Kent State University
3-7 , 2-4
Ohio University
6-4 , 3-3
Football falls at Ohio University 27-0
11/10/2015 11:32:00โฏPM | Football
ATHENS, Ohio โ Derrius Vick threw for one touchdown and ran for another as Ohio University took advantage of two critical mistakes by Kent State in a 27-0 win over the Golden Flashes at Peden Stadium Tuesday night.ย
When a defensive back slipped in man-to-man coverage, Vick found Sebastian Smith wide open on a 49-yard scoring throw to cap the night's opening drive and put the Bobcats on top 7-0 just 1:14 into the first quarter.
The dual-threat quarterback added a 7-yard touchdown run with 6:20 to play in the third quarter. The score to extend the Bobcats lead to 17-0 arrived just two plays after a gadget play by the Flashes turned into disaster. Trying to throw over Ohio linebacker Javon Johnson out of the Polecat formation, Kent State quarterback George Bollas' pass was picked out of the air by Johnson and returned to the KSU 11.
"It's tough to come back when you are getting stops, and then they get (short fields) on a couple of interceptions," said Kent State head coach Paul Haynes, whose Flashes fell to 3-7 overall and 2-4 in Mid-American Conference play. "Our guys still foughtโฆThey will fight to the end and figure out what we have to do to make sure we fix things."
Ohio (6-4, 3-3) added field goals of 38 yards in the second quarter and 35 yards in the third quarter by Josiah Yazandi, then capped the night on a 41-yard touchdown pass from J.D. Sprague to Jordan Reid with 6:35 to play in the fourth.
Vick ran for 107 yards on 22 carries and added another 73 yards on 7-of-13 passing. Those combined totals nearly matched the output of Kent State's entire offense as Ohio out-gained the Flashes 447-to-191.
Bollas completed 16-of-31 passes for 111 yards and two interceptions. The Kent State running game also struggled on its way to 80 yards on 25 attempts. Bollas' 30 yards on seven runs led the rushing attack.ย
"It comes down to execution," said Haynes. "We didn't execute very well and we have to figure out why. We have to be able to put points on the board."
Freshman wide receiver Antwan Dixon provided a bright spot with 62 yards on five catches, including a 44-yard catch in the fourth quarter to provide Kent State its best scoring opportunity of the night. The long catch and run marked his third consecutive game with a catch of over 40 yards.
Kent State's defense was led by a 13-tackle effort by Nate Holley. Elcee Refuge sacked Vick twice while Nate Terhune added another sack on an athletic second-quarter play that saw him leap an Ohio blocker before catching Vick from behind.
The Golden Flashes host Central Michigan on Wednesday, Nov. 18 before closing the 2015 sason Nov. 27 at Akron in the annual Wagon Wheel Game.
Postgame Notes
Junior Elcee Refuge had a pair of sacks in the first quarter for losses of 14 and 12 yards each.ย Refuge finished with seven solo tackles.
Senior Anthony Melchiori has had a punt of 54 yards or more in 7-of-10 games this year.
Freshman Antwan Dixon has had catches of 40 yards or more in three straight games.
Junior Terence Waugh now has 12.0 tackles for loss on the year. Waugh finished the game with 10 tackles.
Junior Nate Holley was the Flashes leading tackler for the fifth straight game with 13 total tackles Tuesday night.
Team Stats
KENT 0, OHIO 7
OHIO - SMITH, S. 49 yd pass from VICK, Derrius (YAZDANI, J. kick) 3 plays, 62 yards, TOP 1:14
KENT 0, OHIO 10
OHIO - YAZDANI, J. 38 yd field goal 12 plays, 64 yards, TOP 5:14
KENT 0, OHIO 17
OHIO - VICK, Derrius 7 yd run (YAZDANI, J. kick), 2 plays, 11 yards, TOP 0:46
KENT 0, OHIO 20
OHIO - YAZDANI, J. 35 yd field goal 8 plays, 51 yards, TOP 3:33
KENT 0, OHIO 27
OHIO - REID, Jordan 41 yd pass from SPRAGUE, JD (YAZDANI, J. kick) 5 plays, 72 yards, TOP 2:01
