Blue Knights Bounce Back Against Hawks

URBANA, Ohio (September 22, 2012) – One week after falling unexpectedly on the road at Central State, the Urbana University football team found a way to win in the final minute in front of the home crowd on Saturday afternoon. Urbana’s offense stalled all afternoon except for when it mattered most in a 14-10 nail biter over visiting Quincy University.

Trailing 10-7 with just 2:52 to play in the fourth quarter, the Blue Knights began their game-winning drive. After three quick, short passes from QB D.J. Mendenhall to Nate Wilburn-Ogletree (pictured left) , Mendenhall found a streaking Joe Saffold down the middle of the field for a 32-yard pickup. Sophomore running back David Hill broke though the Quincy defense for 17 yards on the next two carries, and from eight yards out with 59 seconds left on the clock, Mendenhall faked the pitch to Hill and fed Wilburn-Ogletree one more time for the decisive touchdown.

Quincy’s final drive stalled at the Urbana 41-yard line with 17 seconds on the clock as Urbana escaped with a 14-10 victory over the winless Hawks. Urbana improves to 3-1 on the season and 1-1 in conference play, while Quincy drops to 0-4 and 0-2 in the GLVC. The win is Urbana’s first in 23 attempts when trailing at the half under fifth-year Head Coach Dave Taynor.

The Blue Knights mustered just 203 total yards of offense, including 68 yards on the game-winning drive. Urbana entered Saturday’s contest averaging 500 yards of total offense per game, but several key starters were out with injuries, including wide receiver Joe Webb and left tackle Alex Maxson, who saw his streak of 36 straight starts come to an end on Saturday. Webb entered Saturday ranked 7th in the country in receiving yards. Wilburn-Ogletree and starting linebacker Shane Cahill also missed significant time with injuries on Saturday, as Urbana’s sideline began to resemble an injury ward at a hospital.

Mendenhall finished 13 for 27 passing with 122 yards and 2 TDs. Marc Johnson (pictured left) scored Urbana’s first touchdown on a 22-yard catch early in the second quarter. Hill led the Blue Knights rushing attack, finishing with 47 yards on 11 carries.

Defensively, Urbana held the Hawks in check. The visitors rushed for 123 yards, but only threw for 150. Linebacker Roy Harvison (pictured above) led all tacklers with 13, including 4 behind the line of scrimmage. Drew Underwood and Dan Goodrum each racked up 12 stops, and Perry Jenkins tallied 11 tackles, including 2 for a loss. Safety Brian Ridley (pictured right) had 9 stops and a crucial fourth quarter interception.

Next week, Urbana embarks on its first of three straight road games. The Blue Knights travel to Buckhannon, West Virginia to battle the Bobcats from West Virginia Wesleyan College for the third time in four years. Saturday’s matchup is the last non-conference meeting between the two schools as both have announced plans to join the Mountain East Conference next season. Kickoff is set for 12:00 p.m. at the Bobcats’ Ross Field. [Box Score]