Falcons notebook: Sanders has career day

BGSU receivers Steve Sanders and Charles Sharon salute each other after Sanders caught a touchdown pass in the second quarter. The Falcons received a celebration penalty on the play.

BOWLING GREEN - Steve Sanders did it all yesterday.

In addition to two touchdown receptions, the norm for the senior receiver lately, Sanders also rushed for a score on a 21-yard reverse.

His three scores were a career high.

"I'm just a product of great play calling," Sanders said. "It just so happened that it worked pretty well."

All of Sanders' scores came in the second quarter. First he caught a 20-yard pass, then the reverse, then a six-yard pass with 13 seconds left in the half.

One other piece of trickery didn't work out. Early in the game, Sanders took a handoff and dropped back to look for quarterback Omar Jacobs on the left side near the end zone, but he was tackled for a five-yard loss.

"That was the play I wanted. I wanted to throw the ball to Omar," Sanders said.

Jacobs was covered, but Sanders joked that wasn't an excuse.

"He told me he's Randy Moss, so I need to put it up there to him," Sanders said. "I got yelled at a little bit."

Sanders has caught two touchdowns in each of the Falcons' past five games, starting with the GMAC Bowl last December. He started the game tied for second in the country in touchdown receptions, and now has eight this season.

It was the third 100-yard receiving game of the season for Sanders and eighth of his career.

BLAST FROM THE PAST: On Friday the Falcons' defense had a visit from senior Jovon Burkes, a two-year captain for BGSU at linebacker.

"He came to remind us what kind of defense we had," cornerback Jelani Jordan said. "We don't want to be the second tier of the team."

"He yelled at us because we weren't running and hitting anybody, we were getting hit as a defense, and staying on the ground, we weren't running to the ball."

The speech worked as the Falcons forced five turnovers and gave up 263 yards of offense, their lowest total of the season.

FRY TIES: Senior Nate Fry of Findlay, who handled all kicking and punting duties for BGSU yesterday, tied a school record by making 10-of-10 extra points. Shaun Suisham also hit 10-for-10 against Temple last season.

ONE AWAY: Jacobs' four touchdown passes put him one off the school record for most in a career. He has 62 career touchdown passes. The record is 63 by Brian McClure, who played from 1982-1985.

EXTRA POINTS: The Falcons were penalized twice for excessive celebration after touchdowns. The first came because referees said the Falcons were saluting each other after Steve Sanders scored his first touchdown. The second was on Antonio Smith's interception return for a touchdown, when he was flagged for taunting. ... On Corey Partridge's punt return for a touchdown, the Falcons only had 10 players on the field. ... Brandon said he would let the seniors decide if the names would return to the Falcons' uniforms next week. ... Senior nose guard Mike Thaler forced his first career fumble in the third quarter. ... Redshirt freshman receiver Marques Parks made his first career start. ... Jordan's two interceptions gave him six in his career. ... Senor linebacker Jamien Johnson's fumble force and recovery were the first in his career.