Comeback falls short in 17-14 battle at Northern Illinois

Saturday, October 4

DeKalb, Ill.

5:00 p.m. (Eastern)

Kent State University

0-5 , 0-2

Northern Illinois University

4-1 , 1-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Kent State

Northern Illinois

Comeback falls short in 17-14 battle at Northern Illinois

10/4/2014 9:10:00 PM | Football

Box Score

DEKALB, Ill. – Kent State suffered a heartbreaking 17-14 loss at Northern Illinois on Saturday as the Golden Flashes watched their top two quarterbacks leave the game with injuries in the game's closing minutes.

Colin Reardon marched the Flashes deep into Northern Illinois' territory with the hope of either tying or beating the Mid-American Conference standard bearer. But after scrambling for 8 yards and a first down with 3:33 to play, the Kent State starter was knocked out of the game after suffering an apparent lower leg injury on a slide at the Huskies 34-yard line.

Two plays later, backup Nathan Strock was helped off of the field, forcing the Flashes to turn their chances over to sophomore quarterback and converted tight end Jack Williams in his first college snap at quarterback.

Ultimately, Anthony Melchiori's desparation 56-yard field goal try to tie came up short.

"We felt more confident with our field-goal kicker at that point than with our third-or-fourth-string quarterback," said Kent State head coach Paul Haynes. "That was a first for me with two quarterbacks going down in (three) plays like that. Hopefully they will be alright because they are important to this team."

Haynes said he did not have an early indication of the severity of Reardon or Strock's injuries as the team prepared to leave Huskies Stadium just before 9 p.m.. And although disappointed by the loss and worried about the health of his quarterbacks, the coach was encouraged by his team's effort.

"Nobody thought that we would be in this game," said Haynes. "This football team will continue to fight and grind like crazy. It is shaping up for bigger and better things. I know it. I love this team's fight. They finally put together 60 minutes. That was the challenge we gave them."

The Flashes trailed 10-7 at Virginia last week before suffering a 45-13 loss. At halftime on Saturday, Kent State trailed by a similar 7-3 score despite being considered a significant underdog at the start of the day. This time, even after the Huskies extended the lead to 17-3 with two quick scores in the first six minutes of the third quarter – an 18-yard touchdown run by Jordan Huff and a 40-yard field goal by Tyler Wendel – the Flashes refused to buckle.

Kent State held Northern scoreless after Huff's touchdown scamper with 9:35 to play in the third. The Flashes pulled closer on a 27-yard Melchiori field goal late in the third, then cut the to just three points on a 2-yard touchdown run by Reardon followed by a two-point conversion throw from Reardon to tight end Casey Pierce with 7:15 to play in the game.

One week after suffering three interceptions against Virginia, Reardon led Kent State's offense in a turnover-free effort while completing 20-of-36 passes for 244 yards.

Even after Reardon went down and Strock followed, Kent State's offense stayed confident.

"I had never been through anything like that, nor have I ever seen it," said senior wide receiver Chris Humphrey, who led the Flashes with five catches covering 57 yards. "That's what football is. Adversity. When the third-string quarterback went in … guys weree stayed positive. We kept lifting each other up."

Kent State's defense played well all day long. It took back-to-back personal foul penalties for the Huskies to reach the end zone in the first half as wide receiver Da'Ron Brown scored on a 7-yard run with 7:09 to play in the second quarter. That touchdown came two plays after Northern converted a third-and-21 from the 36 on a roughing-the passer penalty.

"I thought it was a good effort by our defense," said Haynes. "Our preparation has been awesome. These guys stayed after our walkthrough this morning and watched film as a group with no coaches involved. So those are things that are happening when I talk about this team starting to take shape. Those things wouldn't happen before. We're starting to get it together. W'e're just not getting it in the win column, but there are a lot of good things that are happening for the future of this team, this year and the future."

Kent State returns to action next week when the University of Massachusetts visits Dix Stadium on Oct. 11.

Postgame Notes
Sophomore quarterback Colin Reardon moved into eighth place in career passing yards (2,993) at Kent State. He also currently ranks eighth in both career completions (282) and career TD passes (17).
Kent State's fourth quarter touchdown by Reardon was the Flashes' first rushing touchdown of the season.
Junior Jordan Italiano's fourth quarter interception gave him a hand in a turnover for three straight games (RF, FF, Int). It was Northern Illinois' first interception of the season.
Senior Chris Humphrey moved into 10^th place in career receptions at Kent State with 97.
Kent State had season-highs of 327 yards of offense, 22 first downs and a season best 83 yards rushing.
Junior Anthony Melchiori made two field goals for the second straight game, giving him a streak of straight.
Kent State put together an 83-yard drive in the third quarter ending in a Melchiori field goal. It was the Flashes' longest drive of the season.
The Flashes converted on their first fourth-down attempt of the season on a run to the left side by Anthony Meray.
Sophomore Nate Holley was Kent State's leading tackler for the seventh straight game with 16 tackles and remains among the nation's leaders. He had 12 solo stops and 1.5 tackles for loss.
Redshirt freshman receiver Kris White had career-highs of four catches for 67 yards.
The Flashes' defense had a season-high 5.0 tackles for loss.
Sophomore receiver James Brooks had a pair of 20-yard carries on reverses. Each came on Kent State scoring drives.
Senior tight end Darren Goodson made his first career appearance on the Reardon touchdown run.
The three-point difference ties for the lowest margin of victory during NIU's 28-game home winning streak. Ball State (2011) has been the only other team to lose by three.
The Flashes' second-half field goal was their first points during a third quarter this season.