Recap: Football earns fourth straight victory on the road against Ball State

If the Miami University RedHawks football team learned one thing from last year’s Cure Bowl, it’s how to play in the rain.

This helped them in their first win of the season against UMass, and it helped them win their fourth win in a row with a 27-21 victory over the Ball State University Cardinals (3-6, 2-3 in conference play). Miami moved to 5-4 (4-1 in conference play).

In the first quarter, Raion Strader caught his second interception of the season from Ball State quarterback Kaden Semonza. The RedHawks moved to the opposing 42, but senior running back Dylan Downing was stonewalled on third-and-1, bringing out senior punter Alec Bevelhimer.

Bevelhimer dropped the snap, which was picked up by Ball State senior linebacker Brandon Berger and taken to the house.

Reggie Virgil caught a deep pass for 41 yards to move Miami into opposing territory for the second time of the night. Sixth-year quarterback Brett Gabbert found him again for 34 yards, and Virgil dove for the endzone to tie the game 7-7.

Sophomore kicker Jackson Courville kicked a 27-yard field goal to bring Ball State up 10-7 at the start of the second quarter.

The RedHawks put together an efficient offensive drive to move the ball 68 yards to the endzone. They converted twice on third down, including a third-and-5 touchdown pass to senior running back Kevin Davis.

Seminoza found junior receiver Justin Bowick deep for 57 yards to put the Cardinals at the 5. Miami held them to three, however, after sixth-year linebacker Matt Salopek tackled Kiael Kelly for a loss of 2.

When Miami found itself at the opposing 40, Gabbert threw to redshirt sophomore receiver Javon Tracy for 30 yards to get the RedHawks into the redzone. They repeated this connection for a Tracy touchdown to bring Miami up 21-13 at the end of the second quarter.

Redshirt junior linebacker Corban Hondru intercepted a pass from Semonza to run out the second quarter. Hondru had two picks earlier in the season against Toledo.

Both teams traded possessions in the third quarter until Seminoza found Bowick on a deep streak on the left side of the field for a 55-yard touchdown. The Cardinals successfully brought in a two-point conversion with an outside run from redshirt sophomore receiver Cam Pickett to tie the game 21-21 halfway through the third.

At the start of the fourth quarter, redshirt junior kicker Dom Dzioban brought Miami up three with a 28-yard field goal.

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Corey Suttle sacked Seminoza for a loss of 10 yards and forced the Cardinals to punt. Both teams traded possessions again, and Miami set Dzioban up for his second field goal of the day to give the RedHawks a six-point lead with under two minutes to go.

Salopek sacked Seminoza for a 7-yard loss to push the Cardinals to the 42-yard line with under a minute left. Ball State couldn’t convert on fourth-and-18, allowing Miami to kneel the ball and take the 27-21 victory.

Despite the rainfall, Gabbert finished the night with 219 passing yards and three touchdowns, a far cry from the team’s passing performance in previous rainy affairs.

“Today was kind of a steady rain,” head coach Chuck Martin said. “The wind was a factor in the kicking game. I don’t know [if] that affected the passing game, but there weren’t fumbles today. It was a nuisance, but I think both teams handled it really well.”

Miami’s second half performance didn’t live up to the first half. The Cardinals nearly came back by tying the game in the third quarter, but the RedHawks were able to stave off their opponents for another 15 minutes.

“That was a great road game,” Martin said. “It was just unbelievable. Everybody pitched in on offense, defense [and] special teams. It was a great game, one we needed.”

Senior running back Keyon Mozee rushed for 105 yards, but Miami’s ground-attack didn’t contribute much. The receivers were the highlight of the day. Tracy and Virgil finished with 85 and 101 yards respectively and one touchdown each.

The RedHawks have another mid-week game on Nov. 13 against the Kent State University Golden Flashes (0-8, 0-4 in conference play).

@thekethan04

babukc2@miamioh.edu