By KRISTIAN POPE, The News Journal
Hornets unable to contain I-A foe
KENT, Ohio -- Kelly Rouse had just been stood up straight by an opposing lineman, causing him to miss an easy sack. As he left the field due to fatigue, he was met with some unpleasant prodding by Delaware State defensive teammate Ronn Spinner.
Had Rouse made the sack, the Hornets would have forced Kent State into a fourth-down situation. Instead, on the following play, the Golden Flashes scored, a jagged pill for a DSU defense that had to that point prevented them from reaching the end zone.
The sequence was brief but served as a clear example of what happened to the Hornets on Saturday afternoon.
Playing against their first opponent in 20 years from what's regarded as the upper class of college football -- NCAA Division I-A -- the Hornets couldn't match the level of their opponent, or their own expectations, in a 38-7 loss at Dix Stadium.
Delaware State (2-1), ranked No. 24 among I-AA teams, found itself matched evenly with Kent State for one half. Then, everything seemed to go haywire.
Kent State, held out of the end zone for the majority of the first half, scored three touchdowns in a span of 8:43 from the end of the second quarter to the beginning of the third quarter to pull away without further challenge.
"The only reason we're where we are and they're here is we didn't have the same SAT scores," Rouse said after the game, his first since serving a two-game suspension for violating school policy. "We really are all at the same level. They just found ways to change the momentum."
The Golden Flashes (2-1), with the 15th-ranked rushing offense in the nation, found success often. They gained 201 yards rushing, while quarterback Julian Edelman added 267 passing yards and three touchdowns.
Eugene Jarvis led Kent State with 136 yards rushing and one TD. He also caught a scoring pass.
But it didn't come easily against Delaware State, playing its first I-A foe since a 1987 victory at Akron.
The Hornets received three first-half turnovers (one interception and two fumbles), but couldn't turn them into points.
Kent State's second offensive possession, 18 plays in length, ended with a missed 22-yard field goal attempt. Two possessions later, DSU linebacker Russell Reeves forced an Edelman fumble that was scooped up by defensive back Ryan Robinson and returned to the Kent State 41-yard line.
Edelman had four first-half passes batted down in the end zone by DSU defenders.
"It was frustrating, especially against a team like that," Edelman said. "I'm not trying to say anything bad about them, but we were supposed to win by a lot."
After Robinson's fumble recovery, Delaware State fullback Adam Shrewsbury took a pitch and threw a pass to Shaheer McBride. McBride found the end zone, but the play was called back because of an illegal man downfield.
With Kent State driving again at the end of the first half, Rouse nearly sacked Edelman, who found Phil Garner with a 7-yard pass. On the next play, Edelman connected with Shawn Bayes for a 42-yard touchdown to cap a 94-yard drive with 1:37 left.
"The feeling was, if we didn't let them score, we'd win," Reeves said. "We had a job to do. We were down, but we never thought we were out."
Kent State opened the second half with a 4-yard TD run by Jarvis and followed with Edelman's 56-yard TD pass to Rashad Tukes for a 21-0 lead.
Trailing 31-0, DSU scored its lone touchdown on a 1-yard run by quarterback Vashon Winton with 35 seconds left in the game.
By that time, the damage and result were complete.
"We did not return the challenge," DSU coach Al Lavan said. "
GRAMBLING — There are some big shoes to fill in the Grambling receiving corps. Clyde Edwards, the most productive wide receiver in Grambling history, has moved on to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Grambling also lost its second-leading receiver from 2007, Reginald Jackson, as well as tight end Tim Abney, its third-leading receiver.
