RedHawks’ skid finally ends

Rockets’ game-tying TD is reversed after review, giving Miami its first win of the season.

Photos: 2009 Miami RedHawks

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By Pete Conrad, Staff Writer Updated 11:22 AM Sunday, November 1, 2009

OXFORD — The biggest play of the season for the Miami RedHawks, the play which sparked a long overdue celebration, came from a player who had no idea he made it.

“I didn’t even realize the ball had come out,” Miami sophomore free safety Anthony Kokal said.

But the ball did come out, and that changed everything. It turned a touchdown into a touchback. It allowed the RedHawks to hold on for a 31-24 victory over the Toledo Rockets at Yager Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 31. It effectively halted the longest losing streak in program history at 13 games.

And it gave Michael Haywood his first win as a collegiate head coach. Haywood planned an appropriate celebration. “I’m going trick-or-treating with Michael (his young son),” he said.

Toledo appeared to be on the verge of tying the score when quarterback Alex Pettee threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to tight end Danny Noble with 1:01 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Well, it was signaled as a touchdown. It looked like a touchdown. But when the officials reviewed the play, they saw that Kokal had punched the ball out of Noble’s arms just before he crossed the goal line.

The ball hit the pylon, which made it a touchback. The Toledo touchdown was overturned, the ball was awarded to Miami at its own 20 yard line and the RedHawks went wild with joy.

“I didn’t know (the ball had come loose) until they made the announcement,” Haywood said.

“We were fortunate to get a great play by Kokal,” he said. “We ended up making a stop when we needed to.”

Kokal said he was clueless about the ball coming loose.

“I saw the guy come off the line and I was just doing my job, trying to make a play,” said Kokal, the younger brother of former Miami starting quarterback Mike Kokal.

“I knew I had my hand on the ball,” he said, “and of course I was trying to strip it.”

Even when the referee announced his ruling, Kokal wasn’t sure the news was good.

“Touchback sounded a lot like touchdown,” he said, “but then a lot of guys started coming up and hugging me and I realized it was touchback.”

Miami quarterback Zac Dysert had another big game for the RedHawks (1-8, 1-4 in the Mid-American Conference), passing for 344 yards and a touchdown and running for two more touchdowns.

The RedHawks led 24-7 at halftime with the help of a 20-yard interception return for a touchdown by true freshman linebacker Wes Williams and a school-record 55-yard field goal by Trevor Cook.

Toledo (4-5, 2-3 in the MAC) saw its bowl hopes take a serious hit. “We’ve got a lot of soul searching to do,” said Toledo coach Tim Beckman.

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