SPEED KILLS FALCONS

Speed kills on the football field. Toledo had it, BG didn't.

In a game that saw the Rockets end a three-game losing streak to Bowling Green and saw UT firm up its bowl chances with a seventh win, Toledo dominated on offense and defense.

The 33-14 victory was a testament to Toledo's skill players on offense (Page,Thomas,Reedy) who were too quick for the Falcons, and a defense that harassed BG quarterback Matt Shilz all evening including four sacks.

"We talk about being tougher than our opponent up front. Our job at defensive line is to get pressure up front and control the line of scrimmage. We did a good job of that tonight," said defensive end T.J. Fatinikun.

Toledo (7-4,6-1) came out of the gate on fire, scoring touchdowns the first three times it had the ball. Quarterback Terrance Owens opened the scoring with a 48-yard strike to Eric Page. Kenny Stafford caught another Owens pass for a touchdown with 8:58 remaining in the first quarter to put UT up 12-0.

The Rockets used a trick play for their third touchdown in the first quarter, as Owens threw a lateral to Page who found Tim Cortazzo open in the end-zone with a 35 yard pass.

In the first quarter, UT out-gained the Falcons 241-12 yards, and Owens showed that he is becoming a better quarterback every game. He completed 6-9 passes for 129 yards and two touchdowns.

BG got its first touchdown on a short drive after Owens was intercepted, but Toledo came right back as Adonis Thomas had a spectacular 81-yard touchdown run that gave the Rockets a 26-7 halftime lead.

The Falcons scored first in the third quarter as Eugene Cooper returned a punt 71-yards for a score.

UT safety Charles Rancifer picked of a Shilz pass late in the third quarter that ended in another UT razzle-dazzle touchdown. Quarterback David Pasquale handed off to Page who then gave the ball to Bernard Reedy on a reverse for a 9-yard score to put the Rockets up 33-14. "Those are things we've been practicing quite a bit for the last couple of weeks. It has to be the right time and score of the game to do those types of plays," said Toledo head coach Tim Beckman.

Neither team scored in the fourth quarter as UT was content to stay on the ground and eat up the clock.

Defensively, Toledo was led by linebackers Archie Donald and Dan Molls who had huge games with 17 and 13 tackles respectively.

Owens finished with 225 passing yards while completing 16 0f 25 attempts. Thomas had 172 rushing yards and Page was the leading receiver with nine catches.