Ball State University
Miami (Ohio)
BSU 20, Miami U. 17
October 28, 2006 | Football
Ball State's football team evened its Mid-American Conference record at 3-3 with a 20-17 win at Miami University Saturday.
Ball State's Madaris Grant, a redshirt freshman tight end, caught the first pass of his career -- a one-yard touchdown pass with 1:11 remaining in the game -- to help the Cardinals to the victory.
"Madaris did a great job on the winning touchdown," Ball State head coach Brady Hoke says. "Nate Davis made a good play. It was a play that kind of just happened and opened up for Madaris. They defended the play well, but Madaris got open in the endzone, and Nate did a good job of finding him."
The two teams battled to a 7-7 tie at the half behind Ball State's 19-yard touchdown pass play from Davis to Terry Moss with just over three minutes gone in the contest, and then the RedHawks managing an 11-yard TD pass with 9:45 to go in the half.
Ball State's Brian Jackson kicked a 37-yard field goal with 10:46 to play in the third period to give the Cardinals a 10-7 lead, and Miami tied the game six minutes later on a 20-yard field goal.
The RedHawks took a 17-10 fourth quarter advantage when they scored on a one-yard run with 13:31 left to play.
Jackson put the Cardinals within one score at 17-13 with a 50-yard field goal with just over seven minutes to play in the contest.
The teams traded possessions for the next six minutes until Davis and Grant connected on the game-winning score.
"This was a hard fought game by both teams," Ball State head coach Brady Hoke says. "It was not the prettiest game, but the kids played hard. Both teams played hard. The wind altered some strategy today. Both quarterbacks throw the ball well, but there is no question in bothered both teams."
With the win, Ball State improved to 3-6 overall, while the RedHawks fell to 1-8 overall and 1-4 in the MAC.
"My dad played here and I grew up 50 minutes from here," Hoke says. "There is a lot of tradition with both of these schools. We are glad to leave with the win."
Larry Bostic led Ball State in rushing with 85 yards on 16 carries, while B.J. Hill managed 45 yards on 10 rushes. Dante Love led the Cardinals with five catches for 58 yards, while Michael Steinhaus added two catches for 11 yards and Moss had the one 19-yard catch for a touchdown.
Davis completed 11-of-24 passes for 98 yards with two TDs and one interception.
Brad Seiss led Ball State's defense with eight tackles, including one tackle for loss and one sack. Wendell Brown added six tackles and forced one fumble. Trey Buice intercepted a Miami pass on the RedHawks final possession, and Erik Keys recovered his third fumble of the season.
The Cardinals will play at nationally ranked Michigan Saturday at Noon in a game televised on ESPNU.
