Kent State Pulls Away in Second Half Against Racers

Thursday, September 2

Kent, Ohio

6 p.m.

Murray State

Kent State

Photo by: Tab Brockman

9/3/2010 7:53:16 AM | Football

Racers open 2010 home season Sept. 11 against SEMO

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Murray State was one big play away from tieing the game late in the first half, but instead Kent State used their special teams to pull away from the Racer in the second half en route a 41-10 victory in the 2010 season opener Thursday night at Dix Stadium.

“We came out real tight and real timid,” said head coach Chris Hatcher. “It was kind of disappointing. I think we were shell shocked, but you have to give Kent State a lot of credit, they were a lot better football team than they showed on tape. They have a good team and they forced us to be that way a little bit.”

“Defensively, I guarantee three quarters of their points came off missed tackles. Offensively, we just couldn't block them. We had no running game and couldn't hold them out long enough to throw the ball down the field.”

The Golden Flashes (1-0) got on the board on their opening possession as they covered 61 yards on six plays. Eugene Jarvis carried the load on the drive as he carried four times for 31 yards, including scoring from seven yards out.

Kent added to its lead on its next possession as they used a short field to convert a 29-yard field goal off the foot of Freddy Cortez.

The Racer (0-1) offense got rolling on their third possession of the game as MSU went 76 yards on eight plays for their first points of the season. The drive was done through the air as quarterback Jeff Ehrhardt found receivers Arhtur Brackett and Daniel Ard for a pair of first downs to put the ball at midfield.

Following an offside penalty on Kent, Ehrhardt found Ard over the middle for seven yards to set up a 4th-and-2. The Racers quickly came to the line and forced the Golden Flashes to jump offside. Knowing he had a free play, Ehrhardt threw a deep ball down the right sideline that was caught by Brackett, who tight-roped the sideline for the 42-yard touchdown.

The Golden Flashes got the points right back as Spencer Keith found Sam Kirkland for a 16-yard touchdown.

The MSU defense set up the Racer offense just over five minutes into the second quarter as cornerback Nathan Brinkley stepped in front a Keith pass and returned it 44 yards. After failing to get a first down, Kienan Cullen connected on a 42-yard field goal to pull the Racers within a touchdown.

With just under five minutes remaining in the first half and the Racers down seven, cornerback Dontrell Johnson stepped in front of a Keith pass, but could not hang to the interception and the touchdown.

Two possessions later, Kent pushed the advantage to two touchdowns as Jacquise Terry went down the left sideline for a 49-yard touchdown reception.

The second half could not have started any worse from the Racers as the Golden Flashes all but put the game away as Calvin Taylor took the second-half kick 92 yards for a touchdown.

Ehrhardt led the Racer offense by going 30-for-47 for 258 yards and a touchdown. The 30 completions were the seventh most in a single game in Racer history.

The favorite target of Ehrhardt was Marcus Harris, who caught 11 balls for 79 yards. Ard added eight catches for 71 yards, while Brackett had five catches for 78 yards and a score in his first collegiate action.

The Racers return to action next weekend as they open the 2010 home season against Southeast Missouri. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at The Track.