Thursday, August 29, 2013

Live Blog ... Kent State vs. Liberty



FINAL
Kent State 17, Liberty 10
Aug. 29, 2013
Dix Stadium, Kent, Ohio

Kent State fans celebrate with some fireworks

FOURTH QUARTER

12:48 ... Kent State offense is finally starting to get things going... A few nice runs by Meray and Durham, and a Reardon-to-Humphrey connection has the ball at the Liberty 21.

Fireworks ... a whole lot more satisfying
after a win ... scary as that win was
12:42 ... Another killer penalty, an illegal substitution on 2nd-and-1 after a nice Meray run. Instead now it's 2nd-and-6. Mistakes like that are just killers. And after a 4-yard throw to Meray, it's now 3rd-and-2 instead of that 2nd-and-1.... And Durham is stuffed for no game.

11:02 ... t's now 4th and 2, and decision time ... Go for 4th down or let Anthony Melchiori try a 41-yarder for his first field goal ever?

Took too long to decide, and now Kent State
has to call its second timeout of the half. Just one remaining.

10:57 ... Field goal by Anthony Melchiori, his 1st of career, ties the game... 10-10.

Again, though, the sloppy effort kept the Flashes from keeping a potential touchdown march alive. Just as they were getting something going and facing a 2nd-and-1 at the Liberty 21, an illegal substitution penalty changed the entire complexion of the drive. Three plays later, settle for a field goal.

10:51 ... Blown coverage in the secondary and Liberty opens with a 29 yard pass play to the Kent State 46.

The  holding penalty that followed could take Liberty's offense off schedule a bit ...

Unfortunately, on that hold, Roosevelt Nix is in pain and holding his lower leg. Cramp?

9:01 ... 3rd-and-11, have to get off the field here if you are Kent State's defense. .. and they did, thanks to a great individual effort by Mark Fackler, tackling the scrambling Woodrum from behind.

8:01 ... Kent State takes over at its own 12 following the punt... A heads up second-down scramble by Reardon moves the chains.

Flashes now in hurry-up mode again.

6:04 ... Two runs in no huddle by Durham move the chains again, out to the 35.

5:35 ... A potentially key roughing the passing play on what was already a 6-yard throw to Meray, and Kent State is in Liberty territory at the 43.

4:28 ... Touchdown Kent State, a 42-yard pass play from Reardon to Humphrey, who made the catch on the Kent State sideline near the 35, shed a tackle, and raced to the end zone.

KENT STATE 17, LIBERTY 10

Now, can the defense hold, allow Kent State to count this one in the win column, and then go back and take a long week to learn from this?

Durham has 21 carries for 92 yards.

Reardon is 21-for-28, 194 yards, 2 touchdowns, 0 interceptions.

Goode 8 catches, 75 yards

Humphrey 6 catches, 88 yards.

4:22 ... Good coverage on the kickoff and Liberty starts at its own 14.

2:29 ... Big 3rd-and-5 for Kent State defense. Get off the field here and hope that the offense can run out the clock.

Instead ... A 23 yard pass completion on a perfect throw by Woodrum to the Kent State 45.

1:39 ... Darius Polk has had a tough night, but great coverage here on a deep throw intended for Liberty's Dante Shells.

No Roosevelt Nix on this series.

1:35 ... Polk with another great break up of a throw that looked like it might be a first down, this time intended for Darrin Peterson. Polk got his hand in at the last second on the throw over the middle.

Liberty facing 4th-and-5 at Kent State 45.

1:30 ... Polk again! Three pass break ups in a row. Last one intended for Darrin Peterson.

Kent State football! A few knees and its over.

FINAL FROM KENT STATE:

GOLDEN FLASHES 17, FLAMES 10



THIRD QUARTER

KENT STATE 7, LIBERTY 3 to start second half

13:12 ... Kent State defense still playing well, forcing another quick Liberty punt.

Now can the offense get it together, and likely without Archer? Need to get the Durham train rolling.

Another dangerous play, Wollet muffs the punt, but recovered Holley for Kent State.

12:07 ... Trayion Durham in to open the 3rd quarter.

11:51 ... That's more like it ... Durham bursts through the line on 3rd-and-1. A powerful run for 14.

10:09 ... Unfortunately, Durham gets no touches after the first down, and Kent State is forced to punt again.

Kent State offense can't get anything going, and Liberty is just hanging around. And while the defense is hanging in there, Liberty is one freak play away from a lead.

9:23 ... And there's that freak play ... Not for a lead ... but a deep throw by Woodrum to to Darrin Peterson for Liberty for 58 yards and the Flames are at the Kent State 30... Another pass interference against Polk was declined by Liberty. Polk beaten on the play, tried to grab Peterson, but the wide receiver still made the grab.

7:25 ... Touchdown Liberty and a 10-7 Flames lead...

Easy lob pass from Woodrum to Gabe Henderson, who beat linebacker Devante' Strickland.

