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OXFORD — Clay Belton is open for business. The redshirt freshman has been given a chance to play quarterback for Miami University.

Unfortunately for Belton and his teammates, the colossal move did not result in a colossal change. All that happened Saturday, Oct. 4, was the RedHawks' winning percentage got a little smaller and their season got a little bleaker.

Temple withstood a Miami comeback in the third quarter after Belton replaced starter Daniel Raudabaugh and defeated the RedHawks 28-10 in their Mid-American Conference opener at Yager Stadium.

Belton, who had seen only limited action this year, came onto the field on Miami's first possession of the second half with his team trailing 14-0.

The first drive ended with Nathan Parseghian kicking a 34-yard field goal. Belton's second drive resulted in Thomas Merriweather scoring on a 2-yard touchdown run. With 5:05 left in the third quarter, it was 14-10. Miami was very much in the game, and Belton was, understandably, excited.

"The thing was, when Coach (Shane) Montgomery came up to me and informed me I'd have a chance to play in the second half, I felt comfortable," Belton said. "I had all the players' support. I felt that it went very well."

Not perfect, though.

Robbie Wilson intercepted a pass from Temple quarterback Chester Stewart at the Owls' 39-yard line. The RedHawks moved to the Temple 33-yard line and went for it on fourth-and-4. Running back Andre Bratton needed 4 yards, and he was stopped after gaining 2.

The momentum was back with Temple, and Stewart fired touchdown passes of 43 and 6 yards to Bruce Francis to put the game out of reach for Miami, which fell to 1-4 overall.

Stewart, who had not thrown a touchdown pass in the Owls' first five games, finished the day 11-for-23 for 178 yards, three touchdowns and one interception for Temple (2-4, 1-2 MAC).

Temple coach Al Golden said Stewart "became a man in the fourth quarter. ... Hopefully, people will get a sense of what sort of talent he's got."

Montgomery said he decided to go with Belton "because I felt we needed a spark. Daniel didn't play very well in the first half. He missed some throws.

"I thought (Belton) provided us with a spark," the Miami coach said. "We ran the ball pretty effectively, taking the pressure off him, putting him in a lot of third-and-mediums and third-and-shorts."

Merriweather ran for a career-high 133 yards for the RedHawks, who face back-to-back road games at Northern Illinois next Saturday, then play at Bowling Green on Oct. 18.

Montgomery said he isn't sure who will play at quarterback "until we look at the film. We've got to get a lot better in our quarterback play."

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2197

or pconrad@coxohio.com.