Fri Feb 10 2012
By David Carducci
Record-Courier staff writer
YPSILANTI, Mich. — Kent State head coach Doug Martin spent a week talking to his players out of suffering a hangover after their miserable fourth-quarter meltdown against Bowling Green.
The cure didn’t involve gulping down large cups of coffee on the sidelines, and there was no talk about a “hair-of-the-dog” theory.
Instead, the Golden Flashes found the tonic for their hangover by playing near perfect football down the stretch and finishing off Eastern Michigan for a 28-6 win Saturday at Rynearson Stadium.
“This was a character check for our football team coming off a tough loss last week,” said Martin. “Our deal was to be emotionally ready to play, and I think our team did that from the opening kickoff to the end of the game.”
The Flashes jumped out to the fast start they needed, forcing a fumble on the game’s opening kickoff, then capitalizing with a 1-yard touchdown pass from Spencer Keith to tight end Jon Simpson.
In the blink of an eye, KSU’s lead jumped to 14-3 thanks to the team’s sixth one-play touchdown drive of the season — a 48-yard scoring strike from Keith to fellow true-freshman Tyshon Goode midway through the first quarter.
The quick start was great, but KSU has started fast before.
What this team needed was a strong finish to avoid another late collapse.
“We didn’t want that to happen again,” said linebacker Cobrani Mixon. “We learned from last week. That’s what you can take from heartbreakers like that. You can learn from it. We talked all week about being like a sledgehammer, and wanting to finish.”
The stage was set eerily similar to last week when Kent State dominated for 45 minutes and took a 12-point lead into the fourth quarter.
On Saturday, the Flashes controlled the action for three quarters against Eastern Michigan and led by 15 points with 15 minutes to play.
The offense stayed aggressive, extending their lead with a trick play — an option-pass ending with wide receiver Leneric Muldrow tossing a 31-yard touchdown to Kendrick Pressley with 8:40 to play.
All 11 Eagle defenders bit on the play, leaving Pressley all alone on the right side of the field. When he caught the ball, there wasn’t another player within 20 yards of him.
Muldrow’s scoring pass was his second in three weeks. At 2-for-2 with two touchdowns and 66 yards on wide-receiver passes, Muldrow owns a perfect 724 pass-efficiency rating.
“I love it, when on Sundays, coach comes in and says ‘Hey, we got a trick play for you,’ ” said Muldrow. “I’m just waiting for the opportunity, and when he gives it to me, I have to make a play.”
KSU’s offense remained aggressive after getting the football back with 6:43 on the game clock, picking up four first downs in 14 plays and taking a knee to end the game.
The defense was just as aggressive in the home stretch, and it needed to be. The Flashes’ only two sacks of the game — one by Zach Williams and another split between Monte Simmons and Kevin Hogan — were recorded in the game’s final 10 minutes.
The momentum on defense may have been created by a spectacular goalline stand to open midway through the second quarter. After allowing Eastern to pick up a first down inside the KSU 1-yard line, the Flashes stuffed four straight running plays — the last when lineman Quinton Rainey stuffed Terrence Blevins for a 5-yard loss on fourth down.
Eastern head coach Ron English called the stand the turning point of the game.
“When you have first-and-goal (inside) the 2-yard line, you should be able to get two yards,” said English, whose team fell to 0-6 overall and 0-3 in Mid-American Conference play. “To be good, you have to be able to gain a yard when you need to.”
The win improved Kent State (3-4 overall) to 2-1 in MAC play, setting up a battle for second place in the East Division next week at Ohio University.
“We got ourselves back with an opportunity to have a meaningful game next week,” said Martin. “I know we will be excited to go play that one.”
•••
David Carducci can be contacted at dcarducci@recordpub.com
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