KENT: Kent State coach Paul Haynes is done with praise after tough losses.
He was in no mood to sugarcoat things after the Golden Flashes lost 39-36 in four overtimes to North Carolina A&T State in their home opener Saturday night
“Everybody praised us for playing well at Penn State and [we] still got our ass kicked, and then we come out here and let a team that we should beat sit there and hang around,” Haynes said. “Quit praising us for losing. Tell us we suck. It’ll be better for us.”
A storm delayed the scheduled 6 p.m. start for more than two hours, and the game didn’t end until 12:12 a.m. Sunday.
The Aggies prevailed on a 15-yard touchdown pass from third-string quarterback Oluwafemi Bamiro to senior receiver Denzel Keyes two plays after officials flagged sophomore cornerback Darryl Marshall for pass interference on a third-and-15.
It was the Aggies’ first victory over a FBS school in four tries.
The Flashes (0-2) had beaten 13 consecutive Football Championship Subdivision opponents and led the Aggies (2-0) with under six minutes to go in the fourth quarter.
But senior tailback Tarik Cohen shed Kent State defenders and bounced into the end zone for a two-yard touchdown with 5:50 left to tie the score at 17-17.
The Flashes — who started the ensuing possession in Aggies territory — couldn’t take back the lead until overtime.
The Aggies struck first with a 35-yard field goal, which Flashes sophomore kicker Shane Hynes matched moments later with a 40-yard boot to force the second overtime.
After freshman running back Justin Rankin scored in the next overtime, the Kent State defense seemed poised to stop the Aggies for the victory. But two pass interference penalties led to a one-yard touchdown run by Bamiro to tie the game at 27.
The Flashes has another chance to win in the third overtime, but their required try for two points after sophomore Johnny Woods caught a 15-yard touchdown pass was intercepted. The Aggies had also scored a touchdown but failed on the two-point conversion.
Hynes gave Kent State a 36-33 lead in the fourth overtime with a 42-yard field goal before Bamiro’s gamewinner to Keyes.
Fifth-year senior tight end Brice Fackler, who had one touchdown all of last season, had touchdown receptions of 27 and 8 yards — both from redshirt freshman quarterback Mylik Mitchell — for the Flashes. The second score, which came on the final play of the third quarter and put Kent State in front 17-10, was an acrobatic grab after the ball was tipped by two Aggies defenders.
“I was going to tackle the guy, really,” Fackler said. “I thought he picked it already. I just saw it there and grabbed it. It’s just lucky, that’s it.”
Fackler finished with 58 yards receiving on three catches and fifth-year senior wideout Ernest Calhoun had 60 yards on four catches. Rankin led the Flashes in rushing with 37 yards and a touchdown.
In his first career start, Mitchell completed 17-of-32 passes for 182 yards, three touchdowns and an interception.
“He’s a young quarterback,” Haynes said of Mitchell. “There’s a lot of reads he probably missed. He’s got to learn to stay in the pocket more and take his reads.”
Near the end of the first half, Mitchell went down with an apparent leg injury. Sophomore quarterback George Bollas entered and managed 14 yards rushing and lost a fumble. He didn’t attempt a pass.
Senior safety Nate Holley paced the Kent State defense with 13 tackles, and senior defensive end Terence Waugh added 11 with two quarterback sacks. Senior linebacker Elcee Refuge and fifth-year senior defensive back Najee Murray each recovered a fumble.
Cohen led the Aggies in both rushing (133 yards) and receiving (125 yards). Keyes had three receptions for 44 yards.
“We knew their back [Cohen] was very dynamic,” Haynes said. “We knew their receiver [Keyes] was very good. But again, they made plays.”