by The Battle for the Wagon Wheel has proven to be a thrilling event throughout its long history, pitting Kent State against Akron. This game lived up to its historic context as Kent State defeated Akron 42-35 in Overtime.
Akron’s fourth-quarter comeback to force overtime despite the loss will go down as one of the greatest comebacks and letdowns in the history of the rivalry. Before we dive into the comeback and overtime, we have to find out how we got to the nail-biting fourth quarter that will be remembered by all college Football fans.
Akron struck first blood with a field goal; this drive was a sign of things to come for Akron. Steady, consistent drives that stalled out at some point past the 50-yard line. Despite scoring on a field goal, the Zips failed to finish drives throughout the game.
Kent, on the other hand, made big plays throughout the game, which proved to be the deciding factor for the Golden Flashes as the game progressed.
The Kent scoring started when the Zips touched the ball on a Kent punt and were not able to recover the loose ball. This set up Kent State on the Akron eight-yard line and a Gavin Garcia touchdown.
Dru DeShields had a career day in his first Wagon Wheel clash as the QB for the Golden Flashes. It all started in the second quarter, down by three, he found Da’Realyst Clark for an 89-yard touchdown and the lead. This was one of many game-breaking plays made by DeShields in the freezing Akron cold.
The first half proved to be dead even as both teams exchanged points back and forth, as Akron ended the half with the lead in exciting fashion. Thanks to a Finley pass to Marcel Williams for a 30-yard touchdown.
The second half was a true display of Tuesday night MACtion as the game descended into pure, beautiful, MAC madness. Kent State dominated the third quarter thanks to DeShields’ dominating performance that included five touchdowns from 17 for 25 passing with 317 yards. He made big play after big play thanks to his wide receivers burning past the Akron secondary, which played solidly up to that point. The Flashes jumped to a 35 to 16 lead, one that seemed impossible for the Zips to climb back from.
The Zips started to climb back in the fourth quarter when Ben Finley found Williams in the end zone to make the Kent State lead an 11-point lead with less than 11:00 to play in the fourth quarter. Akron got the ball back imminently due to an onside kick by Owen Wiley that landed safely in the hands of an Akron kickoff team member.
They settled for a field goal as they cut the Kent State lead to eight points with seven minutes to play. Kent came out with a run-first mindset that had them thinking they could run the clock out and end the game.
Akron’s defense followed up the offense by making a big-time play that changed the course of the game. DeShields, who was on fire all game long, made a crucial mistake when he fumbled just beyond the Akron side of the field, giving Akron plenty of time to tie the game up.
This momentum swing got the Akron crowd and players back into the game as a comeback that once felt impossible after the Kent State run in the third quarter. Finley helped the Zips move down the field in a fast but disciplined manner thanks to his wide receivers creating space towards the sideline. This led to another Finley Touchdown to Williams, who seemed to open when it mattered the most for Akron.
The rules were reversed when Finley handed the ball off to Gant, who then flipped the ball to Williams for reverses. To the Flashes’ surprise, Finley sprinted to the goalline as Williams tossed him the ball for the two-point conversion to tie the game up that would go to overtime.
Kent State had to put an end to the momentum that Akron secured in the fourth quarter; that’s exactly what the Flashes did on the very first play of overtime. DeShields faked the handoff as he jetted outside the pocket and found Ardell Banks at the goalline with a Zip corner draped on him. Banks hauled the ball in and tipped toed his way to pay dirt to put the Flashes ahead by seven in the first overtime.
Finley and the zips moved backwards on their first play of overtime, but they made up for it as they approached the first down marker. After an incomplete pass in the endzone on third down, the Zips were on the brink of defeat once again. Finley dropped back with plenty of time and a small window that he hit all day to tight end Conner Cravaack, who seemed to be open all day for Akron.
Finley threw the ball to the only open window as the defense collapsed on Cravaack, and the ball hit his hands and fell to the ground. The victory bell rang on the Kent sideline as the Akron cannon fell silent, alone with the Akron faithful.
