ATHENS, Ohio ? For the first time since 1997, the last time the Ohio football team began a season at home, the Bobcats produced a season-opening win Thursday night. Ohio jumped out to a 17-0 lead in the second quarter against Southeast Missouri State and then held on for a 17-3 victory on Communiversity Day at Peden Stadium.

?I?m excited about starting 1-0 and about opening the season in Peden Stadium,? said Bobcat head coach Brian Knorr. ?I thought both teams played very, very hard.?

With 3:37 remaining in the first quarter, junior Ryan Hawk found redshirt freshman Scott Mayle alone in the end zone to give the Bobcats an early 7-0 lead. The 32-yard scoring strike was the first collegiate reception for the wide receiver from Philippi, W.Va. Stafford Owens set up the one-play drive with a 25-yard punt return to the Indians? 32-yard line.

Following a 23-yard field goal by sophomore Greg DiMarino at the 14:10 mark in the second quarter, Owens gave Ohio its final points on a 12-yard scamper with 5:36 left in the first half. The junior slot back from Harvey, Ill., finished the contest with seven carries for 49 yards and three punt returns for 43 yards.

The only scoring for Southeast Missouri State came on a 24-yard field goal by Derek Kutz with 2:55 remaining before intermission. At the half, the Bobcats held slight advantages in total yards (155-145) and time of possession (15:55 to 14:05) but were hampered by four lost fumbles.

?A lot of mistakes were made, which you often see in the first game,? said Knorr. ?I challenged our guys, between week one and week two, to continue to improve in all phases of the game.?

In the second half, the Indians drove deep into Ohio territory three times but failed to come away with any points. Their two third-quarter drives both ended on downs at the Bobcat 10- and five-yard lines, respectively.

After a three-and-out for its first drive of the fourth quarter, Southeast Missouri State managed to reach Ohio?s 19 on its final possession before T.J. Wright intercepted a Jack Tomco pass in the end zone and returned it 51 yards to the Indians? 49-yard line.

?We were not very good in the red zone last year so we made a big emphasis on that,? Knorr said. ?I thought our defense did an outstanding job tonight.?

From there, the Bobcats ran out the final 5:30 on the clock with a series of nine straight rushes that took them to the verge of crossing Southeast Missouri State?s goal line as time expired.

For the game, Ohio gained 241 yards rushing compared to 88 for the Indians. Starting quarterback Fred Ray was the Bobcats? leading rusher with 53 yards on 11 carries.

Ohio?s next contest will be Saturday, Sept. 6, at Iowa State. That game will start at 2 p.m. (EDT). Then the Bobcats will host Minnesota on Saturday, Sept. 13, with the 3 p.m. contest marking the first visit to Peden Stadium by a member of the Big Ten Conference.

For ticket information, please call the Ohio Athletics Ticket Office at 740-593-1300 or 800-575-CATS. You can also order tickets online and print them right at home, if you choose, by CLICKING HERE!