FLASHback Week 5: October 3, 1942
10/3/2020 10:00:00 AM | Football
KENT, OHIO- It is week five of our FLASHback series and this week we go into the way back machine to 1942 when the Golden Flashes took on Findlay on October 3rd of that season.
The Golden Flashes were coming off some up-and-down seasons heading into the 1942 campaign. Kent State won only three games in 1939 only to bounce back with a strong 8-1 season in 1940. The 1941 season was another step back, going 2-5-1 and going winless over their last six contests.
Kent State dropped their season opener at Toledo, 26-14. Miami (OH) loomed ahead in week three, making the week two contest against Findlay a potential trap game.
Early on, the Flashes had little success against the Oilers. Kent State had seven first-half possessions and could never get out of their own territory. Coach Donald Starn's game plan was one based on the ground game and the hope to use Kent State's depth to wear out Findlay, but the Oilers' defense would not back down. The Kent State defense was equally up to the task, shutting out the Oilers' offense as the teams went into the half still scoreless.
With the ground game being stymied, Kent State went to the air in the second half. Early on, Flashes' quarterback Bo Dutton narrowly overthrew Bill Knight on what was a sure-fire touchdown, but it proved that the Flashes would have to win the game with an aerial attack. The lone score of the game would come on a twenty-yard halfback pass as Kent State's Red Calhoun hit Lou Toth for what proved to be the game's winning score.
The 6-0 victory was the first of four shutouts pitched by the Kent State defense, who also blanked Patterson Field, Bowling Green and Hiram during the season. The Golden Flashed would go 5-3 in 1942 in what proved to be Coach Starn's final season. Kent State did not field teams from 1943-45 during World War II and Trevor Rees would take over in 1946 and coach for the next 18 seasons.
Next week will be "virtual" homecoming for Kent State. We will take a closer look at the Golden Flashes' upset of Miami back in 1959, ending Miami's 29-game conference win streak.
