Rockets Pound Norfolk State, 49-10

Saturday, September 4

Toledo, Ohio

7:00 PM

University of Toledo

1-0 , 0-0

Norfolk State

0-1 , 0-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Norfolk St.

Toledo

Freshman DeMeer Blankumsee blocks a punt in the first quarter that fellow freshman Maxen Hook returned for a touchdown.

Photo by: Daniel Miller/University of Toledo

9/4/2021 11:10:00 PM | Football

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TOLEDO, Ohio – Toledo used all three phases of the game to win its season opener, a 49-10 victory over Norfolk State before 21,783 fans at the Glass Bowl Saturday night.

The Rockets' special teams set the tone with two touchdowns off blocked punts, while the defense held the Spartans in check all night. Norfolk State managed just 272 yards of total offense and was held to 5-of-15 on third down plays.

Toledo's offense was balanced and efficient, racking up 205 rushing yards and 236 passing yards. Sophomore quarterback Carter Bradley was 8-of-11 for 184 yards and one TD. Redshirt freshman Dequan Finn hit on 3-of-4 passes and led the Rockets with 82 yards rushing, including a 24-yard TD run in the second quarter.

Freshman Maxen Hook made a big impact on special teams, scooping up a blocked punt for a 25-yard score and then blocking a punt that was returned for a TD by Jacquez Stuart.

"Tonight was a great night for our football team," head coach Jason Candle said. "I'm proud of our guys, they played with great attitude and energy. Wins are difficult to come by in Division I football. The energy was infectious in the Glass Bowl tonight, that's something we've really missed here over the course of the last year. It felt good to have something resembling normal football."

First Quarter
After Toledo held Norfolk to three-and-out on its opening drive, the Rockets took seven plays to score their first touchdown, culminating with a one-yard plunge by Bryant Koback. Toledo's special teams then came through with a big play, as a pair of freshmen combined to put seven points on the board. DeMeer Blankumsee blocked an NSU punt and Maxen Hook picked it up and went 25 yards for the score to give Toledo a 14-0 lead. The Spartans then cut the lead in half with a 47-yard TD bomb from Juwan Carter to Justin Smith.

Second Quarter
Toledo's special teams came through with another score off a blocked punt. This time Hook blocked a punt that was picked up by Jacquez Stuart and returned 14 yards for the score. Finn made it 28-7 on a 24-yard TD run on a fourth-and-three with 27 seconds left in the half.

Third Quarter
Toledo quickly extended the lead to 42-7 on a pair of scores, a six-yard TD run by Koback and an 84-yard passing play from Carter Bradley to Devin Maddox.

Fourth Quarter
Norfolk State broke through with a 32-yard field goal with 11:01 left. Toledo closed out the scoring with a 15-yard TD by redshirt freshman Jacquez Stuart.

Up Next
The Rockets travel to South Bend to take on Notre Dame on Saturday, Sept. 11 (2:30 p.m./Peacock).

Head Coach Jason Candle Post-game.

Sophomore Carter Bradley Post-game.

Senior Jonathan Jones Post-game.

Freshman Maxen Hook Post-game.