Postgame Recap: RedHawks Hand Bearcats Late Victory

Low scoring, sloppy game with an inexplicable ending.

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The Bell of the Ball

What a game. Somehow, the Victory Bell remains in possession of the Bearcats.

In a stunning 4th quarter comeback UC overcame Miami.  With many mistakes and many missed opportunities the game came to an end with the final score of 21-17.  UC’s offense looked poor in the first half, with many calling for sophomore quarterback Ross Trail to get a chance. Others pointed out that little blame fell on Hayden Moore. Too many passes were being dropped, and made it hard to blame the junior quarterback. Like… how do you drop this?

Due to this slow start, only 121 of UC’s total 361 yards came in the first half.  This also led to the Bearcats only scoring one time until the 4th quarter.  A single field goal was the one time they got on the board in the entire first half.

Compare this to Miami’s offense which started out red hot.  On their 2nd possession quarterback Gus Ragland of Miami’s went 3-4 and threw for over 85 yards.  The final throw was a 24 yard pass to Luke Mayock for a touchdown.  In a remarkably quick drive Miami was on the board with the lead.  With the defenses battling tough, there were no more scores until the 2nd half.

The 3rd quarter started off with Miami kicking to UC. The Bearcat offense quickly gave Miami the ball deep in their own territory.  On a 4th and 1, Cincinnati took a gamble and tried to rush it up the middle only to be shut down.  Our defense, which had been playing solid all day, did not have much to work with as they were starting on their own 34 yard line.  With Miami having a short way to go, they quickly scored.

When All Hope Was Lost

Going into the 4th quarter, it was not looking well for UC.  Obviously being down by 11 points with the clock ticking away.. the game seemed over.  With a field goal early in the 4th quarter, we brought the game to within 8 points.  Miami, not wanting to be silenced quickly returned with a field goal of their own.  Bearcats had shown some life and brought it to within a one possession game, but once again the game seemed like a lost cause.

Refusing to quit, the Bearcats immediately began marching down the field.  Hayden Moore led the offense on a quick drive covering 75 yards in just under 2 minutes.  Going 6-8 he capped off the drive with a beautiful 20 yard throw to Kahil Lewis who is wide open in the end zone.  After a successful 2 point conversion the score was 14-17, still seeming like a long shot with little time on that clock. Miami takes possession with less than 3 minutes to go and only 1 UC timeout left.

What Was Miami Thinking?

Now.. one would assume the Redhawks would keep the ball on the ground and run out the clock.  With a few questionable (coughSTUPIDcough) coaching decisions and an inexplicable delay of game penalty, Miami found themselves looking at a long 3rd down conversion on their own 8 yard line.  Ragland drops back in an attempt to save the drive.  He throws to a receiver only a few yards down field only for it to be picked off and taken to the end zone with less than a minute left!

Miami upon getting the ball back attempted to score a lightning fast touchdown.  With less than a minute on the clock they quickly storm down the field covering 55 yards.

On a 4th down conversion, Ragland attempts to go deep to one of his receivers only to be brought down by the defense.  With Cincinnati having the ball, all they had to do was take a knee to end the game.  With an unbelievable come-from-behind victory, the Bearcats retain the Victory Bell for a 12th year in a row.

You can go ahead and clean the grease off those goal posts now, Miami.

Charles’ Prediction: Bearcats 30 – RedHawks 21
Final Score: Bearcats 21 – RedHawks 17

Look for more #Bearcats posts all season written by Charles Sherman


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