Ohio hangs on to defeat Akron 14-12 in MAC opener

AKRON, Ohio -- Derrius Vick threw for one touchdown, Daz'mond Patterson ran for another and the Ohio defense made that hold up for a 14-10 win over Akron in the Mid-American Conference opener on Saturday. Despite out-gaining the Bobcats by nearly 100 yards, the Zips (2-3) were limited to four Robert Stein field goals. After Stein's 30-yard field goal with 3:55 to play, Ohio (4-1) went three-and-out. However, the Bobcat defense got a sack by Quentin Poling on second down and Ian Wells broke up a fourth-down pass to seal the win. After Stein staked Ohio to a 3-0 lead midway through the first quarter, Vick connected with Keith Heitzman for a 24-yard score. Early in the second Patterson scored on a 4-yard run before Stein kicked a 33-yarder three seconds before halftime. Stein booted a 41-yard field goal late in the third quarter. Akron had 319 total yards to 227 for Ohio.