Mid-American conference football | Saturday’s games

Kent State 20, Miami (Ohio) 14

KENT

Poland High School graduate Colin Reardon threw for 136 yards and a score as Kent State held on to an early lead to beat Miami (Ohio). Reardon finished with 12-of-21 passing for the Golden Flashes (2-3, 1-0). Antwan Dixon rushed for 72 yards and a touchdown and Shane Hynes kicked a pair of field goals. Dixon broke away on a reverse play and ran 75 yards for a score midway through the second quarter to help give Kent State a 13-0 halftime lead. In the third quarter, Reardon connected with Ernest Calhoun for a 44-yard touchdown and the Golden Flashes were up 20-0. The RedHawks (1-4, 0-1) started to click in the fourth quarter, scoring on a 1-yard run by Alonzo Smith and a touchdown pass by Drew Kummer, but it was not enough. Kummer threw for 315 yards and a score but was intercepted four times.

Ohio 14, Akron 12

AKRON

Derrius Vick threw for one touchdown, Daz’mond Patterson ran for another and the Ohio defense made that hold up for a win over Akron. Despite out-gaining the Bobcats by nearly 100 yards, the Zips (2-3) were limited to four Robert Stein field goals. After Stein’s 30-yard field goal with 3:55 to play, Ohio (4-1) went three-and-out. However, the Bobcat defense got a sack by Quentin Poling on second down and Ian Wells broke up a fourth-down pass to seal the win. After Stein staked Ohio to a 3-0 lead midway through the first quarter, Vick connected with Keith Heitzman for a 24-yard score. Early in the second Patterson scored on a 4-yard run before Stein kicked a 33-yarder three seconds before halftime. Stein booted a 41-yard field goal late in the third quarter. Akron had 319 total yards to 227 for Ohio.

Toledo 24, Ball State 10

MUNCIE, IND.

Phillip Ely threw two touchdowns as Toledo won its fourth straight. Ely was 16 of 22 for 164 yards for the Rockets (4-0, 1-0). Terry Swanson rushed for 139 yards and Damion Jones-Martin finished with 85 yards and a score. A pair of Ely touchdown passes in the second quarter, along with a Jones-Moore scoring run and a Jameson Vest field goal gave Toledo a 24-3 advantage at halftime. Ball State’s Morgan Hagee got the Cardinals (2-3, 1-1) on the board just before the break with a 29-yard field goal and Riley Neal hit Jordan Williams for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter to close the gap to 24-10. With 5:34 left, Ely chewed up the clock with an 11-play, 57-yard drive to preserve the Toledo lead. Neal had 236 yards and a touchdown for the Cardinals.

Bowling Green 28, Buffalo 16

BUFFALO, N.Y.

Matt Johnson threw for a touchdown and ran for another, Donovan Wilson and Ronnie Moore each ran in scores and Bowling Green held off a late surge by Buffalo. Johnson, who threw for more than 400 yards in each of his first four games this season — a school record — was 23 of 29 for 324 yards. He scored on a 10-yard run and threw a 12-yard TD pass to Roger Lewis, who had 10 catches for 201 yards. Wilson scored on a 1-yard run on the Falcon’s opening drive and Bowling Green (3-2, 1-0) led 28-9 after Moore’s 7-yard TD run in the third quarter. Buffalo outscored Bowling Green 16-7 in the second half, with Joe Licata hitting Ron Willoughby with a 5-yard TD pass and Jordan Johnson scoring on a 1-yard run. Adam Mitcheson kicked three field goals for the Bulls (2-3, 0-1).

Central Michigan 29, Northern Illinois 19

MOUNT PLEASANT, MICH.

Cooper Rush threw two touchdown passes and Brian Eavey kicked three field goals Saturday to help Central Michigan overtake Northern Illinois. Trailing 10-3 at the half, Central Michigan (2-3) tied it up early in the third quarter with a 9-yard touchdown pass from Rush to Jesse Kroll, who later hauled in a 23-yard TD strike as well. Jahray Hayes punched in a touchdown from the 4 to extend the lead and Eavey padded it in the fourth quarter with his third field goal of the game, a 41-yarder. Rush, who had been averaging 317 yards per game, completed 16 of 31 passes for 182 yards and an interception. Northern Illinois (2-3), the defending league champion, got two touchdowns from Joel Bouagnon, who finished with 104 yards on 26 carries.

Massachusetts 24, Florida International 14

AMHERST, MASS.

Blake Frohnapfel threw three touchdown passes to lead Massachusetts over Florida International. Frohnapfel was 32 of 42 for 363 yards passing. He threw a 57-yard touchdown pass to Marken Michel early in the game, and connected with Michel again on an 5-yard scoring throw with 7:11 remaining to cap the scoring. Tajae Sharpe had 15 catches for 159 yards with one touchdown for Massachusetts (1-3), which snapped a five-game losing streak dating back to last season. Alex McGough threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Thomas Owens for FIU (2-3) late in the second quarter. Massachusetts answered on the ensuing series when Logan Laurent kicked a 48-yard field goal to give the Minutemen a 17-7 halftime lead. Alex Gardner bullied in from the 1-yard line with 20 seconds left in the third quarter to pull FIU to 17-14. It was the first meeting between the schools.

Associated Press