KENT, Ohio -- Jo-El Shaw ran for 105 yards and three touchdowns to help Kent State roll to a 54-14 victory over Howard on Saturday.
Kent State (1-1) surpassed 50 points for the first time since 2008 and has beaten Howard (0-2) in consecutive home openers.
Shaw scored on a 15-yard run following a blocked punt in the first quarter and had two scoring runs from inside the 4-yard line. Justin Rankin burst up the middle and ran untouched for 61 yards into the end zone to stretch the Kent State lead to 33-7 in the third quarter. Rankin, who led the Golden Flashes in yards rushing and receptions last season, finished with 147 yards on the ground and had a pair of catches for 22 yards.
Will Matthews and Woody Barrett also had touchdown runs for Kent State.
Caylin Newton was 11-of-25 passing for 159 yards and threw two, third-quarter touchdown passes for the Bison.
Game notes - Provided by Kent State University
The Flashes reached 50 points for the first time since 2008 (at Miami).
The 2008 game at Miami was also last time Kent State had six or more rushing touchdowns.
Junior Joel Shaw – TD on first career carry. Three total touchdowns. Last time that happened was 2016 at Buffalo when Nick Holley rushed for four touchdowns. Rushed for 100 yards in his first career game.
Senior Juantez McRae has intercepted a pass in four consecutive season.
Junior Justin Rankin had a career-high 147 rushing yards career long 61-yard touchdown run and.
Sophomore walk-on tight end Adam Dulka had a career high two receptions for 29 yards.
Senior Matt Bahr had career highs of 11 total tackles and eight solo stops.
The last time Kent State recorded a safety was 2017 vs. Howard.
Howard Head Coach Mike London
On the game…
“We got outcoached, we got outplayed and we could not stop them. We could not convert. They were the best team today and it showed. We have a lot of work to do and things we must go look at again. This football team today was not indicative of the one that played last week. They [Kent State] did what they had to do and we could not stop them.”
On things to build on moving forward…
“There are a lot of guys that played in this game, including a lot of true freshman. Towards the latter part of the game, they caused some turnovers and did some positive things. We just need to go back and look at what we do and how we do it. As I said, they outcoached us and outplayed us. We were not ready for the elements. There are a bunch of things that have to get corrected.”
Head Coach Sean Lewis
Opening Statement…
“It is great to be back home. It is great to get the first win. And it is great to score some points. The defense did a fabulous job early on. They did a really nice job early on containing a dynamic quarterback. I am really pleased in all three phases with the attitude and the effort. There are a lot of things we need to clean up. We had too many turnovers and too many penalties. Those are some things that we can control and get rectified. I am happy for the kids and most importantly, everyone involved in our FlashFAST family. It is great to get our first win and to do it at home in front of our fans in some less than ideal conditions. I am really pleased with the way that our kids performed, and it is something that we can build off of. I am looking forward to looking at the film and grading it, but we are going to take 24 hours to celebrate because when you win, you have to appreciate it.”
On the past nine months…
“It is great to win, and I am more pleased with the way the kids have handled things over the past nine months. Now they get to feel in moments the way it all works. I told the kids last night that we are going to defer, we are going to kick off, get a stop and then come down and score.”
On the blocked punt…
“It was huge. Anytime you are able to change the field like that, it is huge. Special teams was able to provide a huge spark and change the momentum.”
Senior Linebacker Matt Bahr
On neutralizing Caylin Newton…
“We knew coming in this week after watching their tape against Ohio that they are very explosive. They have a great offense and a great quarterback in [Caylin] Newton. We just trusted the defensive coaches and the game plan they put together. They put us in a great position to be successful and then we just have to execute the game plan at that point.”
On stopping their momentum in the first half…
“We trust Coach [Tom] Kaufman to give us the right call. He does a great job with that. At that point, it is just execution. We rep it all week. We spend a lot of time in the film room and we have great players on defense. Jim Jones, Jamal Parker and Elvis Hines are just ball players that go out and execute. We are confident that we can play with anybody that we go up against. At the end of the day, you just go out and play football.”
Junior Running Back Justin Rankin
On having a great game today…
“We just stuck to the fundamentals and what the coaches told us to do. Give all the credit to the offensive line. We are just running the ball. We do the easy part. It was a great day running the ball. We had a couple of turnovers on the ground, but all in all it was a good day running the ball.”
On Woody Barrett…
“I love watching Woody [Barrett] play. He is a great playmaker. He puts us all in the places that we need to be. He knows the offense and goes through his progressions. He is a good ball player and does what you have to do.”
