BOWLING GREEN — Traveling up and down the list of former Bowling Green signing classes, it’s startling how few players are still in orange and brown this season.
However, for the select few Falcons who stayed at Bowling Green for the long haul — through loss after loss, change after change — all of them had their moments on an unforgettable day.
Bowling Green shocked Toledo 20-7 on Saturday at Doyt Perry Stadium, the Falcons’ first win in the series in 10 years and likely the biggest upset in the history of the rivalry.
The Falcons did so on the backs of the players who experienced the drought more than anyone. Redshirt senior Nico Lautanen played his best game as a Falcon, with three tackles for loss, two sacks, and a fumble recovery. His memory drifted to former teammates, none of whom beat the Rockets in their careers.
“When I think about this game, I just think about all the players before me and all the players before them,” Lautenen said. “I know how much this rivalry game means to them.”
Sixth-year senior David Konowalski came up with a key fourth-quarter sack, while redshirt senior offensive lineman Jack Kramer paced a BG rushing attack that helped the Falcons run for 240 yards. Redshirt senior Antonyo Sotolongo stepped in because of injury and made six tackles, and fellow safety Jamari Bozeman — who returned for his final season at BG in honor of his late brother — picked off a pass that sealed the win.
Bowling Green saw Saturday’s result as a fitting tribute for their players who navigated the rockiest of waters in their tenures with the BGSU football program.
“They’ve seen what it takes to win a MAC championship, and they’ve also been through a couple-year streak where they don’t win a whole lot of games,” Falcons quarterback Grant Loy said. “Just to see those guys in that time that I’ve been here continue to be leaders and continue to push forward, that was awesome to see that.
“They finally get paid back today.”
Falcons coach Scot Loeffler noted Saturday that he was not around for the hardest times in the rivalry series.
However, for the people who were around, especially the players who finally beat Toledo in their last chance, Loeffler said they attained something no one can take from them.
“Fifteen years, 20 years from now when they have beautiful kids running around, a great wife, they’ve got great jobs, they’ll be able to get together and they will never forget this moment,” Loeffler said. “That’s what college football is all about, those special moments, those bonds, those unities, the brotherhood.
“They have something that they can walk out the door with that no one can never take away from them. I’m super happy for all of them.”
When Loeffler coached his first game this season, he became the seventh man to coach BG since 2013, the most in the country during that span. The current fifth and sixth-year Falcons also went through three years during which BG won nine times in 36 games.
A Falcons team that had not beaten a Bowl Subdivision team at home in almost three calendar years pulled off the program’s most unlikely win against rival Toledo.
“I’m just so proud of the guys in that locker room,” Lautanen said. “I can’t say it enough.”
Asked about the older players who made the day possible, Loeffler paused for a moment, then smiled.
“They left a legacy,” he said. “Plain and simple.”
First Published October 12, 2019, 11:57 p.m.
