Taking Care of Business

The Kent State Golden Flashes won this game with a final score of 38-10. Kent was expected to win this game, and they did just that. The Golden Flashes came out the gate with a solid first drive resulting in a Gavin Garcia rushing touchdown. Central Connecticut on the other hand went 3 and out on their first drive. This game was one-sided but there were moments for CCSU to get into the game early but ultimately couldn’t capitalize. Mike Alaimo threw a crucial pick early to put CCSU in a good position for the offense to do nothing. Kent went for it on 4th down on their own side of the field and got stopped. What a stand by the defense just for the offense to not capitalize for any points.

Kent’s Impressive Run Game

Kent’s run game was in full force today with 54 attempts for 295 total yards on the day. The team established the run game early and kept to it throughout the whole game. Gavin Garcia shinned in today’s game with 125 yards and 2 touchdowns. The quarterback Mike Alaimo didn’t play his best today, he connected on some excellent deep completions but didn’t impress. The team looked to keep it simple and run the football rather than let Mike Alaimo make plays. The OC Matt Johnson seems to favor the run game and looks to have more trust in his lead backs Gavin and X. The offensive line looked better not giving up a sack in today’s game and opened up holes for the impressive run game.

Golden Flashes Dominate on Defense

Kent’s defense looked good, I mean really good. The Golden Flashes defense was flying all over the field making plays left and right. The defense kept Central Connecticut out of the red zone pretty much the whole game and allowed a late touchdown and a field goal.  Granted the team is playing an FCS school but still impressive. The defense forced 2 interceptions, and 50 yards through the air today. What a standout performance for their home opener.

Poor Performance from Central Connecticut

The Blue Devils defense made some plays today, the team had some good stops on 3rd down, forced a pick, and blocked a punt. But the offense could not get the ball rolling today which cost them the game. The defense gave the offense plenty of chances to make this a close game, only trailing 21-0 at the half. The passing game just let this team down, only having 50 total yards in the air.  Having less than 3 trips to the red zone all game doesn’t scream good football. The offense looked stagnant and there isn’t much to say about the poor quarterback performance.

Stats

Kent State (1-2)

QB: Mike Alaimo 12/16, 172 yards, 2 total TDs, 1 Int

RB: Gavin Garcia  21 attempts 125 yards, 2 TDs

WR: Trell Harris 3 rec 94 yards, 1 TD

Lead Tackler:  CJ West AND Nick Giacolone: 4 total tackles each

CCSU (1-2)

QB: Matt Jenner 4/14, 40 yards, 0 TDs, 2 Int

RB: Malik Thomas 8 attempts 9 yards, 0 TD.

Lead Rusher: Davian Johnson (WR) 5 attempts 35 yards, 0 TD

WR: Davion Johnson 3 rec 11 yards, 0 TD

Lead Tackler: Kimal Clarke: 13 total tackles

(The only touchdown scored was a 17-yard rushing touchdown by Rickey Ortega)