Rockets Escape With 20-19 Win

The Toledo football team improved to 4-3 with a last minute win over visiting Northern Illinois on Saturday night at the Glass Bowl. Barry Church blocked a game-winning field goal attempt in the final minute.

TOLEDO - Despite a freshman quarterback starting his first game, losing the turnover battle 3-1, and seven penalties, the Toledo Rockets improved their record to 4-3 with a dramatic last-minute win over Northern Illinois on Saturday night at the Glass Bowl.

Austin Dantin, a true freshman from Florida, earned his first career start for Toledo. Dantin completed 17-of-24 passes for 202 yards and a score in place of injured quarterback Aaron Opelt, then watched as senior Barry Church blocked a game-winning field goal attempt from 42-yards out with just 16-seconds left, his second blocked kick of the game, to help Toledo escape with a 20-19 win.

"Barry Church made a great play. It was a heck of a win," Toledo Head Coach Tim Beckman said immediately following the dramatic win. "We have a family that we built, and as long as they believe in what we talk about, we're still in the fight and the hunt to be MAC Champions. We just have to control what we do each and every week and that's what our kids believe."

The Rockets opened the games scoring late in the first quarter after a 41-yard punt return by Eric Page gave Toledo the football with a short field. The balled moved inside the red zone after a Huskies pass interference call on the first snap of the drive, and then running back DaJuane Collins found a seam from 17-yards out for the Rockets first score.

"We came out all week in practice and knew we had to run the ball with a freshman quarterback starting," Collins said. "We wanted to take the pressure off him and establish the run to make sure he had a good game."

The Rocket doubled the lead to 14-0 minutes into the second quarter. Austin Dantin engineered a nine play 99-yard drive that ended with his only touchdown pass of the game. Tim Cortazzo hauled in the touchdown grab from 26-yards out.

Northern Illinois trimmed the lead to 14-6 just before the half. Me'co Brown scored on a run from 1-yard out with less then two minutes left in the half. Toledo appeared poised to hold Northern Illinois to a field goal, but NIU quarterback Chandler Harnish found Willie Clark down to the Rockets goaline on a key 3rd-and-7.

The Huskies trimmed the lead to a single point on the first drive of the second half. Harnish scored the Huskies touchdown after keeping the drive alive with a 3rd-and-6 scramble for 11-yards earlier on the drive.

Dantin's lone interception early in the fourth quarter put the Huskies in position to take their only lead of the game. Cory Hanson picked off Dantin, plus ran the ball back to the Rockets 12-yardline to set up Harnish's second touchdown run.

The Rockets retook the lead halfway through the final quarter. DaJuane Collins scored the go-ahead score, this one from 4-yards out, to cap a 90-yard scoring drive. Dantin started the drive and found Stephen Williams on a 29-yard pass to move the ball into Huskies territory. Dantin was shaken up on the drive, though, and Alex Pettee came in to finish punching the ball across into the end zone.

Northern Illinois had one last shot at escapting Toledo with a MAC win, but Mike Salerno's last second field goal was blocked from 42-yards out.

The Rockets are home again next week for another MAC contest, this time hosting the Temple Owls.