Logan Woodside passed for 307 yards and four touchdowns in Toledo’s 45-28 win over Akron in Saturday’s MAC championship game at Ford Field
Akron’s special teams had just provided a boost for the struggling Zips, pinning Toledo’s offense inside its own 5-yard line on a punt late in the opening half.
But that wasn’t a deterrent for senior quarterback Logan Woodside and the Rockets’ prolific offense.
Starting at its own 3 with 1:39 left in the second quarter, Toledo put together an eight-play, 97-yard drive, capped by Woodside’s 27-yard scoring strike to Jon’Vea Johnson with 8 seconds left, helping Toledo open a commanding 28-0 lead.
That gave the Rockets plenty of cushion and momentum in Saturday’s 45-28 win over Akron in the Mid-American Conference championship at Ford Field. Toledo (11-2) won its third MAC title and first since 2004.
“You have to have trust in your quarterback – and I do,” Toledo coach Jason Candle said of the late first-half drive. “I thought if we could take a couple calculated risks and hit on them, we’d have a chance to go down and score. That was a huge drive in the football game. That really stuck out to me.”
Rockets running back Terry Swanson began the sequence with runs of 18,10 and 8 yards to get Toledo moving. Woodside, the conference’s offensive player of the year, finished it with a perfect pass to Johnson in the corner of the end zone.
“After Terry had a couple big runs, we took a couple shots and luckily Jon’Vea got open,” Woodside said. “I put the ball where it needed to be.”
Continuing his memorable season, Woodside was named the offensive player of the game, throwing for 307 yards and four touchdowns. He had 229 yards and three TDs in the opening half.
“He’s a great senior leader,” said Swanson, who finished with 21 carries for 180 yards and two scores. “Logan puts pressure on defenses, and it opens up the run game, as well.”
With Akron (7-6) trying to mount a comeback, trailing 38-14 early in the fourth quarter, Toledo defensive end Olasunkanmi Adeniyi sacked Zips quarterback Kato Nelson around midfield and forced a turnover on a fumble. On the Rockets’ ensuing offensive play, Swanson broke loose for a 54-yard scoring run, pushing the lead to 45-14.
Akron, seeking its first MAC championship since 2005, also had a field goal blocked in the second quarter with Toledo leading, 7-0.
“You can’t make that many mistakes… and expect to stay close to an offense that prolific,” Zips coach Terry Bowden said.
Diontae Johnson finished with nine receptions for 118 yards and two TDs for Toledo. Jon’Vea Johnson added six receptions for 103 yards.
Nelson threw for 177 yards and two scores for the Zips, and Kwadarrius Smith had three receptions for 114 yards and a score.
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