Division 3 football

Buckeyes survive Ohio upset attempt

Punt returner Mark Parson fumbled away a chance at the biggest upset in school history.

Ohio led the No. 3 ranked Buckeyes, 14-12, with 1:20 to play in the third quarter when Parson let an A.J. Trapasso punt slip through his arms.

The Buckeyes’ Shaun Lane recovered the ball as it teetered on the out-of-bounds line. Ohio State then capped off a 3-play 25-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run by running back Brandon Saine.

“I was pressing too hard to make a play,” Parson said. “I forgot about my technique and then let the ball slip through. I should have had my elbows together.”

It was another special team mistake that finally put a dagger in the Bobcat’s shot of beating a ranked opponent for the first time in 14 tries.

Punter Matt Schulte sent a 48-yard punt to an awaiting Ray Small. The Buckeye punt returner then took the punt back 69 yards to put Ohio State up for good at 26-14.

“Special teams, my fumble and the punt return, really hurt us,” Parson said. “I think that’s what did us in ultimately.”

Ohio State (2-0) led 3-0 in the second quarter when Boo Jackson, in for starter Theo Scott, who left the game with a left shoulder injury, made a tremendous play. Jackson appeared to be sacked, but he wriggled away froma group of Buckeye defenders and hit receiver Taylor Price in stride for a 30-yard gain.

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Jackson, 9-of-25 passing for 86 yards, then completed a third-down pass to receiver Riley Dunlop to the 15-yard line.

Two plays later, running back Donte Harden gashed the Buckeye defense for a 15-yard touchdown run to put the Bobcats up 7-3.

The Buckeyes answered with a six-play drive of their own that was capped-off by a 38-yard Ryan Pretorius field goal to bring Ohio State within one at 7-6.

After Pretorius missed a 53-yard-field goal with under a minute to play, the Bobcats ran out the clock and went to the locker room to a smattering of cheers from the Bobcat faithful in attendance.

“We were really excited,” Luchsinger said. “But we knew we had to keep our composure.”

With 8:58 to play in the third quarter, the Bobcats caught a big break. Buckeye quarterback Todd Boeckman tried to recover a high snap that bounded into the endzone, but defensive end Curtis Meyers took it from between his legs for a touchdown and a 14-6 lead.

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“He barely had it and the offensive line on the other team we’re all kind of piling on,” Meyers said. “I got my hands on it and wasn’t going to let them take it away.”

The Buckeyes looked like they were going to let a team from Ohio steal a win for the first time since 1921. But on the very next drive they regained control. Dan Herron capped-off a 13-play 73-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run. But a missed Pretorius extra point kept Ohio’s lead at two.

Then came the special team gaffs. A five-to-one turnover ratio, including three interceptions from Jackson, also severely hurt the Bobcats’ chances of pulling the upset.

“We don’t feel very good about it,” coach Frank Solich said of the loss. “We made plays, we just didn’t make enough plays.” The Bobcats have now lost their first two games by a combined 13 points.

“We are a good football team,” Luchsinger said. “The fact that we didn’t win anything in the opening games, doesn’t mean anything against us. It’s just how the dice rolls.”

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