Finally, after over 23 quarters of football, the Bowling Green Falcon defense now has an
interception to its credit.It came in Saturday’s 28-7 win over UMass, but it wasn’t easy. PHOTO GALLERYPaul Senn, who
made the highlight reels with his punt block and return for a touchdown against Indiana earlier this season,
picked off a pass from UMass’ Mike Wegzyn early in the fourth quarter.However, the Falcons were called for
defensive holding on the play, and the interception was wiped out.Two plays later, the Falcons got one to
put in the books when Ryland Ward picked off Wegzyn in the end zone and returned it 18 yards.‘‘It was just a
great executed play by the whole defense,’’ Ward said. ‘‘I just saw the opportunity to go up and make the
play. I was happy I came down with it … It really feels good to come away with the first one.‘‘They (the
BG coaching staff) have really been harping on us about creating turnovers,’’ Ward continued. ‘‘It really
bothered the whole defense, but mainly the secondary.’’Ward’s play snapped a streak of 261 consecutive
passes by opponents between interceptions.‘‘We have been in position to create turnovers (in previous
games), but we just haven’t come down with the ball; or just situations where we could have made the play,
and the play wasn’t made,’’ Ward said.‘‘We are not satisfied. We for sure want more interceptions, more
turnovers.’’BESTS: Four Falcons posted single-game career bests in the game.• Travis Greene rushed for a
career-high 160 yards on 22 carries.‘‘He’s really starting to become a complete back,’’ BG head coach Dave
Clawson said.• Aided by a 47-yard ramble, Andre Givens finished with a career-high 60 rushing yards.•
Freshman Ronnie Moore, who had a 51-yard TD pass, had a career-high 91 receiving yards.• Heath Jackson
finished with four receptions for 33 yards, both career-bests. He also scored his first career TD, on a
9-yard pass from Matt Johnson.Jackson got playing time when Ryan Burbrink was injured.‘‘Heath has battled a
lot of injuries. It’s certainly not the career he envisioned for himself when he came here,’’ Clawson said.
‘‘To his credit, he’s gone out there and worked every day, and done everything we’ve asked on special
teams.‘‘When a guy goes down like Ryan Burbrink, you always want to know: Is the next guy prepared to go?’’
Clawson continued. ‘‘It was great to see him catch that touchdown.’’HOUSTON: William Houston scored his
seventh touchdown of the season.Six of his TDs, including the one against UMass, have been 1-yard runs. He’s
also scored on a 2-yard run.RED ZONE: BG has scored on 24-of-26 trips into the red zone in its five wins
this season. The two non-scoring trips came at the end of games, when the Falcons took a knee to run out the
clock.MAC EAST: With the win, the Falcons are 3-0 in games against the Mid-American Conference East.‘‘In the
first half of our season, the first six games, the one thing that had to happen was that we had to go 3-0 in
the conference,’’ Clawson said.‘‘We have now put ourselves in the position to get into November with
something to play for.’’NEXT: Bowling Green goes into SEC country to face Mississippi State next Saturday
with kickoff at 7:30 p.m.