHLIGHTS/HOW IT HAPPENED
• Justin Pegues, on his first play as a Falcon, received the opening kickoff at the goal line and returned it 100 yards for a touchdown. With 12 seconds gone, the Falcons had a 6-0 lead.
• Fordham's opening drive netted a total of negative-five yards. A third-down sack by Anthony Hawkins and a penalty forced the Rams to punt on a fourth-and-15 play, giving the ball back to BG at the 12:59 mark.
• Then, the Falcons proceeded to go 78 yards in 10 plays, with Terion Stewart carrying the ball the final seven yards for a touchdown. Jackson Kleather's point-after try was good, giving the hosts a 13-0 lead.
• BGSU had three plays pick up double-digit yard totals on that drive. Quarterback Connor Bazelak hooked up with Harold Fannin Jr. for a pair of 18-yard completions, with Jaison Patterson rushing for 13 yards on an additional play.
• The Rams picked up three first downs on the next drive, moving into BGSU territory. But, a pair of sacks – one by Hawkins, one with Hawkins teaming up with Avi McCary – forced Fordham to punt the ball away again, and the Falcons took over at the BGSU 7-yard line.
• Bazelak found Jamal Johnson for a 32-yard gain on a third-down play, setting up the Falcons near midfield. Then, three plays later, a pass to Fannin resulted in a 21-yard pickup, before Stewart's 11-yard run put BG in the red zone.
• On the next play, Lucian Anderson III rushed left for 13 yards and a touchdown. Kleather's PAT gave the Orange and Brown a 20-0 lead with nine seconds left in the opening quarter.
• BGSU got the ball right back after a three-and-out, and the Falcons systematically moved down the field. Bazelak took the ball the final eight yards for a TD with 9:54 left in the half. Kleather's kick gave the hosts a 27-0 lead.
• That 38-yard scoring drive was set up by a 25-yard punt return from Pegues.
• Fordham put together a five-minute, 74-yard drive that culminated in a field goal on the final play of the half.
• The Rams used a pair of big plays to find the end zone early in the third quarter, as C.J. Montes found Cole Thornton for the final 30 yards and a touchdown, cutting the BG lead to 27-10.
• BGSU answered late in the third quarter as Stewart scored on a seven-yard run. That drive, a 94-yard drive, was aided by a 29-yard fourth-down run by John Henderson on a fake punt
• The Rams drove inside the red zone, but on a third-down play, Montes was sacked by Joseph Sipp Jr. Fordham went for it on fourth down, but Sipp stopped a receiver after a short gain, and BGSU took over on downs with 8:51 to go.
• But, Stewart and the Falcons had another answer. Stewart took a pitch, broke through a would-be tackle and motored 73 yards down the left side for his third TD of the night.
GAME NOTES
• The win was BGSU's 175th all-time at Doyt Perry Stadium
• BGSU won its season opener for the first time since 2019 when the Falcons beat Morgan State in the first game of the Scot Loeffler era.
• BGSU opened the game with a 100-yard kick return for a touchdown. It was the first time BGSU returned a kick for a touchdown since the 2022 Quick Lane Bowl (75 yards). The 100-yard kick return was a school record.
• BGSU had its streak of consecutive games forcing at least one turnover snapped at 14 games.
• Eleven Falcons made their collegiate debut: ILB David Afogho, WR Caleb Goodloe, CB Jace Henry, WR Trey Johnson, CB Kal-El Pascal, S RB Mar'Kel Porter, ILB Dorian Pringle, S Tracy Revels, WR Winn Sharp, OL Rico Steele, OLB Alijah Williams.
• RB Terion Stewart finished with 161 rushing yards and three touchdowns. The three touchdowns tied his career high.
• The 161 rushing yards is the seventh time in his career he surpassed 100 yards.
• The 161 rushing yards is the second-most by a Falcon against an FCS opponent. P.J. Pope had 162 against Liberty in 2003.
