On Location: Miami (Ohio) @ Kent State

Opening their MAC schedule, the Kent State Golden Flashes played host to the Miami Redhawks of Oxford, Ohio. In a steady rain throughout the night, Kent State won their conference opener 29-19.

The Key Play

Junior tailback Anthony Bowman—a native of Detroit, Michigan—took a first quarter kickoff 92 yards to paydirt to give Kent State a lead they would never relinquish.

Offensive Highlights

Golden Flashes – With fifth year senior Eugene Jarvis lost for the season, the Kent State faithful had to be reassured by the performance of sophomore running back Jacquise Terry. The converted wide receiver broke the century mark with 103 rushing yards and showed those in attendance that all was not lost when Jarvis went down.

Redhawks – While it’s premature to compare him to former Miami (Ohio) great Ben Roethlisberger, red-shirt freshman Zac Dysert has the wheels, as well as the arm to make things happen for the Redhawks. Compiling 444 yards of total offense—337 passing and 107 rushing—Dysert gave reason to believe he could one day join the long list of stellar MAC quarterbacks.

Defensive Highlights

Golden Flashes – Junior safety Dan Hartman earned his first interception of his career Saturday night. Hartman, who was a Labrae High School standout (located roughly 30 minutes from Kent State), made six tackles including four solo stops. Two of those six tackles where jaw jarring plays making him the College Football Insiders “On Location hard hitter of the game”.

Redhawks – Standing at only 5’ 9”, sophomore line backer Jerrell Wedge registered nine tackles. Wedge beat the Kent State offensive line twice on the way to quarterback to for 1.5 sacks (minus 11 yards).

Out of Wack Stat

The Miami (Ohio) Redhawks out-produced the Kent State Golden Flashes 552 yards to 250 and won the time of possession battle 34:38 to 25:22, but lost the game. Translation—it’s not about the stat sheet or the clock, it’s about the scoreboard.

Breakout Player

K Freddy Cortez, Kent State – After missing his first extra point attempt, it didn’t look like the true freshman from Fort Meade, Florida was in for a good evening, not in the rain. However, Cortez didn’t let the conditions or his shaky start hamper his coming out party, as he converted on his first field goal of his college career from 37 yards out, which he followed up with two more through the uprights (42 yards & 34 yards), leaving him three for three on field goal attempts.

Final Thoughts

Saturday night was damp, dark and rainy, but it was worth the trip for the 15,235 in attendance at Dix Stadium. The MAC schools provided an action packed game, which saw a total of 802 yards of offense and the home team come away a 29-19 winner. The Golden Flashes have now won back to back games over Miami (Ohio) for the first time since 1986, when Kent State took three straight.

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