Two students attacked after football argument

Two Kent State students were assaulted by a group of about 20 men Sunday morning, Kent police said.

Walking home from downtown Kent, Nick and Johnny said they and two friends passed a group of men on East Summit Street, near the intersection with South Depeyster Street.

They requested their full names not be used because they do not want further harassment.

The other group started chanting “O-H-I-O” at them. Nick said they yelled Michigan chants back at the other group.

“It was normal OSU-Michigan bull,” Nick said. “It kept going on. It wasn’t heated. It was fairly civil.”

After some back and forth between the groups, Johnny said the Ohio State fans started pushing Nick. Then one of them started punching Nick.

“I tried pulling them off and then I got hit,” he said.

Nick said he curled into a ball on the ground and tried to cover his head while they kicked him. They left before the police arrived.

Johnny said the paramedics looked at his eye, but Nick declined medical treatment. Johnny said he has a chipped front tooth, welts on the back of his head, a black eye and a swollen cheek. During the fight, he said he was knocked unconscious.

Nick said he has bruises and cuts, a scraped knee, welts on his head, a sore rib cage and a cut on his eye brow.

After they spoke to the police, Nick and Johnny said their group started walking again, only to run into the same group again. They said they were able to stay away from them long enough to call the police. They were able to get away without further incident, they said.

Lt. Jayme Cole from the Kent police department said it is unlikely that there will be an arrest in this case.

“There’s probably no chance of arrest unless one of the victims identifies one of the attackers,” he said.

Contact public affairs reporter Bryan Wroten at [email protected].