Recordpub.com - KSU knocks off Miami in MAC opener

By David Carducci

Record-Courier staff writer

Kent State took a step forward with a 29-19 victory over Miami University in Saturday’s Mid-American Conference opener at Dix Stadium.

But before the Golden Flashes’ long-suffering fans get too excited, it was only a baby step.

The Flashes still have some major problems to fix before they can be considered a serious contender in the East Division.

For now, KSU head coach Doug Martin is eager for his team to savor what he considerd a few major revelations.

“Right now, we are 1-0 in the Mid-American Conference,” said Martin. “And with this, Kent State now has back-to-back wins against Miami for the first time in 21 years.”

More important than anything else, though, was Kent State’s ability to finally play 60 minutes without committing a single turnover.

“Last week, we lost to Iowa State because we turned the ball over,” said Martin. “Not turning the ball over was enough for me tonight.”

And then there was the bad.

Kent State (2-2, 1-0) allowed a whopping 552 yards of total offense — a number that looked ugly in the final box score, but was actually a bigger indictment of the Flashes’ struggling offense.

The Flashes’ inability to convert third downs (2-for-11) or control the ball for more than a minute or two at a time led to an exhausted defense chasing around Zac Dysert — Miami’s fleet-footed freshman quarterback who ran for 107 yards and passed for another 337.

If KSU could have generated any offense at all in the second and third quarters, Martin’s squad would have spent the weekend enjoying a blowout. Instead, they needed a game-saving fourth-quarter drive just to secure the victory.

Thanks to three forced fumbles, two interceptions, a blocked punt and two turnovers forced on downs, the Flashes started a string of five consecutive second-and-third-quarter possessions inside Miami territory at the RedHawks 28, 16, 49, 38 and 34 yard lines. Those drives produced a meger six points.

When KSU was forced to settle for field goals of 37 and 42 yards by Freddy Cortez on its final two drives, it allowed Miami (0-4, 0-2) to go into the half trailing by just nine points, 19-10. The lead should have been so much more.

Kent State’s offense had to resort to trickery to score its only first-half touchdown — a 28-yard touchdown run by true freshman Dri Archer for a 16-3 early second-quarter lead.

Archer took the ball from between the legs of Giorgio Morgan, then stood as a statue as Morgan and backfield mate Sam Kirkland rolled to their right behind most of the Flashes’ offensive line. When Miami followed the crowd, Archer took off to his left and raced almost unnoticed to the end zone.

The Flashes other first-half touchdown came on a 92-yard kickoff return by Anthony Bowman in the second quarter.

At least Martin is finding the opportunity to count on a few special-teams performers.

“We’ve been haunted by special teams, so it is refreshing to win games and make plays in that area,” he said.

Martin may have also found found a running back to carry the load in the absence of injured star Eugene Jarvis.

Sophomore Jacquise “Speedy” Terry ran for 103 yards on 15 carries, with 54 of that total coming on a game-saving final drive. After watching the RedHawks battle back to within seven points on Trevor Cook’s 43-yard field goal with 5:45 to play, Terry gashed Miami on a series of runs. His 35-yard sprint with two minutes to play set the stage for a game-sealing 34-yard field goal by Cortez.

It was a pretty impressive performance for a running back who wasn’t even a running back just two weeks ago.

“It felt pretty good,” said Terry, who switched from wide receiver in the wake of Jarvis’ injury. “I thought about it all week. When the opportunity came, I knew I had to make plays.”

Kent State appeared to take a commanding 26-10 lead late in the third quarter when true freshman Spencer Keith tossed a 56-yard touchdown pass to Jameson Konz. The strike was Keith’s first pass of the night after replacing Morgan, who re-injured his left ankle on a third-quarter sack.

Miami answered quickly, though, closing the third on a 1-yard touchdown run by Thomas Merriweather. Another long scoring march, ending with Cook’s 43-yard field goal, put the pressure back on the Flashes to close out the win.

“It was a great way to finish the game,” said Martin. “That last drive, we really controlled the line. (Terry) really made some great cuts and some great runs. With (the rain) we were going to run the ball. Our players knew it. Their players knew it and they still couldn’t stop it.”

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David Carducci can be contacted at dcarducci@recordpub.com