Freshman unable to pick up win against CMU in debut

Kent State threw the ball well, played a clean game and didn’t turn the ball over, but it still wasn’t enough as Central Michigan passed themselves by the Flashes to win 41-32 Saturday at Dix Stadium.

“We made some plays and kept us in the game,” Kent State coach Doug Martin said. “We just came up a little short.”

True freshman quarterback Giorgio Morgan didn’t play like someone starting his first game. He threw for 247 yards and three touchdowns and no interceptions. Despite being sacked five times, Morgan was able to spread the ball to seven different receivers. The 19 year old brought excitement to a struggling offense for the first time since the Ohio game, the last game the Flashes won.

“This whole week of practice, going against our defense, prepared me for this game,” Morgan said.

The only problem was the Chippewas had a pretty good quarterback of their own in Dan LeFevour. The sophomore threw for 359 yards and three touchdowns. He also had 12 carries for 75 yards.

Martin called the Chippewas’ offense the second best squad the Flashes have played, the first being Kentucky.

It wasn’t just LeFevour who played well, senior running back Justin Hoskins ran for 151 yards on 24 carries and two touchdowns.

Last week, the Flashes gave up 197 rushing yards to Bowling Green and this week wasn’t better, as they allowed 221 yards on the ground.

Central Michigan’s 580 yards of offense is the most the Flashes have allowed all season.

“They’ve got a lot of weapons and they do a great job,” Martin said. ” We certainly had our hands full trying to stop them in the first half.”

Kent State allowed 411 yards in the first half and was down 31-19. They rebounded in the second after making adjustments that held the Chippewas to just nine points the rest of the game.

Defensive back Jack Williams had a career-high 19 tackles and an interception.

“He played one of his better games today,” Martin said.

Williams’ interception was his second of the year and now has 83 tackles on the season. He will now help lead the young defense as they attempt to win the rest of their games.

“They might as well take these last few games to get better,” Williams said. ” I just want to win though.”

Eugene Jarvis continued to play well, running into the Kent State record books by becoming the school’s 10th all-time leading rusher in just his second season.

The sophomore had 156 yards on 19 carries and one touchdown. Jarvis ran for more than 100 yards in the first half for the fifth time this season.

The Flashes had no turnovers for the second time this season. Unlike the Ohio game, the Flashes were unable to capitalize on ball security.

“Scoring 32 points and no turnovers should win you the game,” Martin said.

Contact football reporter Joe Harrington at [email protected].