Spring Break
Seeing red: 'Hawks stampede Bulls
Raudabaugh leads football team to 1st place in MAC East with 31-28 victory
Dan Kukla
Issue date: 11/6/07 Section: Sports
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In a game riddled with big time offensive plays, the RedHawks were able to come up with a pivotal defensive stop in the waning moments of Saturday's contest that allowed them to seal a 31-28 win.
After Buffalo scored a late touchdown and converted the two-point conversion to climb within three points of the RedHawks, Miami failed to put away the game and went three and out on its ensuing drive. Trying to take full advantage of their new life, the Bulls were driving downfield for the potential tying or game-wining score only to be stopped dead in their tracks by defensive back Jeff Thompson. Thompson came off the right side of the defensive line untouched and sacked Buffalo quarterback Drew Willy, forcing a fumble that was recovered by Miami defensive lineman Travis Craven. With their opponents down to one final timeout, the RedHawks simply needed to run out the clock in order to finish out their narrow victory.
"We wanted the pressure on us," defensive lineman Joe Coniglio said. "That's how our defense has played all year in tight situations. We want the pressure on us at the end of the game to make the plays and to get the win. We thrive off of that and we try to be resilient in situations like that."
Quarterback Daniel Raudabaugh had a solid game under center for the Red and White, completing 20 of 26 passes for 259 yards and two touchdowns. The offense was highlighted by a running game that had been held stagnant the previous two weeks. Senior Cory Jones filled in for an injured Austin Sykes, running for 124 yards on 19 carries. True freshman Thomas Merriweather ran for 28 yards and two touchdowns on the afternoon. Being able to run the ball well on first and second down kept the 'Hawks out of long third downs. As a result, Miami was able to convert eight of 15 third down attempts, one of its highest efficiency rates in those situations this season.
"We knew that they were a ball-control offense and we were going to have to come out and establish the run to keep our defense off the field," Miami Head Coach Shane Montgomery said. "We had really struggled running the ball for two weeks going back to the Temple (University) game. There are some things we did up front to give ourselves a chance. We did a great job of controlling the line of scrimmage, and that was key on both sides of the ball for this game."
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