Recap: RedHawks soar in big win over Tennessee Tech 48-17

Wins are hard to come by in college football, but the Miami RedHawks made it look easy as they used a 31-point second quarter to cruise past the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles. It’s a nice win against a FC opponent for the RedHawks, a lot of players got some playing experience, and they could use the momentum in their tilt with the Cincinnati Bearcats next week.

In one half of play, Brett Gabbert was effective as he went 10/17 for 152 yards and a pair of rushing scores. Dominique Robinson and Jalen Walker each had 60 receiving yards while Tyre Shelton was dynamic in the running game with 65 yards on 11 carries. The defense made things hard for the Eagles with six TFLs and two forced turnovers.

Miami started off the game fast as the team drove all they way down to Tennessee Tech’s nine-yard line on the first drive, but the drive stalled on a dropped pass in the endzone by Dominique Robinson and the ‘Hawks had to settle for a field goal. After forcing a three-and-out by the Eagles, the Red and White finished their second drive in the endzone as Davion Johnson capped off a seven-play drive with a three-yard touchdown run for his first score of the 2019 season.

TTU got some help from Miami for its lone score of the first half as a Jalen Walker catch-and-fumble gave the Eagles some momentum on the following drive, which resulted in a field goal at the end of the first quarter to cut the deficit down to 10-3.

The momentum swung back to Miami in the second quarter as the team blew the game wide open with 31 points in the period. The RedHawks took advantage of generous field position on TTU’s 23-yard line to set up a three-yard TD scamper by Gabbert on a zone read play. On the following Eagle drive, Bart Baratti took an errant throw for a 35-yard pick six to set the score at 24-3. After a fumble by Tennessee Tech on the next drive, Miami marched down to the four-yard line before having to settle for another field goal.

The turnover bug continued to affect the Eagles on the next drive as Sean Weatherford almost had a pick-six of his own with a 54-yard return. Johnson plunged ahead for a two-yard touchdown on the next play to go up 34-3. After forcing another TTU three-and-out, Miami closed out the half with a five-minute drive that resulted in Gabbert’s second rushing touchdown from one-yard out.

The Eagles had some success moving the ball in the third quarter with a 20-play drive, but the Miami defense (comprised of mostly backups) made a clutch stop on fourth-and-goal as Cedric Boswell and Jeremiah Josephs combined for the TFL. TTU managed to find the endzone on a ten-play, 67-yard drive in the fourth quarter. Miami responded on the ensuing drive with a 72-yard drive capped off by a one-yard dive by Zach Kahn for his first career touchdown. TTU took advantage of a short field set up by a 50-yard kickoff return and used a 30-yard passing score to cut the deficit down to 48-17.