• With 26 rushing yards, Jaison Patterson surpassed 1,000 for his career. He is the 40th Falcon to do so.
• RB Justin Pegues set a school record on the first play of the game when he returned the opening kick 100 yards for a touchdown. It was his first touch as a Falcon. The previous long kick return was 96 yards by Clint Stephens against Ball State in 2014.
• With six receptions, TE Harold Fannin Jr. has one reception in 19-straight games.
• Fannin now has 908 career receiving yards, which makes him pass Quintin Morris for No. 5 all-time at BGSU for tight end career receiving.
• DL Anthony Hawkins notched a career-high 2.0 sacks.
• TE Elijah Boyd notched his first career reception.
• WR Malcolm Johnson Jr. had a career-high three receptions.
Central Michigan 66 , Central Connecticut State 10
Box Score
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. (AP) — Joey Labas threw for three touchdowns and 342 yards and completed 75% of his passes and Central Michigan beat Central Connecticut 66-10 on Thursday night in the season opener for both teams.
Labas finished 18-for-24 passing overall and did most of his damage before halftime, completing 16 of 20 for 268 yards and two touchdowns and sending the Chippewas to a 42-7 halftime advantage.
Myles Bailey opened the scoring by running in from 7 yards out for a 7-0 Central Michigan lead. Elijah Howard knotted it with a 3-yard run, but on the following kickoff, Stephan Bracey ran 87 yards to score and Central Michigan pulled away.
A four touchdown second quarter saw B.J. Harris run it in from the 9, Labas threw scores of 47 and 17 yards to Evan Boyd and Solomon Davis respectively and Bailey ran it in from the 2 with 37 seconds left before halftime.
Wrapped around Labas’ 72-yard scoring pass to Davis in the third, Donte Kent returned a punt for a 66-yard score and Aakeem Snell had a 46-yard interception return with 1:48 left in the third.
Blue Devils (0-1) quarterback Brady Olson finished 12-for-20 passing for 90 yards.
It was the first-ever meeting between the two teams. It was the first time in four years Central Michigan opened the season at home.
Buffalo 30 , Lafayette 13
Box Score
BUFFALO, NY – The Pete Lembo era of University at Buffalo football began on Thursday night with a 30-13 victory over Lafayette at UB Stadium. The Bulls jumped out to a 16-0 lead and never looked back, defeating a Leopard squad that is the preseason favorite to win the Patriot League.
Linebacker Shaun Dolac, back after missing the majority of last season with an injury, looked every bit the first-team All-MAC linebacker he was in 2022. He finished with 11 tackles, two tackles for loss and an interception, leading a defense that was dominant in the game.
The Bulls allowed only 43 yards of rushing to Lafayette and held preseason All-American Jamar Curtis to just 12 yards on 14 carries. Jalen McNair and Dolac both had interceptions in the game and edge Kobe Stewart had two of UB's three sacks on the night.
C.J. Ogbonna made his first career start for the Bulls at quarterback and looked comfortable running the offense. He threw for 195 yards and two touchdowns, connecting with Nik McMillan on a 31-yard touchdown and Taji Johnson on a 32-yard score. McMillan led the Bulls with five receptions for 76 yards in the game.
Al-Jay Henderson earned the start at running back and rushed for 37 yards and an 11-yard touchdown to open the scoring. Jacqez Barksdale was inserted in the lineup in the second half and was a real spark for the running game. He had 14 carries for 99 yard and a 19-yard touchdown to ice the game for the Bulls. The senior running back was a wrecking ball, averaging 7.1 yards per carry.
Along with Dolac, fellow linebacker Red Murdock had a strong game with seven tackles and a tackle for loss. In total, the Bulls had 11 tackles for loss in the game with nine different Bulls registering at least one TFL.
The Bulls will next play at 11-ranked Missouri next Saturday.
