by T.J. Lasita

LEXINGTON, Ky. ? For the first time since 1971, the Ohio University football team traveled to Lexington and knocked off the Kentucky Wildcats, 28-16, Saturday evening in front of 61,514 fans at Commonwealth Stadium.

Ohio?s Scott Mayle (Philippi, W.Va.) caught touchdown passes of 44 and 89 yards while the Bobcat defensive unit forced five Kentucky (1-3, 0-1 Southeastern Conference) turnovers ? four in the fourth quarter ? in the winning effort. Mayle?s 157 reception yards were the most by a Bobcat since Chris Jenkins posted 175 yards in 1993.

?We talked about the moment and what it would be like in the locker room,? said Ohio head coach Brian Knorr, ?and let me tell you, it?s a lot better than we even dreamed about.?

In the early going, Kentucky forced a Bobcat turnover and made Ohio pay. After recovering a fumble inside the Ohio red zone, the Wildcats? Alexis Bwenge pumped it in from a yard out and put Kentucky on the scoreboard for the first time. The point-after attempt was successful and the Wildcats led 7-0.

Late in the first quarter, the Bobcats (3-2, 1-1 Mid-American Conference) evened it up. Ohio quarterback Ryan Hawk (Centerville) orchestrated an 11-play, 80-yard drive that spanned more than five minutes and resulted in a touchdown. On the drive?s final play, Hawk called his own number from nine yards out and dove towards the pylon at the Wildcat goal line for the score. The kick attempt was good and the Bobcats tied up the score at 7-7.

The Wildcats went three-and-out on their next drive, punting the football away to Ohio. Beginning with the ball on their own 37, the Bobcats resorted to the big play and found the end zone once again. On the sixth play of the drive, Hawk caught Mayle in stride down the left side for 44 yards and an Ohio touchdown.

Before the half, Kentucky would close the gap. The Wildcats drove 52 yards in less than five minutes before settling for a 29-yard field goal off the foot of Taylor Begley. Ohio still led 14-10, however, as both teams went to the locker room.

On Kentucky?s second drive of the third quarter, the Bobcat defense forced its first turnover of the evening. Ohio linebacker Matron Church (St. Petersburg, Fla.) scooped up a Wildcat fumble and gave the Bobcats possession at the Kentucky 38. With the ball in Wildcat territory, Ohio attempted a 34-yard field goal. Brooks Rossman?s (Seal Beach, Calif.) attempt was blocked by Lonnel Dewalt ? his third block of the season ? as the Wildcats averted a potential score.

Early in the fourth quarter, Kentucky threatened to touch up the scoreboard once again. The Wildcats drove deep into the Ohio red zone but on third down, Ohio?s Matt Muncy (Miamisburg) picked off a pass at the one-yard line and returned it out to the nine, where the Bobcats took over with 10:56 remaining in the contest.

?You can?t say enough for that defense,? said Knorr. ?We had six starters from game one back in Athens and the guys who stepped up ? the Matt Muncys, the Rashad Butlers, the Rahman Shavers ? there in the last five minutes, those guys were playing on fumes.?

The Bobcats quickly turned the turnover into points. With backup Austen Everson (Brentwood, Tenn.) under center, Mayle pulled in a slant on first down and scampered 89 yards to the end zone for the score. The effort marked the second longest play in the program?s history as the Bobcats took a commanding 21-10 advantage.

?Ryan (Hawk) got dinged a little bit on the one draw in the third quarter and I don?t know if it was that. He seemed healthy there at the end of the game but we just felt right at that point that we wanted Austen to come in and make some decisions,? Knorr said. ?Ryan was a little groggy. Austen made a great throw and nobody?s going to catch No. 82.?

The Wildcats turned the ball over on downs on their next possession, giving the Bobcats the football at the Kentucky 35. Three plays and less than a minute later, running back Kalvin McRae (Decatur, Ga.) punched it in from 12 yards out as the Bobcats went ahead 28-10.

On the ensuing kickoff, the Bobcat special teams unit got into the act. As the kick slipped past the Kentucky return team, Ohio?s Marcquis Parham (Kent) picked up the football and was tackled at the Wildcat four-yard line. Ohio attempted a fake field goal but the effort was unsuccessful. Kentucky took over but the Bobcat defense struck again. Ohio?s Rahman Shavers (Euclid) picked off a pass and returned it to the Wildcat 40 with just more than four minutes left on the clock.

