ORLANDO, Fla. — Quarterback Parker Navarro capped Ohio’s championship season Friday afternoon at the 10th annual StaffDNA Cure Bowl with a performance he’ll never forget for a team his school will always remember.
Navarro accounted for four touchdowns, including a dazzling touchdown flip to Anthony Tyus III just before halftime, propelling the Bobcats to a 30-27 triumph over Jacksonville State Friday at Camping World Stadium.
Navarro’s signature play — a scrambling, 12-yard lob to Tyus — evaded a sack by Curley Young Jr. and pushed the Bobcats’ lead to 27-7 with 41 seconds left in the first half.
The Bobcats needed that margin to fend off a determined second-half comeback attempt by Jax State. The Gamecocks outscored Ohio in a penalty- and turnover-filled second half, 20-3, and it cut Ohio’s lead to 30-27 on Tray Stewart’s 1-yard scoring run with 3:35 to play.
But in a game that featured nearly 900 yards of offense, the Bobcats’ running game ground out two first downs to run out the clock before a sun-splashed crowd at Camping World Stadium.
“It was awesome. A beautiful day,” said Navarro, who was named the StaffDNA Cure Bowl Most Valuable Player after throwing for 227 yards and a score and running for 119 yards and three more touchdowns. “It was a hard-fought win, and those are the sweet ones.”
This was sweeter than many in Ohio’s history.
Following their first Mid-American Conference championship since 1968, this victory gave the Bobcats (11-3) their first 11-win season in their 131-year history. They’ll carry a seven-game winning streak into the 2025 season under new coach Brian Smith, who wore headsets for the first time Friday as a head coach.
Ohio elevated Smith from offensive coordinator to interim head coach following the departure of Tim Albin for UNC-Charlotte earlier this month. Then, on Dec. 18, he had the interim removed from his job title.
“It’s been special,” said Smith, who coached his first game this year from the sidelines. “We’ve been talking about this as a special year for our football program, and it was nice to finish it off.”
Navarro, a graduate transfer who started his college career in Orlando at UCF, was 19-for-28 passing and had one interception. He directed an offense that gained 488 yards, 261 yards on the ground.
Tyus rushed for 123 yards on 26 carries, and the Bobcats averaged 5.7 yards a carry en route to winning their sixth bowl game in a row.
Jax State’s oft-stubborn 3-3-5 defense took too much time to nail down the Bobcats’ array of zone reads and quarterback options.
Navarro had two first-quarter touchdowns — runs of 24 and eight yards — and Ohio never trailed.
Jax State quarterback Tyler Huff found Charles Vaughn open on a short slant, which Vaughn turned into a 75-yard catch-and-run score to cut Ohio’s lead to 14-7. The play was the longest offensive touchdown in StaffDNA Cure Bowl history.
But Navarro ran for another score from seven yards out, then closed out the half with his Patrick Mahomes’ imitation.
“Once I was able to settle in, I was able to get on a roll,” Navarro said. “The opportunities were there.”
Under interim coach Rod Smith, the Gamecocks (9-4) never got their vaunted running game going. They led Conference USA in rushing, averaging 257 yards a game. Against Ohio, they gained a season-low 40 yards.
“We’ve handled so much adversity this past month. Going to the MAC Champions and then getting shocked by coach leaving, but we came here and got it done,” said Ohio defensive end Bradley Weaver, who had five tackles, a tackle for loss and a fumble recovery. “I was really proud of my guys. We got stops, got turnovers . . . we held their rushing offense pretty good. We take so much pride in our run defense.”
Tray Stewart, Jax State’s 1,000-yard rusher, scored two touchdowns but gained only 32 yards on 15 carries. His longest run was 14 yards.
“We kind of killed ourselves in the first half. Got behind, too far behind,” said Huff, who was 21-for-33 passing for 363 yards with one touchdown and an interception but who also was sacked four times.
Despite the 20-point halftime deficit, Jax State found a way to get back in the game. Jack Wilson’s 13-yard punt set the Gamecocks up at Ohio’s 20-yardline early in the third quarter.
Huff converted the opportunity with a seven-yard run for a 27-14 game.
“It would have been easy to fold right there at halftime,” Huff said. “We had a three-and-out coming out [to start the second half], but that short punt swung the momentum. We got back into it after that.”