Toledo 49 , Duquesne 10
Box Score
TOLEDO, Ohio - Junior quarterback Tucker Gleason threw for three touchdowns to lead Toledo to a 49-10 victory over Duquesne in the Rockets' home opener before 23,515 fans at the Glass Bowl on Thursday night.
Gleason, who completed 15-of-23 passes for 205 yards, threw all three of his scoring passes in the first half to give Toledo a 28-10 edge heading into the locker room. The Rockets made it 35-10 following a fumble recovery on the opening second-half kickoff and never looked back.
"I'm proud of our football team. These Week One games are hard to prepare for when you've had so much turnover in our roster like we've had," said Head Coach Jason Candle, who moved to 9-0 in home openers. "We challenged our guys all week long to make sure we were able to adjust and be sound in those adjustments during the course of the game. We took advantage of some turnovers in the second half to make it a one-sided game. There were a lot of positives to take into our game next week vs. UMass."
Senior wide receiver Jerjuan Newton led the receiving corps with five catches for 87 yards and one score. Junior Willie Shaw was the leading rusher with 50 yards and one TD.
Toledo's defense was strong, holding Duquesne to 282 total yards and forcing three Dukes' turnovers. Sophomore safety Braden Awls paced the defense with eight tackles, an interception and a pass breakup.
First Quarter
- Toledo opened the scoring on its opening drive with a nine-play, 65-yard scoring drive that was finished off by a nine-yard touchdown pass from Tucker Gleason to Junior Vandeross.
- The Rockets made it 14-0 later in the quarter on an eight-yard TD run by Jacquez Stuart.
- Duquesne cut the lead in half on a four-yard TD pass from Darius Perrantes to Noah Cante.
- Jerjuan Newton caught a Gleason pass over the middle, broke a tackle and then weaved his way into the endzone for a 54-yard touchdown to extend Toledo's lead to 21-7.
Second Quarter
- Duquesne made it 21-10 on a 22-yard field goal following a 13-play drive that ate up over seven minutes.
- Toledo took advantage of a Duquesne fumble, using a short field to score on a 14-yard toss from Gleason to tight end Anthony Torres to give the Rockets a 28-10 with 1:59 to play in the half.
Third Quarter
- Toledo recovered a fumble on the kickoff on the Duquesne 38-yard line to start the second half, using the short field to push its lead to 35-10 when Jacquez Stuart punched it in from one-yard out.
- The Rockets made it 42-10 on a 10-yard run by Willie Shaw.
Fourth Quarter
- Freshman Zy'marion Lang made it 49-10 on an 18-yard TD reception from John Alan Richter.
- Up Next
- The Rockets host UMass on Saturday, Sept. 7.
Toledo Post-Game Notes
- Toledo is now 29-1 all-time vs. FCS opponents.
- The crowd of 23,515 was the largest in the Glass Bowl since 24,889 fans saw Toledo knock off BYU on Sept. 28, 2019.
- Junior QB Tucker Gleason completed 15-of-23 passes for 205 yards and tied his career high with three TD passes.
- Senior WR Jerjuan Newton caught five passes for 87 yards and one TD. He now has 22 career TD receptions, moving him into a tie for eighth-place on Toledo's all-time list with Michael Roberts (2013-16).
- Freshman placekicker Dylan Cunanan made his debut, hitting on 6-of-6 extra points. He also missed a 51-yard field-goal attempt.
- Redshirt freshman Bryson Hammer handle the punt returns, gaining 83 yards on three attempts, including a 24-yard return in the first quarter and a 28-yard return in the third quarter.
- Freshman Zy'marion Lang caught his first TD reception as a collegian while sophomore QB John Alan Richter had his first scoring toss on the same play.
- Head Coach Jason Candle moves his all-time record to 66-35. He needs eight more wins to pass Gary Pinkel (73-37-3 from 1991-2000) as Toledo's all-time leader.
- Candle is now 9-0 in home openers.