?You really need good things to happen and when we forced turnovers, guys just kept believing and believing,? said Knorr. ?I was getting pretty nervous there at the end. That was the longest last five minutes I?ve ever been associated with but the defensive guys just came up with big play after big play and we had a couple of good drives there at the end.?

Ohio relinquished possession and the Wildcats tacked on another score. A two-yard touchdown toss and failed two-point conversion brought Kentucky to within 12 but the Wildcats would get no closer.

Muncy paced the Ohio defense, recording nine tackles in addition to his fourth-quarter interception. Hawk finished 7-for-15 for 114 yards and one touchdown while Everson went a perfect 3-for-3 for 104 yards and one score in relief duties.

Mayle rushed five times for 52 yards while McRae gained 34 yards on 18 carries for the Bobcats.

Kentucky quarterback Shane Boyd completed 12 of 25 passes for 118 yards and two interceptions. Tony Dixon led the Wildcats on the ground, picking up 90 yards on 17 carries.

?Before this game, we said win, lose, draw? whatever happens, we?re going right away to Marshall,? Knorr said of next week?s opponent. ?So as much as we?d love tomorrow morning as coaches to break this down and go over it, we?re getting right on Marshall.?

Ohio will return to conference play for the remainder of the 2004 campaign. Next weekend, the Bobcats will play host to Marshall Saturday afternoon. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Peden Stadium.

For ticket information, please contact the Ohio Athletics Ticket Office at 740-593-1300, toll-free at 800-575-CATS or online by CLICKING HERE.

Postgame quotes from Ohio head coach Brian Knorr:

(on the huge win for the program) ?We talked about the moment and what it would be like in the locker room and let me tell you, it?s a lot better than we even dreamed about.?

(on Ohio?s defensive performance, especially in the fourth quarter) ?You can?t say enough for that defense. We had six starters from game one back in Athens and the guys who stepped up ? the Matt Muncys, the Rashad Butlers, the Rahman Shavers ? there in the last five minutes, those guys were playing on fumes.?

(on cornerback T.J. Wright and the defensive backs) ?Well, I think they competed. T.J. Wright, he may be only 5-11, 165, but I?m telling you, he plays much bigger than that. He made some great plays down here on a very big receiver and we have tremendous confidence in T.J.?

(on replacing Ryan Hawk with Austen Everson at quarterback in the fourth quarter) ?Ryan got dinged a little bit on the one draw in the third quarter and I don?t know if it was that. He seemed healthy there at the end of the game but we just felt right at that point that we wanted Austen to come in and make some decisions. Ryan was a little groggy. Austen made a great throw and nobody?s going to catch No. 82.?

(on if the 89-yard scoring pass from Everson to Scott Mayle was an audible) ?No, it wasn?t an audible. He read the defense knew that we had slants called. He knew that Scott had single coverage over there and, boy, he drilled it right in there.?

(on Mayle becoming more and more involved in the Bobcat offense) ?We planned all week on getting Scott more involved, Chris (Jackson) more involved, and just spread things out offensively. I think the offensive package grew tonight and we were doing the fly sweep and some things that made them spread out a little bit. Then Kalvin (McRae) and the offensive line took it from there.?

(on Ohio?s confidence late in the game) ?You really need good things to happen and when we forced turnovers, guys just kept believing and believing. I was getting pretty nervous there at the end. That was the longest last five minutes I?ve ever been associated with but the defensive guys just came up with big play after big play and we had a couple of good drives there at the end.?

(on the Bobcat offensive line) ?I think they?re going to continue to grow. There were some mistakes out there that ended drives but this is an SEC front with one of the best defensive lineman in the country so we need to grow from here. We?ve got quite a task with a couple of defensive ends next week so we?ve got to get better and, hopefully, this will give them the confidence to continue playing better each week.?

(on the protection for Ryan Hawk) ?He got flushed a couple of times but there may have been guys open or he just? it wasn?t a protection flaw. I thought we did a pretty good job of protecting Ryan.?

(on the importance of next Saturday?s home game against Marshall) ?Before this game, we said win, lose, draw? whatever happens, we?re going right away to Marshall. So as much as we?d love tomorrow morning as coaches to break this down and go over it, we?re getting right on Marshall.?