Kent State University
2-7 , 1-4
Bowling Green
2-7 , 2-3
Football Falls 44-16 on Halloween Night at Dix Stadium
11/1/2017 12:15:00 AM | Football
KENT, Ohio – Kent State returned the Anniversary Award to Bowling Green following a 44-16 Halloween loss to the Falcons on Tuesday night at Dix Stadium.
The trophy, traditionally awarded to the winner of the annual battle between Kent State and Bowling Green, had been missing since 1997. It was recovered on Monday thanks to a tip on social media.
The Falcons built a commanding early lead behind a 3-yard touchdown run by Andrew Clair, a 36-yard scoring throw from Jarret Doege to Datrin Guyton, and a 28-yard field goal by Jake Suder – all in the first quarter.
"You never want to get down 17-0 out of the gate, but we still didn't feel we were out of the game," said Kent State head coach Paul Haynes.
Bowling Green's lead was trimmed to 17-6 early in the second quarter when Golden Flashes' quarterback George Bollas sprinted 22-yard through the middle of the Falcons defense for a touchdown. Will Matthews added a 3-yard scoring run for Kent State early in the fourth quarter. The two touchdowns and a 30-yard Shane Hynes field goal in the second quarter were not enough to offset KSU's four turnovers.
Bollas led the Kent State rushing attack with 84 yards on 18 carries. Running back Justin Rankin led the Flashes' pass catchers with eight receptions for 60 yards. He added another 39 yards on the ground on four attempts.
"I thought (Bollas) did a great job running the football, and I thought he threw the ball better tonight," said Haynes. "We just couldn't sustain drives to put points on the board, but I thought he played a pretty good game."
Bowling Green (2-7 overall, 2-3) out-gained Kent State 401-284 while playing turnover-free football. Clair led the Falcons offense with 111 yards on just eight carries. Doege finished with 174 yards on 14-for-18 passing, including two touchdowns.
"This was a tough loss," said Haynes. "We knew Bowling Green was a better football team than their record, especially with their (ability) to score points. We knew if it was a high-scoring game, it would be tough to win...Our hats off to them. They played a good game. We had chances to put more points on the board and also to stop them, but we just didn't do it."
Kent State (2-7, 1-4) visits Western Michigan Nov. 8 before closing its home season Nov. 14 against Central Michigan. The regular-season finale will see the Flashes visit Akron on Nov. 21.
Postgame Notes
Junior George Bollas had his first rushing touchdown of the season and third of his career. Bollas matched his longest run of the year at 22 yards and had a season-high 84 yards rushing.
Sophomore Will Matthews scored his first career touchdown. Matthews also had a season-long 25-yard run.
Junior linebacker Jim Jones has now made 11 or more tackles in three games this season. Jones added 2.0 sacks.
Kent State's touchdown drive in the second quarter matched a season-high of 14 plays. The Flashes had three scoring drives of 12 plays or more.
The Flashes' defense forced back-to-back drives of negative five yards for the Bowling Green offense, including one that started with a first-and-goal. Kent State out-gained the Falcons 114-17 in the second quarter.
Sophomore Justin Rankin had a season-long 33-yard run. On Kent State's second half touchdown drive, Rankin made three different catches for first downs.
After only two fourth-down conversions in their first eight games, the Flashes went 2-for-2 on fourth downs during their second quarter touchdown drive.
Junior Shane Hynes made his 30th career field goal.
The Flashes' defense has made 3.0 or more sacks in each of their last four games.
Sophomore Theo Majette made his first career start on the defensive line.
Kent State picked up 20 first downs, holding Bowling Green to 18.
In the second and third quarters, the Flashes combined for 132 rushing yards.
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Team Stats
BGSU 7, KENT 0
BGSU - CLAIR, Andrew 3 yd run (SUDER, Jake kick), 7 plays, 75 yards, TOP 2:49
BGSU 10, KENT 0
BGSU - SUDER, Jake 28 yd field goal 5 plays, 12 yards, TOP 1:47
BGSU 17, KENT 0
BGSU - GUYTON, Datrin 36 yd pass from DOEGE, Jarret (SUDER, Jake kick) 8 plays, 90 yards, TOP 3:02
BGSU 17, KENT 6
KENT - BOLLAS, George 22 yd run (HYNES, Shane kickfailed), 14 plays, 75 yards, TOP 5:32
BGSU 20, KENT 6
BGSU - SUDER, Jake 29 yd field goal 4 plays, -5 yards, TOP 1:57
BGSU 20, KENT 9
KENT - HYNES, Shane 30 yd field goal 12 plays, 62 yards, TOP 5:35
BGSU 27, KENT 9
BGSU - DOEGE, Jarret 1 yd run (SUDER, Jake kick), 14 plays, 80 yards, TOP 6:20
BGSU 34, KENT 9
BGSU - CLEVELAND, Josh 5 yd run (SUDER, Jake kick), 6 plays, 65 yards, TOP 3:25
BGSU 34, KENT 16
KENT - MATTHEWS, Will 3 yd run (HYNES, Shane kick), 12 plays, 81 yards, TOP 3:52
BGSU 41, KENT 16
BGSU - REDDING, Teo 7 yd pass from DOEGE, Jarret (SUDER, Jake kick) 4 plays, 38 yards, TOP 2:05
BGSU 44, KENT 16
BGSU - SUDER, Jake 28 yd field goal 4 plays, 3 yards, TOP 1:30
