FOSTORIA — Four Bowling Green backs ran for over 100 yards each as the visiting Bobcats defeated Fostoria, 51-28, at Memorial Stadium Friday.

In the revival of a former Great Lakes League rivalry from decades ago, BG improved to 2-0 on the season while the Redmen fell to 1-1.

BG senior running back Peyton Harris ran for 121 yards on 22 carries and two touchdowns, senior slot Reece Rath ran for 120 yards on 13 carries and two TDs, junior slot Ja’ceous Shannon ran for 103 yards on 11 carries and one TD, and junior slot Jackson Shafer gained 101 yards on nine carries with two TDs.

It was the game plan all along to run the football out of the winged-T offense, utilizing multiple counters, only you didn’t know which direction it was coming from. It resulted in long, systematic drives that ate up the clock.

“It was a good job by our offensive line. I felt like our backs and tight ends played well,” BG coach Joshua Wade said.

“We like our stable of backs and that’s why we like to go to the style of offense that we do. You know, you game plan for one, we’ve got three more who can go the other way or do something else. That is the goal every week.”

Harris said the Bobcats noticed how the Redmen stacked up against a running attack when Fostoria defeated Van Buren, 17-13, in their season opener, so they knew how to take advantage.

“On film, we saw how they were going to stack up the box, so we just tried to do more outside and create, but we like to run people over like we always do,” Harris said.

Harris credited BG’s offensive line, which was visibly bigger than Fostoria’s defensive line. Ultimately, the Bobcats’ line took its toll, wearing down the Redmen.

“Man, they were just playing hard,” Harris said. “Like we can’t do it all ourselves, so we like them to get some pancakes (blocks) so we can run people over.”

There was another element to BG’s running attack, and that was keeping Fostoria’s offensive skilled players off the field.

The Bobcats only threw once, and that was a four-yard completion from junior quarterback Jamison Horst to senior receiver Casey Moore. The possession game worked in BG’s favor — in the third period Fostoria only got one series, four plays, from the line of scrimmage.

“We knew they had some guys who were pretty good with the ball in their hands,” Wade said. “They’d spread it out, make us play in space, so one of the best defenses is the offense keeps the ball.

“I felt like we did that. We choked the clock a little bit there, and most of the time it ended in a touchdown. When you play that style of football you have to make sure you get seven or eight (points) or whatever it is.”

Harris scored on a nine-yard and one-yard TD run, Rath scored on a 10-yard and 12-yard run, Shafer scored on a 13-yard and three-yard run and Shannon scored on an eight-yard run. Eight BG backs accounted for 492 yards on the ground.

The 6-foot, 211-pound Rath even had a big night on the other side of the ball from his defensive end position with two sacks.

Fostoria coach Derek Kidwell knew what his team was up against, and he prepared his team the best he could.

“It’s big boy football,” Kidwell said. “We knew when we saw last week’s film against Otsego (44-31 BG win) that we were going to have problems stopping them offensively.

“We stayed on the field too long defensively. We could not get stops when we needed,” Kidwell added.

“I thought our kids played hard, but that’s (BG) a good offensive football team. They are going to win a lot of football games this year. I like their kids resolve and fight. Their offensive line is big, and their running backs are good.”

The Redmen’s offense did have success early on keeping up with the Bobcats. A 36-yard run down the left sideline by sophomore running back Lance Miller led to a 20-yard TD pass from senior quarterback Gavin Miller to junior receiver Trenten Smith with 3:37 remaining in the first quarter.

Miller ran into the end zone untouched for the two-point conversion, and suddenly the game was tied 8-8.

After BG put together a nine-play, 65-yard scoring drive leading to one of Harris’ TDs, Fostoria senior kickoff returner Jordan Ferguson fumbled the kickoff return, which was recovered by sophomore Colby Joseph at the Fostoria 42-yard line.

The ironic thing was Ferguson, sophomore Lance Miller, and junior Brayden Harrison had been returning kickoffs to midfield or even further multiple times throughout the first half, setting up short fields for Fostoria, but this time carelessness cost the Redmen.

BG put together an 11-play drive, highlighted by a 19-yard run by Horst, leading to Harris’ second TD run and giving the Bobcats a 22-8 lead with 6:55 remaining in the first half.

Miller returned the ensuing kickoff to the BG 42 and the Redmen scored four plays later on an eight-yard run by senior back Matthew Balderama Jr. A conversion pass from Gavin Miller to Ferguson closed the gap to six, 22-16, but the Redmen were never able to tie the game again.

“I thought offensively we did some things, but the fumble on the kickoff changed momentum of the game,” Kidwell said.

“When you have two teams that are close to equal, or you are trying to pull an upset, you can’t have turnovers, and we had one too many tonight and it put us behind the eight-ball on the scoreboard. We were chasing it, but our kids fought, and we’ll be OK.”

For Fostoria, Lance Miller finished with 113 yards rushing on four carries, including a 75-yard TD run. Balderama had five carries for 53 yards, and Gavin Miller completed 7-of-15 passes for 77 yards.

That included three completions to senior Machi Johnson for 24 yards, two to junior Dakota Smith for 33 yards, and two to Trenten Smith for 35 yards.

Next Friday BG, now a member of the Northern Lakes League Cardinal Division, will travel for a non-league game against an NLL Buckeye Division opponent, Anthony Wayne (1-1).

“We’ve got a big one next week so hopefully we get healthy, and we’ll be ready to go,” Wade said.