OXFORD, Ohio — It's been the story of the season. True to their name, the Minutemen jump out to a fast start. Unfortunately, they can't seem to reload in the second half, a characteristic that spoiled what looked for certain to be their first win of the year. In the face of a 41-14 deficit, the Miami RedHawks surmounted an epic comeback Saturday to top UMass, 42-41, in a thrilling contest at Yager Stadium.
The longest active losing streak in college football came to an end at 21 games as the town of Oxford took an audible, collective sigh of relief. The Minutemen fell to 0-6.
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"We gave them the momentum," UMass coach Mark Whipple said. "And we just couldn't finish."
Despite scoring a program-record 41 points in the first half, UMass couldn't close the door in the second half. Miami scored four unanswered touchdowns, and carried by freshman receiver Sam Martin and his 111-yard, four-touchdown day, the RedHawks captured their first victory since October 27, 2012.
It was all UMass to begin the contest, as sophomore tailback Shadrach Abrokwah and junior wide out Marken Michel converted on the first two Minutemen drives. Miami forced its way onto the score sheet at the 13:15 mark of the second quarter on a 30-yard pass from Andrew Hendrix, but was immediately met with a Minuteman response – Khary Bailey-Smith dazzled his way past Miami special teams and broke more than a few tackles on his way to a 93-yard kickoff return.
After trading another pair of touchdowns, it was looking like the RedHawks would lie down and accept their 22d straight defeat after three straight UMass strikes.
But Miami turned the tables in a dramatic second-half comeback. Hendrix compiled 528 total yards and five total touchdowns en route to his first win as a starter. UMass did traverse 77 yards in the final minute but was stopped short of a TD on first and goal from the 3-yard line as time expired.
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Senior quarterback Blake Frohnapfel had a phenomenal game for UMass, completing 35 for 59 passes for 389 yards, four touchdowns, and an interception. Abrokwah rushed 25 times for 128 yards and scored both a rushing and receiving touchdown. He did, however, commit the final fumble that led to Miami's winning drive.
Rokeem Williams and Sam Martin both finished with 100-plus yard receiving games for the RedHawks, while Tajae Sharp accrued 154 yards receiving for the Minutemen. Neither defense shined in the contest, which featured 1,111 combined yards. And like the score, the yardage was almost even: Miami finished with a 557-554 edge.
For the Minutemen, it was another crushing blow — like the RedHawks, they've had trouble finding a way to win this year.
This week marks the fourth time in their previous five contests that the Minutemen lost a game decided by 5 points or less, and in each case they held the lead at some point of the second half.
"We're playing in close games," Whipple explained. "We're getting our chances, and we'll line it up next week."
Sophomore linebacker Jovan Santos-Knox took it one step further than his coach.
"That whole time we thought we were going to win," Santos-Knox said. "We just let one go . . . this one hurts. It's what it comes down to; we've just got to learn how to win. We put ourselves in these situations and we just don't.''
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