Toledo, OH – Sophomore Kareem Hunt rushed for a career-high 198 yards as Toledo rallied from a 13-point first-half deficit to defeat UMass, 42-35, on Homecoming at the Glass Bowl Saturday afternoon. The victory lifts the Rockets to 5-3 and keeps them on top of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference with a 4-0 league mark.
Freshman Terry Swanson scored the winning touchdown with 34 seconds left from 19 yards out. With the score tied, 35-35, and UT running the clock down for a game-winning field goal, UMass head coach Mark Whipple elected to let Swanson score. The Minutemen's final drive ended when senior Blake Frohnapfel's pass was intercepted by freshman cornerback Trevon Mathis on the UT 35-yard line with five seconds left.
Hunt, playing for the first time since the first half of the Ball State game on Sept. 20, was dominant, falling just short of 200 yards on 26 carries. He had an impressive 36-yard TD run in the third quarter that gave Toledo its first lead of the game, 28-20. Swanson chipped in with 97 yards and two scores. Sophomore quarterback Logan Woodside shook off a slow start to complete 20-of-34 passes for 225 yards and three TDs.
UMass (2-7, 2-3 MAC) was led by Frohnapfel, who completed 28-of-55 passes for 438 yards and five touchdowns. But he was intercepted twice, the first one coming right before Hunt's third quarter TD.
UMass came out firing, scoring on its first two drives to go up, 13-0. Frohnapfel found junior Jalen Williams on both scores, connecting with passes of 15 and 35 yards. On their first drive the Minutemen converted four third-down conversions, all of at least eight yards. UMass missed the extra point on its first TD.
Toledo got on the board on a 14-yard touchdown run by freshman Terry Swanson with 2:04 left in the first quarter to cut the lead to 13-7. UMass then picked off Woodside on the first play of the second quarter, giving the Minutemen great field position at the UT 30-yard line. Five plays later, Frohnapfel threw for his third score of the half, a 15-yarder to redshirt freshman Shakur Nesmith, pushing the margin to 20-7.
Toledo countered with a 13-play, 94-yard drive that gobbled up 6:31 on the clock. Woodside hit sophomore tight end Michael Roberts, his first catch as a collegian, for a 14-yard strike in the end zone to cut the lead to 20-14.
Toledo's defense stepped up on UMass's next possession, stopping the Minutemen on fourth-and-nine from the UT 23-yard line. The Rockets had a chance to take the lead but Woodside was intercepted on the UMass eight-yard line, ending a promising drive with 16 seconds to play in the half.
Toledo took its first lead of the game on its first possession of the second half on a 42-yard pass from Woodside to Corey Jones. On fourth-and-three, Jones caught the pass on the 35-yard line, then spun free of two tacklers and bolted down the sidelines to give UT a 21-20 advantage.
The Rocket defense rose up again, setting up Toledo's next score with a midfield interception by junior safety Chaz Whittaker. Two plays later, Hunt broke two tackles and dragged another tackler into the end zone on a 36-yard run to make the score 28-20 with 4:46 left in the third quarter.
UMass tied the score at 28-28 on a 36-yard TD strike from Frohnapfel to Tajae Sharpe with 11:57 left in the fourth quarter. Frohnapfel then hit Rodney Mills for the two-point conversion to knot the score.
Toledo regained the lead with a 12-play, 75-yard drive, capped by a six-yard TD catch by Dwight Macon to take a 35-28 lead. UMass wasted no time, however, tying the score on a 76-yard catch and run by junior Jean Sifrin on its first on the ensuing possession.
Both teams exchanged punts before Toledo marched 80 yards in seven plays to take the 42-35 lead. UT took over with 2:22 left and was able to work off all but 34 seconds before UMass elected to give up the final score for strategic purposes.
The Rockets will be off next Saturday and will resume action on Tuesday, Nov. 4 at Kent State.
