Flashes Foiled by Frustrating Finish to First Half of Football Finale

Tuesday, November 21

Akron, OH

7:00 p.m.

Kent State University

2-10 , 1-7

University of Akron

7-5 , 6-2

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

KENT STATE

Akron

Flashes Foiled by Frustrating Finish to First Half of Football Finale

11/21/2017 11:47:00 PM | Football

Box Score

AKRON, Ohio – A disastrous final 18 seconds of the first half helped to spoil Kent State's hopes of ending the 2017 season by reclaiming the Wagon Wheel trophy and spoiling arch-rival Akron's chance to win the Mid-American Conference's East Division.

The Zips scored two touchdowns in those closing seconds to take control of a close game, then hung on for a 24-14 win over the Golden Flashes on Saturday at InfoCision Stadium, securing their spot in the MAC Championship Game.

Akron held a slim 10-7 advantage with 1:44 remaining in the second quarter as Kent State's offense took at its own 30-yard line with the hopes of mounting a drive to either tie or take the lead going into intermission. An interception by the Zips' Alvin Davis on play No. 1 set the stage for the nightmare finish to the half. With 18 seconds on the clock, Manny Morgan dove into the end zone from one yard out to push Akron's lead to 17-7.

Instead of taking a knee with 17 seconds left and the ball 70 yards away from the end zone following the Akron kickoff, the Golden Flashes called two consecutive handoffs in a hurry-up offense designed to run out the clock. Tempting fate led to a fumble recovered by Akron's Ulysees Gilbert and returned 40 yards for another Zips score as the clock hit zero. Just like that, the Akron lead had swelled to 24-7.

"I'm proud of the team and how they fought," said Kent State head coach Paul Haynes. "Proud of them on how they played. Again, these games…always come down to a couple of plays. They made a couple of plays that were pretty good. Takeaways kill you. They got one right before the half that was huge for them. I'm proud of this team. Proud of this senior class. But again, we came up a little short."

Instead of packing it in after the stunning turnaround, the Flashes' defense dominated the second half, holding the Zips scoreless over the final 30 minutes.

Kent State pulled to within 10 points with 1:20 to play in the third quarter when running back Justin Rankin tossed a 1-yard touchdown pass to tight end Chalfonte Butler.

"We got a bunch of stops and had chances," said Haynes. "We just couldn't capitalize and put more points on the board."

Kent State out-gained Akron with 246 yards to just 191 for the Zips. The Flashes held Akron to 39 rushing yards and just 6-of-20 passing. An interception by senior Demetrius Monday set up KSU's first touchdown – an 8-yard run by Rankin with 11:22 to play in the second quarter.

Linebacker Jim Jones closed his junior year with a spectacular 13-tackle performance that included 1.5 sacks. James Alexander, Elvis Hines, Anthony McKay, and Jamal Parker also added sacks for the Flashes.

"Our D-line played great," said Haynes. "We were thin up front, but they did a great job of creating pass-rush lanes and not getting out of their lanes."

The Kent State offense was led by Rankin's 73 yards on seven carries and 77 rushing yards by backup quarterback Dustin Crum, who led KSU's 12-play, 86-yard touchdown march late in the third quarter.

Kent State finished the 2017 season with a 2-10 record and a 1-7 mark in Mid-American Conference play.

Postgame Notes

Sophomore Carlos Pickett recorded Kent State's first blocked punt since 2015.
After missing the last two games with an injury, senior cornerback Demetrius Monday returned to action and made his 12^th career interception, tying for seventh among Kent State's career leaders. It was Monday's fifth interception of the season.
Sophomore running back Justin Rankin scored his fifth touchdown of the season and ninth of his career. Rankin has three rushing TDs in his last two road games. Rankin also had his first career touchdown pass.
Sophomore tight end Chalfonte Butler made his first career touchdown catch in the third quarter.
Kent State's defense held Akron's offense to 35 yards in the second quarter and negative 4 yards in the third quarter.
Akron's 191 yards of total offense marked the first time in 23 games a Kent State opponent was held under 200 yards.
In the third quarter, freshman quarterback Dustin Crum rushed for 63 yards and completed 3-of-3 passes for 41 yards.
Junior Jim Jones led the Flashes with 13 tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble.