• Blog
  • About Us
  • Links
  MAC Reporter Online

Akron turnovers fuel Ball State victory

10/25/2014

 
Picture
MUNCIE, Ind. -- The Ball State Cardinals scored 29 unanswered points Saturday to overcome a 15-point second-quarter deficit on the way to a 35-21 victory over Akron.

Scott Secor set a Scheumann Stadium record with five field goals and the Cardinals generated five turnovers for the second consecutive week. Ball State won its second straight to improve to 3-5 (2-2 Mid-American Conference), while Akron fell to 4-4 (2-2 MAC).

“This was one of those days that ages you as a coach, but at least we got the result we wanted,” Ball State head coach Pete Lembo said. “I am very proud of our guys and how they played, especially in the second half. 



(CLICK READ MORE TO CONTINUE . . . )
“It took a little conjuring at halftime, but this is a really good group of guys. It’s a young group that is still learning. The thing I feel good about is they know where they are at and they know we have to stay after it to get the kind of performance we want.”

After Akron scored three touchdowns in its first four possessions, the Ball State defense buckled down and shut the Zips out on only 111 yards the rest of the way. A pair of Secor field goals provided the only Ball State points until KeVonn Mabon went 13 yards on a reverse for a touchdown to make it a one possession game at 21-13 shortly before halftime.

The second half is when the game truly changed. Ball State forced all five of its turnovers after the break and added a blocked punt, setting up its offense in Akron territory on six of eight possessions in the second half.

The Cardinals settled for two more field goals from Secor to trim the Akron lead to 21-19 just one play into the fourth quarter. Quintin Cooper then recovered a fumbled punt at the Akron 29-yard line, and Ball State quarterback Jack Milas scored two plays later on a 5-yard run. A two-point attempt failed, but the Cardinals had their first lead since the early going at 25-21.

“This one was not always pretty; there were a lot of highs and lows,” Lembo said. “The one thing that is important is that these guys aren’t quitting even when it isn’t as pretty or as clean as we like it to be. They keep fighting, they keep battling and these coaches keep coaching them hard. I am just really proud of how we responded in the second half.”

Teddy Williamson blocked a punt on the next Akron possession, and the Cardinals converted four plays later on Jahwan Edwards' 47th career touchdown run to extend the lead. A Tyree Holder interception led to Secor's fifth and final field goal of the day to cap the scoring.

Ben Ingle, Zack Ryan and Eric Patterson also had interceptions for Ball State, which owns a 10-1 advantage in turnover margin over the past two games. Patterson has been responsible for creating four of the 10 turnovers.

Secor attempted seven field goals on the day, making five of them to set a career high and tie the Ball State single-game record. The senior, who had four field goals and a game-winning 55-yarder last week at Central Michigan, became the first kicker in the country to reach 20 field goals this season.

Edwards, who became Ball State's all-time leading rusher last week, added 121 more yards to his total. It was his 16th career 100-yard rushing game, the second-most in Ball State history behind Marcus Merriweather's 19. Milas threw for 225 yards on the day, while Jordan Williams led the Ball State receivers with eight catches for 118 yards.

Woodson completed 21 of 39 for 200 yards and a TD for Akron. However, he also tossed four interceptions. Conor Hundley paced the Zips ground game with 14 carries for 72 of UA’s 15 rushing yards. L.T. Smith’s five catches for 59 yards topped Akron receivers.

Ball State now has 10 days off before returning to action Wednesday, Nov. 5 against Northern Illinois. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. at Scheumann Stadium.​ Akron is off until Nov. 4 when it hosts Bowling Green (8 p.m. ET).

(Courtesy of BSU Athletics)


Comments are closed.
    Picture

    MAC Football 

    MAC FOOTBALL 
    2024
    REGULAR SEASON
    FINAL STANDINGS
    CLICK HERE

    Picture
    MAC Basketball 
    MAC BASKETBALL SCHEDULE

    MAC BASKETBALL
    STATISTICS

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Basketball
    Football
    Other

    Archives

    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014

Proudly powered by Weebly