The University of Akron and Morgan State were the first two teams ever to share the Summa Field turf at InfoCision Stadium. They sure did not share it equally. The Zips had a decided territorial advantage Saturday afternoon in a dominating performance and resultant 41-0 victory over the overmatched Bears. An announced crowd of 27,881 was treated to its initial look at InfoCision Stadium, the new $61.6 million on-campus facility, and were equally treated to the Zips imposing their will on the visitors from start to finish.
The Zips (1-1), bouncing back from a one-sided loss at Penn State last weekend, had a 436-127 advantage in total yards, a 23-3 edge in first downs and a possession of 35 minutes versus 25 minutes. ''It didn't come easy, but I thought our guys executed decently and made the improvements you thought you should make from game one to game two,'' Zips coach J.D. Brookhart said. ''It's great to get a victory.'' The Zips led just 7-0 after the first quarter, failing to capitalize on several early opportunities. But the Zips rolled to a 17-point second quarter to make it 24-0 at the half and ended any possible chance for a Morgan State comeback by scoring midway through the third quarter to make it 31-0.
Morgan State - Akron Zips Game Photos>>
Zips open InfoCision with flourish
It was just the kind of new stadium debut the Akron Zips hoped for. Morgan State proved to be the welcome mat for an official full house of 27,881 fans for the first game in InfoCision Stadium as the Zips rolled to a 41-0 victory. It was Akron's first shutout since 1992. A sun-splashed crowd accounted for every seat and witnessed the Zips methodically work over the small-college Bears. The only down side is, after a 31-7 road loss at powerhouse Penn State, and this whitewash over the Bears, it is still unclear just how good, how average, or how bad Akron will be this season. A more revealing test will come next Saturday when Akron (1-1) hosts undefeated Indiana (2-0) in a game that will put the stadium and the crowd to a true environmental test.
University of Akron (Ohio) InfoCision Stadium-Summa Field: The $61.6 million stadium seats 30,000. It has seven levels, 21 restrooms, a good-sized video scoreboard, 38 loge boxes and 522 club seats. It has 17 suites, with the Presidential Suite — complete with fireplace — the jewel. InfoCision has elevators — nice, roomy ones. Some of them will take fans to the FirstMerit Foundation Club Level (the fifth level), which has a spacious area that can be rented out by the public for business meetings and receptions. Some classes will be moved to classrooms in the new stadium. The stadium also will have a full slate of high school games.
Akron rolls over Morgan, 41-0
Chris Jacquemain passed for 162 yards and three touchdowns, and Deryn Bowser had eight receptions for 86 yards and three touchdowns as Akron opened InfoCision Stadium with a 41-0 rout of Morgan State on Saturday. Akron rolled up 436 total yards and finished the game with 186 passing yards, the most yards Morgan State has given up through the air since surrendering 243 against Towson on Sept. 6, 2008. It was the most points Morgan has allowed since a 41-16 loss to South Carolina State in 2006.
The Bears (0-1), who had a 22-3 disadvantage in first downs, finished with just 41 rushing yards. Morgan All- Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference running back Devan James, who only had one carry in the preseason, was limited to 24 yards on 10 carries. The Zips (1-1) led 24-0 at halftime, as they out-gained the Bears 262-78, forced two fumbles and grabbed an interception. Bowser scored his third touchdown of the day on a fade route midway through the third quarter. Carlton Jackson was 10-for-19 for 87 yards for Morgan State, but he threw two interceptions. The first helped set up the Zips' first scoring drive of the game.
Morgan State defensive back Richard Wilson attempts to intercept a Zip pass.Grudge game
Awakened by the phone, the Morgan State football coach fumbled to answer it and peered at the clock. It was 1 a.m. This can't be good news, Donald Hill-Eley thought. The caller, his quarterback, was crying. "Coach?" Carlton Jackson asked, voice aquiver. "What's going on, son?" "Thank you for not giving up on me." Hill-Eley yawned, smiled and yawned again. "I always had faith in you," the Morgan coach said. "Now let me go back to sleep."
Since that conversation in June, Jackson - once moody and mercurial - has been a different quarterback. Just how much he has changed, Morgan learns today in its opener at Akron. In practice, at least, the Bears sense a newfound stability in Jackson, a transfer from Akron, of all places. Morgan hopes he has matured in time to tame the Zips, the team against which Jackson has plenty to prove. "It's indescribable, a once-in-a-lifetime deal to play against your old school," said Jackson, 22, a senior in his second year at Morgan. "It'll be a hostile environment - I expect the boos - but it's a chance for me to go in and show that I can play."
Scouting report: Morgan State-Akron
SERIES: First meeting
WHAT'S AT STAKE: It's a sellout as Akron plays its first game in InfoCision Stadium, a $61 million ballpark with 27,000 seats, a cutting-edge synthetic field and a state-of-the-art scoreboard. Can Morgan ruin the Zips' debut? Akron got pummeled, 31-7, by Penn State last week but promises to bounce back today. The Zips (Mid-American Conference) were 5-7 last season and have won just nine games in the past two years. Morgan split its 12 games in 2008, the Bears' best finish since 2003 under Coach Donald Hill-Eley, who's in his eighth year. Always strong defensively, Morgan has ditched the grind-it-out game and gone to a more vertical offense, which takes pressure off fleet RB Devan James (1,337 yards) and heaps it on the shoulders of QB Carlton Jackson (742 passing yards) and his talented understudy, freshman Donovan Dickerson.
KEY MATCHUP: Jackson, a transfer from Akron, against the Zips' suspect defense. But they know his tendencies, especially S Andre Jones, from Forestville, one of Jackson's best friends. They've been calling and texting each other all week, talking trash.
PLAYERS TO WATCH: Akron: QB Chris Jacquemain, a senior who, in 2007, got the nod over Jackson and prompted the latter's transfer. Morgan: James, who was recruited heavily by Akron but who this season has a chance to become the Bears' all-time leading rusher.
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