ATHENS, Ohio (AP) — Nathan Rourke threw for three touchdowns and ran for three more, and Ohio pulled away to defeat rival Miami 45-28 on Tuesday night in the 94th Battle of the Bricks.
Rourke completed 21 of 33 passes for 294 yards and ran 10 times for 54 yards as the Bobcats (7-2, 4-1 Mid-American Conference) improved to 11-2 in the rivalry game under Frank Solich after winning just 29 before his arrival.
After the RedHawks (3-6, 2-3) tied the game at 28 on Billy Bahl’s third touchdown pass to James Gardner late in the third quarter, Rourke quickly answered with an 11-yard TD pass to Jerri Marhefka. Brendan Cope also had a 40-yard receiving touchdown and Papi White a 14-yarder. Rouke scored on three short runs and set a school quarterback record of 16 rushing TDs this season. Sophomore Louie Zervos also kicked his 40th field goal.
Gardner finished with 10 receptions for 166 yards, and Bahl went 28 of 51 for 350 yards, all career highs for both players.
Quentin Polin had four solo tackles to set the Ohio career record with 207.

Ohio U. stats
Miami (Ohio)    14    7    7    0    =    28
Ohio        14    14    7    10    =    45
First Quarter
OHI—Rourke 3 run (Zervos kick), 10:20
OHI—Cope 40 pass from Rourke (Zervos kick), 8:20
MOH—Gardner 14 pass from Bahl (Sloman kick), 4:11
MOH—Al.Smith 16 run (Sloman kick), 1:02
Second Quarter
OHI—Rourke 7 run (Zervos kick), 11:57
OHI—P.White 14 pass from Rourke (Zervos kick), 2:13
MOH—Gardner 3 pass from Bahl (Sloman kick), :17
Third Quarter
MOH—Gardner 25 pass from Bahl (Sloman kick), 3:15
OHI—Marhefka 11 pass from Rourke (Zervos kick), :29
Fourth Quarter
OHI—Rourke 1 run (Zervos kick), 10:42
OHI—FG Zervos 36, 6:48
———
MOH    OHI
First downs    21    26
Rushes-yards    23-98    36-149
Passing    350    294
Comp-Att-Int    28-51-2    21-33-0
Return Yards    137    74
Punts-Avg.    5-39.2    7-33.28
Fumbles-Lost    0-0    0-0
Penalties-Yards    10-95    6-50
Time of Possession    28:35    31:25
———
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Miami (Ohio), Al.Smith 10-81, K.Young 9-21, Bester 3-1, Bahl 1-(minus 5). Ohio, Ouellette 20-80, Rourke 10-54, D.Brown 6-15.
PASSING—Miami (Ohio), Bahl 28-51-2-350. Ohio, Rourke 21-33-0-294.
RECEIVING—Miami (Ohio), Gardner 10-166, Martin 5-81, R.Smith 5-57, Murphy 4-26, K.Young 3-15, Al.Smith 1-5. Ohio, Cope 5-89, P.White 5-80, Meyer 4-49, Mangen 3-49, Marhefka 3-27, Ouellette 1-0.
MISSED FIELD GOALS—Ohio, Zervos 51.