The Kent State football team lost to Louisiana-Lafayette 44-27 tonight at Cajun Field in Lafayette, La.

The Flashes (1-3) struggled to stop the run, allowing 414 rushing yards, including 242 in the first half.

“We just got outplayed tonight by a more physically talented football team,” Kent State coach Doug Martin said. “We had a hard time running them down, (and) they made a lot of plays. You have to give them credit.”

Lafayette senior running back Tyrell Fenroy rushed 23 times for 196 yards and three touchdowns, becoming the third all-time leading rusher in Sun Belt Conference history. Senior Ragin’ Cajuns quarterback Michael Desormeaux also exploited the Flashes’ run defense, rushing for 151 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries.

Kent State was without the help of its leading rusher, junior running back Eugene Jarvis. The top Mid-American Conference rusher of 2007 suffered an ankle injury last week against Delaware State. Without Jarvis, the Flashes started sophomore Andre Flowers, who rushed for 69 yards on 13 carries.

“He played well,” Martin said. “I thought he was very consistent and did a good job running the ball.”

Senior quarterback Julian Edelman led the Flashes, rushing for 169 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries. He also passed for 81 yards, completing 10 of 20 passes. Edelman threw one touchdown pass but also threw an interception in the second quarter.

“Offensively, we were able to drive the ball up and down the field at times,” Edelman said.

While the offense managed to score 27 points, it was the defense that struggled from start to finish. The Flashes allowed several big plays, including a 69-yard touchdown run by Fenroy in the second quarter to give the Cajuns a 23-14 lead. The defense allowed a two-year high of 667 yards of offense.

“They were blocking us much different, and they were blocking us well,” said sophomore linebacker Cobrani Mixon, who finished with 13 tackles.

The Flashes went into the half down 23-14 and managed to make it a two-point game after Edelman scored a 6-yard rushing touchdown early in the third quarter.

But the success was short-lived, as the Ragin’ Cajuns answered with a 55-yard touchdown pass from Desormeaux to freshman tight end Ladarius Green.

The Flashes failed to recover from the play, as they allowed two more scores, including a 47-yard touchdown carry by Ragin’ Cajun senior Jason Cherry.

After Edelman was removed from the game, junior quarterback Anthony Magazu threw the Flashes’ longest passing touchdown of the season to sophomore Alan Vanderrink. The wide receiver caught the 81-yard touchdown with 8:33 remaining in the game, which made the score 44-27.

The score meant little, as the Ragin’ Cajuns ran the clock out on the ensuing series.

“They just made big plays . the running back was fast, and he made us look bad,” Mixon said.

Contact sports editor Brock Harrington at [email protected].