Obviously it is danger time at Kent State. We'll learn about the makeup of this team over the next hour. The Flashes offense needs to respond now.

6:19 ... Offensive line is having a tough time... Durham just picked up 17 yards on a wrap-around handoff that was poorly blocked. He should have been dropped at the line of scrimmage, but broke free.

5:24 ... Big third-down throw and a catch to Humphrey to move the chains. Kent State at the Liberty 43.

The trend has been big run for Durham, then don't see him for a while.

4:02 ... 4th down and 3 yards and Reardon is dropped for a 3-yard loss on a bootleg to the right. Never had a chance.

3:31 ... Defense is starting to struggle as well, gashed for a 10-yard run on first down, and Liberty back into Kent State territory.

1:57 ... But then there's the bad news ... Punt by Liberty's Grant Bowden is downed at the Kent State 5 yard line. Flashes offense has done nothing since opening drive, and now charged with going 95 yards if it wants to get the lead back here.

0:48 ... Flashes go hurry-up on 3rd-and-2, and give to Durham for 6 yards. I like the idea of speeding things up.

0:13 ... Replay on a diving grab by Boyle ... Ruled a catch on the field, but looks like it will be overturned.

And it is overturned... after a ridiculously long delay. No catch. Flashes face a 2nd-and-10 now from their own 19.

0:04 ... Tyshon Goode spins out of what should have been an 5-yard catch and races for 26 instead to the Kent State 45 ... But now Goode is down with an injury.


SECOND QUARTER

Great turnout by Kent State Students

13:57 ... No Dri Archer on this series. Anthony Meray getting the bulk of the work in Archer's place, sharing tailback duties with Durham.

12:19 ... Great punt by Anthony Melchiori, fielded at the goal line by Luke Wollet. But official says Wollet was on the goal line ... touchback.

Replay sure looks like Wollet was not in the end zone.

10:10 ... Zack Hitchens with a sack of Liberty's Josh Woodrum on third down. That's the third straight three-and-out for the Flames offense.

Sadly, another penalty for Kent State on the punt (holding). That's 4 penalties for 31 yards in first 19:50 of the 2013 season.

6:48 ... Pretty sloppy performance by the Kent State offense here in the opener after looking pretty crisp on the opening drive.

Already six Kent State penalties, including a chop block by Terrell Johnson to spoil a first down.

6:13 ... Penalty turns into a killer. Reardon hit from behind scrambling on third and long. Fumble recovered by Liberty's Jacob Hagen at the Kent State 42.

4:40 ... Liberty offense starting to get things going, inside the Kent State 20.

No Archer, and little Durham of late. Doesn't bode well for the Flashes.

Now a pass interference at the goal line on Kent State.

That's penalty No. 7 ... Liberty ball at the KSU 4 ... Pass interference on Darius Polk.

UPDATE ... Dri Archer has an ankle injury. His return is questioanable.

2:55 ... Liberty will try a field goal on 4th and 3 from the 3.

A 20-yard field goal by Liberty's John Lunsford cuts Kent State lead to 7-3.

KENT STATE 7, LIBERTY 3

2:47 ... The sloppy play continues. A hold on Brice Fackler spoils a return of 50-yards-plus by Earnest Calhoun.

That's now 8 penalties for 71 yards in the first half for Kent State.

0:18 ... Another punt after a poor offensive series. Durham has just three carries since the first series of the game. And no Archer... A very disappointing start to 2013.

HALFTIME ... Kent State 7, Liberty 3

A pretty frustrating first half. You'd like to think that the offense would depend turn to Trayion Durham with Archer injured, but he's seen little action. Just 8 carries for 30 yards for Durham, and most of that came in the game's opening series. Durham had six of those carries for 28 yards in the first quarter.

Anthony Meray has 5 carries for 20 yards in Archer's place.

The defense has been good, except for a short hiccup after the quick change of possession in the second quarter following the Reardon fumble.

When Thunder and Lightning disappear, the Flashes have to find a way to keep the storm going.


FIRST QUARTER

Liberty won the toss, deferred and Kent State received the kickoff ... a touchback ... the 2013 season is underway with a play-action pass from Colin Reardon to Tyshon Goode for 12 yards.

Reno Reda got the start at left guard. Reda was listed as the backup at left tackle.

14:15 ... Dri Archer's first touch of the season is a sweep to the right for no gain.

12:56 ... Trayion Durham takes a delay, misdirection handoff and runs 10 yards on 3rd-and-6 ... Flashes 1-for-1 on third down in 2013 ... Add in a third completion between Reardon and Goode, and that tandem is 3-for-3 already. Last catch a diving 7-yard grab.

So nice to see Goode on the field. He was missed last year with that hamstring injury. Just one more weapon to count on in 2013.

11:11 ... Flashes moving the ball well on this first drive. Already three ball carriers in Durham, Archer and Anthony Meray.

