Trickett Walks Off Owls in Home Opener

Saturday, September 7

Kent, Ohio

12:00 p.m.

Kent State University

1-1

Kennesaw State

1-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

KSU

KENTST

Photo by: Scott R. Galvin/Galvin Photo, LL

9/7/2019 4:29:00 PM | Football

Box Score

KENT, Ohio – The Kent State football team (1-1) snapped a nine-game overtime losing streak against Kennesaw State (1-1) in its home opener at Dix Stadium to record its second overtime victory in program history.

"I'm proud of these guys," said Head Coach Sean Lewis. "I'm proud of the way they fought, proud of the way they responded and the way they battled through the second half and did the things we asked them to do. I'm really proud of these guys."

The Owls grabbed an early lead in the first quarter, 3-0, after a 33-yard Nathan Robertson field goal. Dustin Crum started the third game of his career and his first game since 2017. He led the Flashes down the field and Matthew Trickett capped off a nine-play drive with a 32-yard field goal.

After another Robertson field goal, Kennesaw State extended its lead to 13-3 with a Daniel David 2-yard touchdown run.

Crum marched Kent State down the field and scored on a 23-yard run to bring the Flashes within three, 13-10. Robertson added a third first-half field goal to give the Owls a 16-10 halftime advantage.

A muffed punt by Kent State put Kennesaw State in scoring position, but Keith Sherald Jr. picked off David in the end zone to give the ball back to the Flashes. Crum connected with Isaiah McKoy for a 75-yard touchdown pass to give the Flashes their first lead of the contest.

Trickett extended the Kent State lead to four, 20-16, with a 29-yard field goal in the fourth quarter. The Owls answered with a 14-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to take a 23-20 lead with 1:47 remaining in the game.

Crum moved the Flashes down the field in the two-minute drill and set up Trickett for a 38-yard game-tying field goal to send the game to overtime. Crum finished with a career-high 192 yards passing and a touchdown through the air and on the ground.

The Flashes started on defense in overtime and Matt Bahr stepped up to make a crucial play. Kennesaw State's Shaq Terry fumbled the pitch from David and Bahr jumped on the loose ball to give the ball back to the offense. Bahr finished with a career-high 15 total tackles and 2.0 tackles for loss.

Matthew Trickett nailed a 43-yard field goal to win the game for the Flashes. He made a career-high four field goals, including his first career game-winning kick.

The Flashes defense was all over the field, as six players including Bahr set career highs. Theo Majette recorded 11 tackles, shattering his former career-high of four. Nick Faulkner and Mandela Lawrence-Burke each made 10 stops, while Zayin West made six tackles.

McKoy caught seven passes for a career-high 125 yards and a touchdown to lead the Flashes on offense. Jo-El Shaw finished with 93 yards on the ground, including a 54-yard long.

Kent State will head to SEC country to take on Auburn next Saturday, September 14 at 7 p.m. The Flashes return home on Saturday, September 21 for Homecoming against Bowling Green at 3:30 p.m. to open Mid-American Conference action.