Sep 1, 2007, 20:15 GMT
Columbus, OH - Todd Boeckman passed for 225 yards and two touchdowns as the 11th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes hammered Youngstown State 38-6 at Ohio Stadium.
Boeckman, trying to fill the shoes of 2006 Heisman Trophy quarterback Troy Smith, completed 17-of-23 passes for Ohio State (1-0), which will continue its soft non-conference, early-season schedule when it hosts Akron on September 8.
Brandon Saine ran for 42 yards on 10 carries with a touchdown and Taurian Washington had a 37-yard catch for another score from backup quarterback Antonio Henton. Dane Sanzenbacher also caught a three-yard touchdown pass for the Buckeyes.
Tom Zetts threw for only 86 yards on 10-of-18 passing for Youngstown State (0-1).
Ohio State got its first points of the season 5:24 into the first quarter. Boeckman hooked up for a three-yard touchdown pass to Sanzenbacher, putting the finishing touches on a nine-play, 70-yard drive to give the home team the early advantage.
'I think I made some good passes and then I made some bad passes,' Boeckman said. 'I've been waiting four years for this opportunity and now that I have a shot at leading this team, I wanted to take advantage of it. Troy (Smith) did some great things here but now we have new guys and a new team and we want to surprise some people.'
After both teams exchanged punts, Youngstown State started on its own 20, but had little success moving the ball against the Buckeyes defense. Jabari Scott rushed for a modest five-yard gain and following an incomplete pass by Zetts, the Penguins quarterback was sacked for a 10-yard loss by Lawrence Wilson. Youngstown State attempted to punt out of its own end zone but had the kick partially blocked, giving Ohio State the ball in prime position, starting at the Penguins 26. The Buckeyes need to run only six plays before Wells ran it in from a yard out, making the score 14-0 on the first play in the second stanza.
Brian Palmer's 21-yard field goal got Youngstown State on the scoreboard, completing a 13-play, 81-yard drive.
The Buckeyes got into the end zone again right before the half when Saine pushed his way in for a one-yard score to give Ohio State a 21-3 lead heading into the intermission.
OSU came out of the locker room for the second half and picked up right where they left off in the first. Starting from their own 30-yard line, the Buckeyes moved the ball effectively down the field behind some hard running by Wells and a 23-yard hook up from Boeckman to Brian Robiskie, but the offense hit a snag and Ryan Pretorius was called on to boot a 24-yard field goal to make it 24-3.
Youngstown State added three more points midway through the third quarter. Stephen Blose converted on a 41-yard field goal following a sack of Boeckman by Vince Gliatta and fumble recovery by Jon Penick that led to the score.
'We came into this game and we just wanted to take something away (from Ohio State),' Youngstown State head coach Jon Heacock said. 'When you do that you leave players like (Brian) Hartline and (Brian) Robiskie open and they are very talented.'
Boeckman regained his composure on the next series and led the Buckeyes on a 14-play, 63-yard drive and capped it off on the second play of the fourth quarter when he dropped back on third down and found Trever Robinson in the end zone for a one-yard score to give Ohio State a comfortable 31-6 lead.
Ohio State struck again midway through the fourth when Henton connected on a 37-yard catch and run by Washington that upped the Buckeyes advantage to 38-6.
Game Notes
Lawrence left the game midway through the second quarter after suffering a broken right leg...Youngstown State will play at South Dakota State on September 8.
© 2007 The Sports Network
Game Notes.
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