9:47 ... First look at Dri Archer at quarterback in the Wildcat offense. Saw a lot of that package in camp. Could be dangerous.

The drive has reached the Liberty 24. Flashes doing a good job of mixing the run and pass, picking up small chunks and moving the chains.

Only bad news ... Dri Archer walked off limping after leaping over the line on the Wildcat run.

8:40 ... Durham powers through the hole ... Long drive now has a first down at the Liberty 11.

6:56 ... Great diving grab by tight end Casey Pierce in the end zone for his first career touchdown ... a six-yard grab on 3rd-and-5 .... although play is under review. Replay looks like a score.

The touchdown is confirmed ... Reardon is 5-for-5 after the first series of his career, a 75-yard touchdown drive. That's also the first touchdown in Pierce's career.

Kent State 7, Liberty 0 ... 6:56 to play first quarter


6:35 ... First defensive play of the season is a sack by Nate Terhune, who drops Josh Woodrum for a 7-yard loss. Terhune with good penetration on second down to drop Desmond Rice for no gain, forcing 3rd-and-16.

Roosevelt Nix had a shot at Woodrum on that opening sack, but couldn't quite bring him down. Fortunately, Terhune was there.

A near sack on third down, but a short completion to Rice means three-and-out.

Bad news is Archer is not in to return the punt. Has not seen action since getting hurt on the Wildcat run. Josh Boyle replaced Archer on the punt return.

4:11... GOOD NEWS ... Dri Archer is back on the field at tailback to open the second series, and he gets the first carry for a 4-yard gain.

Large group exhale here at Dix Stadium.

3:12 ... Drive No. 2 is a quick three-and-out.

2:16 ... Nate Vance with a sack (an intentional grounding) and that'll be another quick three-and-out for Liberty.

Drop punt by Boyle on a big hit, but Dylan Farrington is Johnny on the spot to recover the fumble. Good break.

Kent State's defense is dominating the line of scrimmage.

0:22 ... Going on 4th-and-1 ... and Trayion Durham bulls over a Liberty linebacker to move the chains.

END OF THE FIRST QUARTER

Some numbers ... Kent State has 96 yards on 21 plays after one quarter, while Liberty has -8 yards on just six plays.

PRE-GAME


5 p.m. ... The tailgate areas in the east parking lot of Dix Stadium have been filling up for the last hour. The student tailgate is especially crowded, which is a good sign that we'll have a large crowd for tonight's game. The hope is still for 20,000-plus.

Liberty's players are already warming up on the field. For Kent State, quarterbacks and specialists are out, including redshirt freshman Colin Reardon, who will make his first start and is expected to take every snap at quarterback. When Spencer Keith won the starting job as a senior, junior-college transfer David Fisher was still promised a series or two. First-year head coach Paul Haynes does not like the idea of a two-headed quarterback, so while Fisher is ready if needed, Reardon will most likely play the whole way tonight.

We are waiting to see the offensive linemen to see if left guard Pat McShane is in uniform.

5:20 p.m. ... The entire team is on the field now. As expected, Pat McShane is wearing a jersey over street clothes. That means freshman Wayne Scott (6-3, 345 pounds) will likely start at left guard between two veterans Terrell Johnson at left tackle and Phil Huff at center.

Starting free safety Calvin Tiggle is also not dressed due to injury. Look for sophomore Keenan Stalls to see action in his place. Freshman Nate Holley, who is the backup strong sfatey behind Luke Wollet, could also see more action due to the injury.

5:28 p.m. ... I'm hearing Sam Rutigliano may be in attendance tonight.

Here in northeast Ohio, Rutigliano is known as the coach of the Cleveland Browns from 1978-84.  In Lynchburg, Va., he is remembered for an even longer stint as the head coach at Liberty from 1989-99. His son Paul Rutigliano is Liberty's current director of football operations. He is also the color commentator for Liberty's radio network.

5:38 p.m. ... Just heard Sam Rutigliano is not at the game due to the Cleveland Browns preseason game. He did speak to the Liberty team last night, however, at the team hotel in Cuyahoga Falls. Too bad he isn't hear, coach Rutigliano is one of the true good guys in the game. I was fortunate to spend some time with him when I was a Cleveland Browns beat writer.

5:45 p.m. ... The main stands on the west side of the stadium are only about a quarter filled, despite a very good early showing by Liberty's fans.

Even 15 minutes before gametime, I've learned that's no indication of what kind of crowd to expect. Traffic on Summit Street is pretty backed up, so we are expecting a typical late-arriving crowd.

The best indicator of what the crowd will be like is the East student section. Those are filling up, and it's likely we'll have a student-section spillover crowd in the North end-zone stands.

5:57 p.m. ... The Golden Flashes have taken the field ... Flyover coming ... Then skydivers bringing the game ball ... and then on to the Paul Haynes era of Kent State football and the 2013 campaign.



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