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By Tom Gaffney
Beacon Journal sports writer
POSTED: 10:48 p.m. EDT, Oct 10, 2009
A season of promise has turned into a season of desperation for the University of Akron football team.
The Zips saw their record fall to 1-4 overall and 0-2 in the Mid-American Conference Saturday night in a 19-7 defeat to Ohio University before a homecoming crowd of 16,381 at InfoCision Stadium.
The loss was doubly frustrating because the Zips lost starting quarterback Matt Rodgers to an ACL injury in the first half and will go with true freshman Patrick Nicely in a future that starts with three consecutive road games.
Coach J.D. Brookhart said that despite the adversity, his team will never quit on itself.
''That's what we have always been about. You fight. We will swing and keep coming out,'' Brookhart said. ''Been a lot of holes I have dug myself out of and a lot of holes these kids have fought their way out of. So that's what we are going to do.''
A month ago, the celebratory opening of InfoCision Stadium and a 41-0 victory over Morgan State suggested a season to match the magnificence of the new facility.
But the dismissal of three-year starting quarterback Chris Jacquemain and three consecutive losses have brought a quick turn of fortune that has so many people shaking their heads — except the players.
''It will come around. I don't want people getting down on us,'' said senior tailback Joe Tuzze, who rushed for 60 yards and had the only UA touchdown. ''We are going to work hard. We are not going to give up.''
Rodgers was injured on the Zips' final play of the first half, when he was scrambling and tackled at the OU 4. He lost a fumble into the end zone, but that was overshadowed when Rodgers stayed on the turf afterward.
He was attended to by the UA medical staff and was helped off the field, obviously hobbled. Brookhart said nothing is official, but he believes Rodgers suffered a torn ACL in his left knee.
''It's gut-wrenching. I am absolutely sick for Matt Rodgers,'' Brookhart said. ''It's a 99 percent chance that Matt is out for the season.''
Nicely, a graduate of Willoughby South High School, played the second half and showed a strong arm in completing 9-of-23 passes for 98 yards.
''Patrick is a true-pup freshman and did some good things and he will only get better,'' Brookhart said. ''It didn't look like it fazed him.''
Even with the loss of Rodgers, the Zips were competitive from start to finish and had a statistical edge in total yards (346-292) and first downs (21-14). That effort was doomed because UA had five turnovers (three lost fumbles and two interceptions), two missed field goals, and a bad breakdown on special teams that gave OU a gift touchdown.
''With all the adversity and too many turnovers, we were fighting,'' Tuzze said. ''You can't have as many turnovers as we had. We drove the ball, just didn't punch it in. You can't do that against a MAC school.''
The Bobcats (4-2, 2-0) took a 3-0 first-half lead on a field goal by Twinsburg High School graduate Matt Weller from 27 yards at the nine-minute mark of the opening quarter.
The Bobcats added to their margin early in the third period with a special-teams touchdown. With the Zips backed up to their 15, a punt was blocked by Melvin Payne, who recovered the ball in the end zone at the 10:49 mark.
The Bobcats were holding a 10-0 lead in the third quarter, facing a backup quarterback in Nicely and had just held the Zips on downs.
But Ohio fumbled the subsequent punt and the Zips' Brian Wagner recovered at the OU 30. Five plays later, Tuzze scored from the 3 at the 8:07 mark to move the score to 10-7.
That energized the Zips and, after a defensive stop, they drove to the OU 25, but a 43-yard field-goal attempt by Branko Rogovic failed.
Ohio followed with a drive to the UA 10 that ended with a 27-yard field goal by Weller at 14:04 of the fourth period.
The Zips lost a fumble on the following kickoff, the Bobcats recovered and capitalized by scoring on a 7-yard touchdown pass from Theo Scott to Terrence McCrae at the 10:56 mark.
UA starts its three-game road schedule Saturday at Buffalo.
Tom Gaffney can be reached at tgaffney@thebeaconjournal.com.
A season of promise has turned into a season of desperation for the University of Akron football team.
