TOLEDO — Geoffrey Glass exploded for 212 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 13 carries and Toledo survived Cascade Christian’s second-half comeback attempt for a 48-32 non-league victory at home on Saturday.
What looked like a potential Riverhawks’ blowout in the first half turned into an offensive duel in the second half.
Toledo scored touchdowns on two of its first five plays of the day, starting with tailback Justin Filla’s 40-yard TD jaunt that featured a broken tackle and multiple jukes down the sideline to put the Riverhawks up 7-0.
After a defensive stop, running back Geoffrey Glass broke free on a rush up the middle and sprinted 33 yards for the score to give Toledo a 14-0 cushion with 2:02 left in the first quarter.
Cascade Christian then ate up eight minutes of clock to start the second quarter, culminating in a 23-yard touchdown pass to the corner of the end zone. Toledo blocked the PAT to make it 14-6.
Later, with 59 seconds left before the half, Toledo drove down the field on a combo of sideline passes and sweeps to set up Wyatt Nef’s 6-yard touchdown scamper as the halftime siren wailed to put Toledo up 21-6 going into the locker room.
“That was huge,” Toledo coach Mike Christensen said. “We timed it perfectly. We were waiting to use that.”
Toledo fumbled the second-half kickoff and the Cougars’ took advantage and scored to pull within one. Then it was a back-and-forth battle between Toledo’s vaunted rushing attack and Cascade Christian’s crisp passing game.
The Cougars used their 6-foot-plus wide receivers to combat Toledo’s secondary, which averages about 5 feet 9 inches. And the Riverhawks struggled to end drives, getting stops on first and second downs, then allowing passing first downs on third or fourth down.
“Their quarterback was on point,” Christensen said. “Every pass was perfect.”
The Cougars pulled within a score late in the third quarter but Toledo was able to hold them off and secure the win.
“Overall, proud of the way we played,” Christensen said.
Wyat Nef and Justin Filla each added two touchdowns in the victory.
Toledo (6-1, 2-1 league) travels to Kalama on Friday.
