Kent State retained the Wagon Wheel on Saturday, beating rival Akron 35-20 at Dix Stadium in Kent as quarterback Dru DeShields accounted for five total touchdowns in the 69th Battle for the Wagon Wheel.
DeShields finished 18-of-33 passing for 294 yards and four touchdowns without an interception, and added eight carries for 28 yards and a rushing touchdown without taking a sack. Wide receiver Wayne Harris caught nine passes for 156 yards and three touchdowns, including scoring plays of 1, 55 and 19 yards.
Akron led three separate times. Jordan Gant, who rushed 28 times for 162 yards and two touchdowns, gave the Zips leads of 7-0 and 14-7, and an Aidan Stire 40-yard field goal put Akron ahead 17-14 late in the third quarter. Kent State answered each time, taking its first lead on DeShields’ 2-yard touchdown pass to Hunter Hopperton — the first touchdown catch of Hopperton’s career — to make it 21-17 entering the fourth quarter.
The fourth quarter broke the game open. Norey Johnson intercepted a pass and Tanner Mintz recovered a muffed kickoff, setting up back-to-back Kent State scores — the 19-yard Harris touchdown and a 1-yard DeShields run — that pushed the margin to 35-17 before a late Akron field goal set the final score.
Akron actually outgained Kent State 422 yards to 376 and held the ball for more than 34 minutes, with Brayden Roggow throwing for 275 yards and Kyan Mason catching seven passes for 129 yards. But the Zips were flagged 15 times for 165 yards, compared with three penalties for 35 yards for Kent State, and lost the turnover battle 2-1.
The win was Kent State’s second straight over Akron, improving the Golden Flashes to 3-5 overall and 2-2 in the Mid-American Conference and head coach Mark Carney to 2-0 against the Zips. Akron fell to 1-7 and 0-4 in conference play.
Kent State’s all-time series record against Akron now stands at 30-37-2. The Golden Flashes travel west to play at Sacramento State on Friday, while Akron’s next game is Tuesday, Nov. 3 at home against Ohio.
Photo: JonRidinger, CC BY