Rockets rally for win over Temple in OT

TOLEDO, Ohio The Toledo Rockets delivered a dramatic comeback Saturday afternoon at the Glass Bowl, erasing a 14-point deficit in the final minutes before stunning Temple, 49-48 in overtime. Temple controlled much of the afternoon and carried a 24-14 advantage into halftime before Toledo began chipping away. The Owls appeared to put the game away when Samuel Brown’s two-yard touchdown run stretched the lead to 42-28 with 6:40 remaining. But quarterback John Alan Richter and the Rockets refused to fold. Richter hit CJ Miller for a 10-yard touchdown with 1:05 remaining, then Toledo recovered the ensuing onside kick. Just nine seconds later, Richter connected with Daryl Barnett Jr. for a 23-yard touchdown, completing a stunning two-score surge that tied the game at 42 and sent the Glass Bowl into overtime. Richter finished with career highs of 429 passing yards and four touchdowns as Toledo piled up 536 yards of total offense.

Toledo kept the pressure on in overtime, opening the extra period with a 24-yard completion to Sam Lee before Connor Walendzak powered in from one yard, giving the Rockets a 49-42 advantage. Temple quarterback Ajani Sheppard answered with a 22-yard touchdown run, and the Owls decided to go for two rather than kick the tying extra point. Toledo’s defense delivered when it mattered most, forcing an incomplete pass on the two-point conversion to seal the one-point thriller. The victory moved Toledo to 2-1 , while Temple fell to 1-2. In a game that looked all but finished late in the fourth quarter, the Rockets turned 65 frantic seconds, an onside-kick recovery and one final defensive stand into a, early-season victory.