Heading into Saturday’s contest against the winless UMass Minutemen, the Kent State football team hadn’t won a conference game in over 1000 days. The Flashes ended the nearly three-year-old drought in blowout fashion, winning 42-6.
With the win, the Flashes move to 2-4 (1-1) on the year, the team’s first multi-win campaign since 2022. The Minutemen fall to 0-6 (0-2), still searching for their first win of 2025.
“Obviously pleased with the result,” Coach Mark Carney said. “Really proud of this locker room and the way they stayed together through adversity and challenge. It’s really good to get this one.”
The Flashes controlled this game from the opening kickoff, as fan favorite Da’Realyst Clark, the junior receiver out of Lima, Ohio, took the kickoff back 90 yards for the touchdown.
“It gets the whole team hyped, his energy,” redshirt sophomore quarterback Dru DeShields said. “It’s amazing — I knew it right when they kicked it to him.”
On defense, KSU was absolutely dominant, holding UMass to just two field goals and allowing zero touchdowns. The Flashes’ defensive line broke out for four total sacks while the Minutemen were held to just 280 total yards of offense.
Redshirt sophomore corner back Joel Boamah and redshirt freshman safety Clinton Robinson also caught two interceptions.
Coming off a week on the bench due to a hamstring injury, DeShields took care of business.
“It’s starting to feel better,” DeShields said. “I just got to keep working through the week, but I’ll be fine.”
He threw for 148 yards and four touchdowns on 10 completions. Clark also dropped back for a pass on a trick play, a 27-yard completion for a first down.
On offense, the Flashes gained 330 yards of offense, with over 150 yards on the ground. Redshirt senior running back Jordan Nubin led the Flashes in rushing yards for his Dix Stadium debut, with 82 yards and one touchdown on 15 carries.
“I think adding Jordan Nubin back into the mix full time, taking some pressure off of Gavin [Garcia], it helped that for sure,” Carney said. “I thought our offensive line played outstanding. They set the tone and the tempo for our run game.”
Recap
Following the Clark kickoff touchdown, both teams traded punts. On its second drive of the game, DeShields found graduate student wide receiver Sebastian Brown for a 36-yard touchdown with 5:30 left in the first quarter.
Early in the second quarter, the Minutemen embarked on the first of only two scoring drives, resulting in a 39-yard field goal. The Flashes’ defense was sterling strong, as the Minutemen were unable to generate much of anything on offense.
In the second quarter, sophomore wide receiver Da’Shawn Martin connected on a 25-yard pass from DeShields to cap off a nine-play, 75-yard drive. This put KSU up 21-3 with five minutes remaining before halftime.
After UMass scored for the final time of the game on a 33-yard field goal to end the half, DeShields continued his dominance, as he threw his third touchdown of the day to redshirt junior tight end Terik Mulder. This was the second consecutive home game for Mulder with a receiving touchdown.
DeShields then fired a 34-yard dime to redshirt sophomore wide receiver Ardell Banks for his first touchdown of the season. This resulted in a one-play drive to put the Flashes up 35-6 in the third quarter.
To cap off the Flashes’ highest scoring game since dropping 62 points against Long Island State in 2022, Nubin found the end zone on a 25-yard rush to put KSU up by 36. KSU held UMass to a scoreless fourth quarter, winning its second game of the season 42-6.
Moving ahead
The Flashes will travel out west to take on the Toledo Rockets, who currently hold a record of 3-3 (1-2). These two teams last met in 2022 when the Rockets defeated KSU 52-31.
“I believe in this locker room, and I believe we can beat anybody on our schedule,” Carney said.
Gage Wellman is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected] or @GageWellmanKSTV on X.