The Zips saw their record fall to 1-4 overall and 0-2 in the Mid-American Conference Saturday night in a 19-7 defeat to Ohio University before a homecoming crowd of 16,381 at InfoCision Stadium.
The loss was doubly frustrating because the Zips lost starting quarterback Matt Rodgers to an ACL injury in the first half and will go with true freshman Patrick Nicely in a future that starts with three consecutive road games.
Coach J.D. Brookhart said that despite the adversity, his team will never quit on itself.
''That's what we have always been about. You fight. We will swing and keep coming out,'' Brookhart said. ''Been a lot of holes I have dug myself out of and a lot of holes these kids have fought their way out of. So that's what we are going to do.''
A month ago, the celebratory opening of InfoCision Stadium and a 41-0 victory over Morgan State suggested a season to match the magnificence of the new facility.
But the dismissal of three-year starting quarterback Chris Jacquemain and three consecutive losses have brought a quick turn of fortune that has so many people shaking their heads — except the players.
''It will come around. I don't want people getting down on us,'' said senior tailback Joe Tuzze, who rushed for 60 yards and had the only UA touchdown. ''We are going to work hard. We are not going to give up.''
Rodgers was injured on the Zips' final play of the first half, when he was scrambling and tackled at the OU 4. He lost a fumble into the end zone, but that was overshadowed when Rodgers stayed on the turf afterward.
He was attended to by the UA medical staff and was helped off the field, obviously hobbled. Brookhart said nothing is official, but he believes Rodgers suffered a torn ACL in his left knee.
''It's gut-wrenching. I am absolutely sick for Matt Rodgers,'' Brookhart said. ''It's a 99 percent chance that Matt is out for the season.''
Nicely, a graduate of Willoughby South High School, played the second half and showed a strong arm in completing 9-of-23 passes for 98 yards.
''Patrick is a true-pup freshman and did some good things and he will only get better,'' Brookhart said. ''It didn't look like it fazed him.''
Even with the loss of Rodgers, the Zips were competitive from start to finish and had a statistical edge in total yards (346-292) and first downs (21-14). That effort was doomed because UA had five turnovers (three lost fumbles and two interceptions), two missed field goals, and a bad breakdown on special teams that gave OU a gift touchdown.
''With all the adversity and too many turnovers, we were fighting,'' Tuzze said. ''You can't have as many turnovers as we had. We drove the ball, just didn't punch it in. You can't do that against a MAC school.''
The Bobcats (4-2, 2-0) took a 3-0 first-half lead on a field goal by Twinsburg High School graduate Matt Weller from 27 yards at the nine-minute mark of the opening quarter.
The Bobcats added to their margin early in the third period with a special-teams touchdown. With the Zips backed up to their 15, a punt was blocked by Melvin Payne, who recovered the ball in the end zone at the 10:49 mark.
The Bobcats were holding a 10-0 lead in the third quarter, facing a backup quarterback in Nicely and had just held the Zips on downs.
But Ohio fumbled the subsequent punt and the Zips' Brian Wagner recovered at the OU 30. Five plays later, Tuzze scored from the 3 at the 8:07 mark to move the score to 10-7.
That energized the Zips and, after a defensive stop, they drove to the OU 25, but a 43-yard field-goal attempt by Branko Rogovic failed.
Ohio followed with a drive to the UA 10 that ended with a 27-yard field goal by Weller at 14:04 of the fourth period.
The Zips lost a fumble on the following kickoff, the Bobcats recovered and capitalized by scoring on a 7-yard touchdown pass from Theo Scott to Terrence McCrae at the 10:56 mark.
UA starts its three-game road schedule Saturday at Buffalo.
Tom Gaffney can be reached at tgaffney@thebeaconjournal.com.
Comments
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Highland Square, OH
Posted 11:02 PM, 10/10/2009
Nicely= The future.
Tuzze Nicely= The answer.
Brookhart=....no comment.
