Kent State junior Eugene Jarvis celebrates after a touchdown. Jarvis tied a Kent State record with four touchdowns against the RedHawks

Credit: DKS Editors

Many Kent State fans probably missed the football team’s game at Miami on Saturday afternoon while preparing for Halloween celebrations, so it was fitting that the Flashes played in a way that will give the RedHawks nightmares for weeks.

Kent State routed Miami 54-21 at Yager Stadium in Oxford to win its first Mid-American Conference and Football Bowl Subdivision game since Sept. 29, 2007.

Miami deserved a “Thank you” from Kent State fans after the game, as the RedHawks turned the ball over six times on four fumbles and two interceptions.

Kent State coach Doug Martin said the Flashes do not deserve any accolades for the win because they were just finally performing the way they are capable of playing.

“This is what we’ve been trying to get to,” Martin said. “Today they saw it, but I had to about have three aneurysms over the last two weeks in practice to get them to this point.”

Senior quarterback Julian Edelman led the team offensively with 158 yards rushing, including a 58-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Edelman also passed for a touchdown to sophomore wide receiver Leneric Muldrow.

Edelman said the team needs to put up a good effort against Bowling Green next week or this win means little.

“There’s an old saying my dad told me,” Edelman said. “Once is luck. Twice is skill. Hopefully we can go out and do it next week with Bowling Green.”

Junior running back Eugene Jarvis played a workmanlike game for the Flashes but finished when it counted by scoring a Kent State record-tying four rushing touchdowns. Jarvis, who scored all of his touchdowns in the second quarter, danced into the end zone three times from 1 yard out and once from 2 yards out.

Overall, Jarvis rushed for 105 yards on 23 carries, including a 27-yard run on the Flashes’ first drive that set up junior kicker Nate Reed’s 48-yard field goal to open the scoring for the game. Last week Martin said Reed would play in the game even though Martin replaced him with sophomore kicker Will Kandray in the Flashes’ last game after Reed missed the opening extra point. Reed rebounded in this game, hitting two field goals in two attempts and making six extra points in seven attempts.

Sophomore safety Brian Lainhart led an opportunistic Kent State defense that forced six Miami turnovers. Lainhart intercepted Miami freshman quarterback Clay Belton and forced and recovered a fumble.

Lainhart leads the team and the MAC with five interceptions on the season and sits at fourth in the conference in tackles per game with an average of 9.1.

Edelman said the entire offense enjoys watching a playmaker like Lainhart dominate on defense.

“I’m his biggest cheerleader,” Edelman said. “I love watching him play. He goes out there and gets us fired up.”

Martin said his team’s performance at Miami just proves to him the team should have more wins at this point in the season.

“I told the players, ‘You know what this game did? It makes me even more mad,'” Martin said. “I’ve been telling them this is what we could be all along.”

Contact sports reporter Thomas Gallic at[email protected].

Game notes:

n Kent Hearts Lainhart: Apparently forcing two turnovers was not enough for sophomore safety Brian Lainhart. He also led the team in total tackles with 10, in his return to Southern Ohio. Lainhart played his high school ball at Colerain High School in Cincinnati.

&bull How Offensive? Kent State’s 54 points were the most given up by the RedHawks since 1987. The opponent? The University of Miami Hurricanes.

&bull The Great ‘Gazu’: You’ve read the article and know that junior running back Eugene Jarvis had four scores and senior quarterback Julian Edelman rushed for one and passed for one. The suspense is probably killing you about who scored the seventh TD. It was junior quarterback Anthony Magazu with a short run in the fourth quarter.

&bull Defensive player of the game: C’mon, how could it not be Lainhart? The sophomore was a ball hawk all game and broke up several plays in addition to his two forced turnovers.

&bull Offensive player of the game: Jarvis deserves the most honorable of honorable mentions for his Kent State record-tying four rushing touchdowns, but it was Edelman’s game. The impossible-to-tackle Edelman averaged a whopping 9.9 yards per carry and got Jarvis in position for all of his touchdowns.