It was a lead that never felt safe. The Ohio football team led by as many as 17 against Kent State, but after a second-half debacle against Buffalo in its last game, Ohio fans had to know the Bobcats had not closed the deal just yet.
In the end, it was another fourth-quarter collapse and a 37-33 loss to the Golden Flashes yesterday at Peden Stadium.
Ohio (2-7 overall, 1-4 Mid-American Conference) has lost four games in which it held leads in the fourth quarter.
Despite the Bobcats' best efforts to change a misfortune that has haunted them all year, Ohio was unable to hang on again.
We really tried to emphasize fourth quarter that last two weeks every practice
Ohio coach Brian Knorr said. It's difficult losing close games. It's a pattern of losing fourth-quarter leads.
The Bobcats have been outscored, 131-60, in the second half and overtime this season and were outscored 20-6 in the second half against the Golden Flashes.
After scoring almost at will in the first half, the Bobcats were not nearly as productive on offense in the second half. They managed only two field goals in that time.
We were very productive and took advantage of situations early Knorr said. To only get six points in their territory is disappointing.
Despite its lack of production, Ohio was still clinging to a 33-31 late in the game and looked to be in good position to put Kent State away.
The Bobcats took over with good field position with seven minutes to go after an interception by safety Rob Stover. Ohio drove to midfield, but quarterback Ryan Hawk fumbled to give it back to the Golden Flashes.
Kent State (4-6, 3-3) then took 10 plays to drive for a touchdown and the 37-33 lead, capped off by a seven-yard run by quarterback Joshua Cribbs.
With 1:29 left, Hawk had a chance at redemption for the fumble and nearly came through. He completed passes of 21, four and 19 yards to move the ball to the Kent State 35.
But Hawk missed running back Stafford Owens on the next play and completed a two-yard pass to wide receiver Anthony Hackett that forced Ohio to use its only timeout.
On third down, Hawk was sacked for an 18-yard loss, and Hawk's fourth down heave for the end zone was out-of-bounds.
On the day, Hawk was 10-of-12 for 168 yards, despite still feeling the effects of a shoulder injury. Still, Hawk said he does not care what the numbers are.
I feel terrible honestly Hawk said. It doesn't really matter who plays well. We lost.
As well as Hawk might have played, he was not surprisingly outplayed by his counterpart. Cribbs rushed for 79 yards and four touchdowns. He added 250 yards passing.
Linebacker Matron Church said Ohio knew it was in for a tough game from the Golden Flashes quarterback.
Josh Cribbs is a wonderful quarterback
Church said. You just have to try to control him. He's the type of quarterback you can't stop.
The Bobcats were able to put a lot of heat on Cribbs. He fumbled twice, was sacked four times and intercepted once but it was not enough.
Ohio will face the task of stopping another tough quarterback, Charlie Frye of Akron, in its next game, noon Saturday in Akron.
Vital Stats
Scoring by Quarters
Kent State 3 14 7 13 -- 37
Ohio 13 14 6 0 -- 33
Scoring Summary
1st 11:13 OHIO Young 19 yard run (Miller kick failed)
7:08 OHIO Fountain 7 yard run (DiMarino kick)
3:20 KSU Mayle 26 yard field goal
2nd 13:48 OHIO Huston 1 yard run (DiMarino kick)
11:53 KSU Cribbs 16 yard run (Mayle kick)
8:23 OHIO Huston 23 yard run (DiMarino kick)
5:20 KSU Cribbs 5 yard run (Mayle kick)
3rd 11:03 OHIO DiMarino 26 yard field goal
8:02 KSU Bell 33 yard pass from Smith (Mayle kick)
4:47 OHIO DiMarino 27 yard field goal
4th 13:28 KSU Cribbs 4 yard run (Mayle kick)
1:29 KSU Cribbs 7 yard run (Cribbs pass failed)
Individual stats
Rushing: KSU - Cribbs 17-79, Beverly 14-61, Brooks 5-28. OHIO - Young 9-73, Huston 10-65, Owens 8-45, Fountain 7-31, Hawk 14-23, Porter 5-22, Taylor 1-9, Hackett 1-6, Jackson 1-5, TEAM 1-(-1), Mayle 1-(-4).
Passing: KSU - Cribbs 20-36-1 250, Smith 1-1-0 33. OHIO - Hawk 10-12-0 168.
Receiving: KSU - Dowery 7-100, Moore 4-55, Bell 3-50, Smith 3-27, Beverly 2-31, Pruden 1-19, Bush 1-1. OHIO - Hackett 5-75, Mayle 2-32, Owens 1-36, Porter 1-21, Huston 1-4.
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Lonnie McMillan