Akron, OH
Posted 11:12 PM, 10/10/2009
I'm proud of Patrick Nicely. He handled himself incredibly well.
_________, OH
Posted 12:02 AM, 10/11/2009
"the Zips were competitive from start to finish and had a statistical edge in total yards (346-292) and first downs (21-14)".
If you look at the stats without seeing the score... U of A won right? ! What the heck?
Kandi, SL
Posted 01:13 AM, 10/11/2009
That's terrible for Matt Rodgers. Just when he was starting to come on, out he goes -- tragicly. Had they scored the TD before the half, it would have been a different game.
Best of luck to Matt. I think next year, under the next coach, he can pick-up right where he left off, as he's definitely the future of the team at QB.
Highland Square, OH
Posted 01:47 AM, 10/11/2009
@ srilongka
All due respect to Matt, he's a great kid, Nicely is by far the better QB. It was blatantly obvious if you were at the game.
That said, Rodgers has the athleticism to contribute to this team in multiple ways next season.
Canton, Oh
Posted 06:58 AM, 10/11/2009
Did the football team lose? If so what a shock!!
Canton, OH
Posted 08:02 AM, 10/11/2009
Patrick handled himself quite Nicely. . .
North Hill, OH
Posted 09:49 AM, 10/11/2009
Fire Coach Brookhart.
Pataskala, OH
Posted 09:56 AM, 10/11/2009
I actually thought the special teams looked good most of the season until last night. What the heck was going on last night? Two missed field goals, a blocked punt against us, and a muffed kick return. Those were the difference in the game by far.
I agree once he signed on the dotted line Nicely was always the Zips QB of the future. I was just hoping that the future didn't start till next year so that he'd have a year of learning before four full years of playing. Now we only get three and a half years and an interesting QB battle in camp next year with that question "Should a guy lose his job due to injury?"
Pataskala, OH
Posted 10:07 AM, 10/11/2009
I don't know if a head coaching change is needed or not. I'm on the fence there. The real question is whether an AD that just got there would be willing to wait another year to make a change or would be perfectly fine making a switch right off the bat.
I will say though that on the field last night the game didn't looked like it was being coached poorly. The issues were with execution not with what the coaches were trying to get done.
Posted 11:44 AM, 10/11/2009
There is no decision to be made next year about Rodgers, he is not the future for this or any other FBS team. Every time he would drop back to pass, he stared down his receivers from the start of the play, while one of the best receivers in the league plays one on one on the other side, and we cant get him the ball.
Also, special teams, if you look at UA in the last few seasons, has always been the weakest link, and it shouldn't be. We lost 13 points directly because of special teams, and you cant do that and win against anybody. That is Brookharts fault, and the goofy punt that was blocked was not fair to the entire defense, who played as well as I have seen a UA defense play. UA deserved to win that game, which is why it makes me angry.
akron, oh
Posted 09:41 PM, 10/11/2009
Why wasn't the stadium sold out?
I thought every game would be a sell out.
(PUN INTENDED)
Akron, OH
Posted 10:11 PM, 10/11/2009
just an observer,
I think sarcasm was your intent, not a pun. Not to be to the dictionary police or anything......
Akron, OH
Posted 10:49 PM, 10/11/2009
Nice expensive stadium though.
Highland Square, OH
Posted 11:30 PM, 10/11/2009
@ The original Jason
No, I think his intent was to be a d ouche. I'd say he nailed it.
Akron, OH
Posted 08:21 AM, 10/12/2009
@RowdyZ,
Don't put this on Brookhart. Put it on Jacquemain. If he had not screwed up, this season would be looking alot better at this point. Hopefully, Nicely can step in and, with his team behind him, put some numbers in the win column.
Fear the 'Roo!
:0)
akron, oh
Posted 12:02 PM, 10/12/2009
The entire organization is a mess and it's time to clean house! From players getting arrested, jacquemain stealing from team members, and Reno Ferri, it all falls on Brookhart b/c he's running the show. It's his responsibility. They all need to go and we can start over fresh next year!
