By Mark Schmetzer
Enquirer contributor

OXFORD - Miami football coach Terry Hoeppner made no attempt to hide the glee he felt after the RedHawks beat Toledo 23-16 Tuesday night.

"I don't know when I've had more fun at a football game," Hoeppner said as Miami (6-3, 5-1 Mid-American Conference) clinched its 11th consecutive winning season and extended its home winning streak to 10 games. "I enjoyed that game from beginning to end."

He might have been tickled most by the play that helped set up the RedHawks' game-tying touchdown in the second quarter. Losing 13-6, Miami faced a fourth-and-3 on the Rockets' 16-yard line.

After first sending out the field-goal team, Hoeppner called time out as the 25-second play clock wound down, and sent the offense back out to run a version of the trick play the RedHawks used to beat Cincinnati in 2002.

Miami lined up in a "swinging gate" formation, with eight players grouped near the left hash mark and three in the middle of the field. Instead of the field-goal formation of two years ago, Ryne Robinson lined up in the shotgun, took a direct snap and gained 4 yards.

"I have three or four different options," said Robinson, who caught nine passes for 146 yards. "If they're not coming to get me, I'm looking to run for yards. If they do come and get me, I'm looking for my receivers."

"I have a lot of confidence in (Robinson)," Hoeppner said. "When you put the ball in his hands, something good is bound to happen."

Robinson wasn't the only receiver to enjoy a noteworthy night. Senior Michael Larkin extended to 46 his streak of consecutive games with at least one reception, tying the MAC record set by Toledo's Mel Long Jr. from 1997-2000.