Oct. 24, 2009
Final Stats | Quotes
ATHENS, Ohio - The Ohio Bobcats (5-3, 3-1) suffered their first Mid-American Conference loss of the season with a 20-11 loss to the Kent State Golden Flashes (4-4, 3-1) Saturday afternoon at Peden Stadium.
The Bobcats struggled on offense, accumulating 164 total yards. Kent State's defense not only held the Bobcats, but pushed them off the line of scrimmage, totaling 15 tackles for loss. Seven of those were quarterback sacks, ending a streak of five consecutive games in which Ohio hadn't allowed a sack.
Ohio finished the day with a total of minus nine rushing yards, marking the first time Ohio has been held without a gain on the ground since a 24-7 loss at Rutgers (-6 yards) on Sept. 16, 2006.
In the first half, Ohio and Kent State traded field goals to knot the score at 3-3 at the break.
Ohio's Matt Weller (Twinsburg, Ohio) converted a 22-yard attempt with 7:40 remaining in the first period.
Almost a full period later, Kent State's Freddy Cortez was good from 30 yards with 4:44 remaining before the half.
After a third quarter that netted just a KSU field goal, Golden Flashes' freshman quarterback Spencer Keith connected with Tyshon Goode twice in the end zone during the fourth, first on a three-yard pass with five minutes gone and then again with 7:02 remaining in the game on a pass from 15 yards out. Successful extra-point attempts from Cortez gave the Flashes a 20-3 lead.
Ohio's lone touchdown came with just over two minutes remaining in the game as junior LaVon Brazill (Latana, Fla.) returned a fourth-quarter punt from the Flashes' Matt Rinehart 87 yards for a touchdown. Senior captain Brandon Jones (Marietta, Ga.), who is the holder on field goal and extra point attempts and a reserve quarterback, connected with sophomore Nathan Caldwell (Pittsburgh, Pa.) on the ensuing two-point conversion.
Brazill's score marks the sixth non-offensive touchdown for the Bobcats this season, three of which have come on punt returns. Brazill has three punt returns for touchdowns in his career, including one earlier this season against Bowling Green. His three returns for scores ties Stafford Owens (2000-04) and Larry Hargrove (1987-89) for the school record for punts returned for a touchdown.
Ohio quarterbacks Theo Scott and Tyler Tettleton combined for 173 yards passing, but threw three interceptions as well. Ohio wideout Taylor Price and Brazill combined for 135 yards on 11 catches. Ohio senior captain Lee Renfro and junior Ernie Hodge led the Bobcats on defense with eight tackles apiece. Hodge also led Ohio with 2.5 tackles for loss to account for five yards.
The Bobcats, who came into Saturday's game leading the nation in turnovers forced, coaxed Kent State into three more Saturday.
Kent State running back Jacquise Terry finished with 120 yards on 31 carries, while Goode caught nine passes for 105 yards. The Golden Flashes' Josh Pleasant and Dorian Wood posted seven tackles apiece.
The Bobcats will be back in action Saturday at Ball State (12 p.m. ET).