A 26-yard catch-and-run by Stewart set up his 3-yard scoring plunge with 9:52 to play, and suddenly Ohio’s lead was only 30-20 after a failed two-point conversion run.
Stewart’s final score came too late for Jax State. And none too soon for the Bobcats.
“It’s special for the people of Athens [Ohio]. It means a ton,” Navarro said of the 2024 season. “I’ve just realized how much this means to the people in Athens. This will be a memory I will forever cherish.”
BRINGING TEAMS TOGETHER TO FIND A CURE FOR CANCER
To date, the StaffDNA Cure Bowl has been a platform to donate more than $4.14 million to fund cancer research.
Of the total donated, more than $1.6 million in grants have been distributed the UCF College of Medicine and their researcher Dr. Annette Khaled, head of the Division of Cancer Research at the UCF College of Medicine. Dr. Khaled held a checking during the first quarter, representing the $660,000 raised for cancer research since 2015 through the Cure Bowl alone.
FFVA Mutual presented a check to the Orlando Sports Foundation in the first quarter. A check of $30,000 was presented by FFVA Mutual President Alan Hair, Bob Lehnen, Melissa Hide, Fred Allen, Liz Chalker and Heidi Welch to Orlando Sports Foundation CEO Alan Gooch.
SoftWash Systems also presented a check for $30,000 to the Orlando Sports Foundation. Based in Sanford, Fla., SoftWash Systems has a national network of more than 250 soft-washing professionals. AC and Karen Lockyer, Dan Holland, Ted and Megan Michaelis and Renee Towene made the presentation.
The Orlando Sports Foundation’s mission is to bring teams together to find a cure for cancer.
About StaffDNA
Established in Plano, Texas, in 2020, StaffDNA® created the industry’s first Digital Marketplace for Healthcare Careers®, a patent-pending platform that directly connects job seekers and healthcare facilities in need of workforce solutions. Job seekers have access to fully-transparent job and pay details upfront, while hiring managers can hire in real time by directly connecting with candidates, who are a match for their open positions. The platform supports all professions, specialties, job types, and an array of settings nationwide. StaffDNA® has won numerous awards for being a best place to work, one of the fastest-growing companies, and for its groundbreaking technology.
To learn more, visit StaffDNA.com or call 888.988.7323. StaffDNA®’s app is available to download in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
About the StaffDNA Cure Bowl
The StaffDNA Cure Bowl is more than a game. It is a platform to raise awareness for cancer research and recognize those that are fighting cancer or have survived cancer. Funds raised from the StaffDNA Cure Bowl directly benefit cancer research organizations such as the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF). Since 2015, the bowl has helped raise a collective $4.1 million dollars to benefit cancer research. To learn more, visit CureBowl.com
About the Orlando Sports Foundation
The Orlando Sports Foundation (OSF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit membership organization dedicated to raising funds and awareness for cancer research. The OSF holds several events throughout the year, including the Cure Bowl, which is an NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) college football bowl game played each December.
With the combined support of Central Floridians, loyal sports fans, and strategic partners, the OSF is further dedicated and committed to serving the challenges of cancer awareness and elimination, by invigorating the Central Florida athletic community thru its Cure All Stars events, supporting youth organizations with standards of benevolence, integrity, and moral excellence.
The OSF works with our stakeholders to involve the entire community to join us in our quest to bring teams together to find a cure for cancer. The OSF focuses on research because we all know we will have to continue to manage the problem until we solve it. We focus our efforts on cancer because it touches so many lives worldwide, cancer does not discriminate. Together, we can tackle this. Click here to donate.
About ESPN Events
ESPN Events, a division of ESPN, owns and operates a portfolio of collegiate sporting events nationwide. In 2024, the 34-event schedule includes four early-season college football kickoff games, 17 college bowl games, 10 college basketball events, the premier regular season college softball and gymnastics events, as well as the inaugural Band of the Year National Championship. Collectively, these events account for over 400 hours of live programming on ESPN platforms, reaching 60 million viewers and attracting over 650,000 annual attendees. Each year, the portfolio of events features more than 20 Division I conferences and hosts over 4,000 participating student-athletes. With satellite offices in more than 10 cities across the country, ESPN Events builds relationships with conferences, schools and local communities, as well as providing unique experiences for teams and fans. Follow ESPN Events on Facebook, Twitter/W and YouTube.
