FALCONS NOTEBOOK

Senn stunned by punt block for touchdown

Indiana cornerback Michael Hunter, Jr., breaks up a pass intended for Bowling Green wide receiver Shaun Joplin during Saturday's game. Joplin finished with seven catches for 104 yards.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Paul Senn blocked an Indiana punt Saturday in the Bowling Green State University football team’s 42-10 loss to the Hoosiers.

The most surprised person on the field may have been Senn himself.

“We got something a little different, scheme-wise, than we expected,” Senn said about the play, which came as the Hoosiers tried to punt from BG’s 44 with roughly five minutes left in the opening quarter. “It wasn’t designed for me to block the punt.

“I saw a chance and I took it. We needed big plays [to beat a] Big Ten team, and that’s what I was trying to do.”

Truth be told, the junior linebacker didn’t block the punt. He arrived just about the same time Erich Toth tried to drop the ball on his foot.

“I grabbed it midkick,” Senn said, adding that he had never done that before. “I thought I would block it, and then I got the ball in my hands — so I just kept running.”

Senn was credited with a 56-yard blocked punt return. It marked the first time a Bowling Green player returned a blocked punt for a touchdown since Marcus Allen brought one back for a score against Central Michigan in 2002.

The Falcons nearly blocked a second Indiana punt a few minutes later but missed, and freshman Isaiah Gourdine was whistled for roughing the punter. The Hoosiers took advantage of that mistake and drove to BG’s 1, where they were stuffed on both third and fourth downs.

From that point Indiana never punted again.

“We thought we could block a punt,” Falcons coach Dave Clawson said. “We just couldn’t get them to punt.

“On the second one we were close on. … But their punt team had the rest of the day off.”

PLAYING FOR DAD: Indiana junior wide receiver Cody Latimer is the son Colby Latimer, who lettered for the Falcons in 1986.

Colby Latimer died of colon cancer in 2005, and his son said playing a game against his father’s alma mater was “special.”

“I ‘talked’ to him before the game, and I told him to be with me and stay with and I’m going to go out and play my best,” Cody Latimer said.

Latimer finished with a team-leading six catches for a game-high 137 yards, including a 33-yard touchdown catch from Nate Sudfeld in the third quarter.

INJURY REPORT: Junior rover Gabe Martin suffered a leg injury early in the contest and did not return. He finished with a pair of tackles in the contest.

Late in the game freshman running back Fred Coppet was carried off the field after suffering an apparent hip injury. Coppet carried the ball seven times for 40 yards.

Junior defensive end Charlie Walker was in uniform during warm-ups but was not in uniform during the game as he attempts to come back from an injury suffered in the Tulsa win.

Senior running back Jordan Hopgood played against Indiana after missing the Kent State game. He finished with three yards on one rushing attempt.

And senior David “Chief” Kekuewa, who was injured late in the contest against the Golden Flashes, played against the Hoosiers on Saturday.

NOTES: The 45-yard field goal by Tyler Tate was the longest of his career. … Senior wide receiver Shaun Joplin caught seven passes for 104 yards. Those seven catches tied his career high, while this marked his second consecutive game over 100 yards. … D.J. Lynch led the Falcons with nine tackles, one shy of his career high, while Ryland Ward and Paul Swan each added eight tackles apiece.

Contact John Wagner at: jwagner@theblade.com, 419-724-6481 or on Twitter @jwagnerblade.