Moon Township, Pa. – The RMU football team took to the road for the first time on the 2022 season Saturday, traveling to Oxford, Ohio, and falling to Miami (Ohio) at Yager Stadium, 31-14. The Colonials dipped to 0-2 to open the season.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
The RedHawks won the coin toss, elected to receive and capitalized, getting a 38-yard field goal from Graham Nicholson to open up a 3-0 lead. The Colonials responded on the second play of their next drive. Out of the shotgun junior
Anthony Chiccitt hooked up with tight end
Dylan Smith, who scampered 64 yards after the catch to the one-yard line of Miami (Ohio). Michael Dowell stopped the score by pulling Smith down, but RMU punched it in two plays later when running back
Anthony Purge scored up the middle from two yards out. Kicker
Jayson Jenkins added the extra point to give RMU a 7-3 lead.
ON THE GROUND
On the ensuing drive for the RedHawks, junior linebacker
Amauri Floyd jarred the ball loose from Jaylon Bester, with safety
Jacob White coming up with the fumble recovery for the Colonials. RMU was unable to move the chains, however, and a 46-yard field goal attempt from Jenkins was off the mark. Miami (Ohio) responded, driving 71 yards on 11 plays and capping it with a 17-yard touchdown pass from Aveon Smith to Luke Bolden to grab a 10-7 lead with 3:42 left on the clock in the first quarter.
AT THE BREAK
Miami added two more touchdowns in the second quarter, including a 22-yard touchdown pass from Smith to Mac Hippenhammer and a one-yard touchdown run from Keyon Mozee, to grab a 24-7 lead at halftime. Smith would end up finishing 14-for-22 passing for 155 yards and three touchdowns in the contest, hooking up with Hippenhammer twice for scores. The second score came with 9:47 remaining and opened up a 31-7 lead for Miami (Ohio).
IN RELIEF
Junior quarterback
Jake Simmons came on in relief of Chiccitt for the second consecutive game and hit senior wide receiver
Amir Jordan with an eight-yard touchdown pass to close out the scoring, pulling the Colonials to within 31-14 with just 19 ticks left on the clock. Simmons finished 8-for-13 for 41 yards, while Chiccitt was 10-of-16 for 138 yards.
DYNAMIC DUO
In addition to forcing a fumble, Floyd tied for game-high honors in tackles with 10, including four solo takedowns. Linebacker
Joe Casale also recorded 10 stops, helping the pair each record a double-digit tackle game in each of RMU's first two contests of the season. Senior
Sydney Audiger added eight tackles, including one for a loss, and returned an interception 36 yards in the second quarter that set up the offense for the Colonials at the 48-yard line of the RedHawks.
UP NEXT
RMU has a bye week before returning home to Joe Walton Stadium to host East Tennessee State in a Noon kickoff Saturday, Sept. 24, as part of Parents and Family Weekend. Presented by
Chick-fil-A Robinson, the first 1,000 fans receive a cowbell.
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