ATHENS, Ohio (AP) — A.J. Ouellette ran for 169 yards and two touchdowns and Papi White became Ohio’s all-time leader in yards receiving as the Bobcats rolled to a 49-28 victory over Akron on Friday.
Ouellette went over the 1,000-yard mark for a second straight season for the Bobcats (8-4, 6-2 Mid-American Conference). White caught three passes for 63 yards, pushing him past LaVon Brazill (2,511 yards from 2007-11) and giving the senior 2,529 for his career.
Ouellette staked Ohio to a 7-0 first-quarter lead on a 6-yard run. Quarterback Nathan Rourke scored on a 1-yard plunge, the first of his four TD runs, to make it 14-0 and Kylan Nelson ran a punt back 36 yards to give Ohio a 21-0 lead after one quarter. Kato Nelson connected with Andre Williams for a 10-yard touchdown to pull the Zips (4-7, 2-6) within 21-7, but Ouellette scored on a 16-yard run to put the Bobcats up 28-7 at halftime.
Rourke scored on runs of 1, 5 and 3 yards in the second half to keep Ohio in front. Maleek Irons rushed for 126 yards on 18 carries for the Bobcats. Rourke ran for 86 yards on 18 totes and completed five passes for 87 yards with an interception.
Nelson completed 24 of 41 passes for 356 yards and four TDs for the Zips. Akron managed just 32 yards on the ground on 21 carries.
Ohio is bowl eligible for a 10th straight season under coach Frank Solich — his 14th at the helm.
Akron 0 7 7 14 = 28
Ohio 21 7 7 14 = 49
First Quarter
OHI—Ouellette 6 run (Zervos kick), 11:02
OHI—Rourke 1 run (Zervos kick), 4:26
OHI—Ky.Nelson 37 punt return (Zervos kick), 2:38
Second Quarter
AKR—V.Edwards 10 pass from Ka.Nelson (Gasser kick), 14:48
OHI—Ouellette 16 run (Zervos kick), 5:33
Third Quarter
AKR—A.Williams 17 pass from Ka.Nelson (Gasser kick), 5:25
OHI—Rourke 1 run (Zervos kick), 4:26
Fourth Quarter
AKR—Reinke 6 pass from Ka.Nelson (Gasser kick), 14:19
OHI—Rourke 5 run (Zervos kick), 8:21
AKR—Traylor-Bennett 12 pass from Ka.Nelson (Gasser kick), 6:45
OHI—Rourke 3 run (Zervos kick), :05
A—12,938.
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AKR OHI
First downs 23 25
Rushes-yards 21-32 51-381
Passing 356 87
Comp-Att-Int 24-41-1 5-14-1
Return Yards 68 57
Punts-Avg. 5-29.6 4-36.75
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 0-0
Penalties-Yards 9-81 8-95
Time of Possession 27:12 32:48
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INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Akron, V.Edwards 11-19, Ka.Nelson 9-15, K.White 1-(minus 2). Ohio, Ouellette 15-169, Irons 18-126, Rourke 18-86.
PASSING—Akron, Ka.Nelson 24-41-1-356. Ohio, Rourke 5-14-1-87.
RECEIVING—Akron, A.Williams 7-81, Morris 5-61, Knight 4-94, Smith 3-64, V.Edwards 3-38, Traylor-Bennett 1-12, Reinke 1-6. Ohio, P.White 3-63, Ouellette 1-17, Irons 1-7.
MISSED FIELD GOALS—Akron, Gasser 47.