Bossier Press-Tribune Online

The Ohio University Bobcats dominated the 2012 Advocare V100 Indepen-dence Bowl Friday afternoon at Independence Stadium.
Thanks to two long passes, the Bobcats scored touchdowns on their first two possessions and rolled to a 45-14 victory over Louisiana-Monroe before an announced crowd of 41,853 (tickets sold) on a cold, blustery day at Independence Stadium.
ULM, playing in its first bowl game in the school’s history, got within seven after Ohio’s early outburst. But the Bobcats stretched the lead to 24-7.
The Warhawks reached the Ohio 1 after converting a fourth-down pass during the waning seconds of the half. But ULM quarterback Kolton Browning was sacked and then threw three straight incompletions.
The Bobcats (9-4) dominated the second half as ULM (8-5) never made a game of it.
The 31-point margin was an Independence Bowl record, topping the previous high of 25 set by Virginia Tech against Indiana in 1993. Ohio’s 45 points tied the bowl record.
Ohio’s Beau Blankenship rushed for 105 yards on 19 carries and scored a record four touchdowns.
Ohio junior quarterback Tyler Tettleton completed 14 of 22 passes for 331 yards and two touchdowns. Chase Cochran finished with 162 yards receiving on three catches, including a touchdown, while Tyler Futtrell had five catches for 133 yards.
The Ohio defense forced three interceptions of ULM junior quarterback Kolton Browning. The Bobcats held the Warhawk offense to just 314 total yards.
Blankenship and Tettleton were named Co-Offensive Players of the Game, while junior linebacker Keith Moore was named Defensive Player of the Game. Moore finished the game with nine total tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack.