Football notches first win, 27-7 over Monmouth

Saturday, September 17

3:30 p.m.

Kent State University

1-2

Monmouth University

2-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Monmouth

Kent State

Photo by: Jeff Glidden

Football notches first win, 27-7 over Monmouth

9/17/2016 7:06:00 PM | Football

Box Score

KENT, Ohio – Mylik Mitchell connected with Nick Holley on a pair of touchdown passes, Myles Washington reached the end zone for his first career score, and Shane Hynes booted a pair of field goals as Kent State notched its first win of 2016 with a 27-7 victory over Monmouth on Saturday at Dix Stadium.

"It's good to get into the win column and it felt good to be in that locker room singing the fight song," said Kent State head coach Paul Haynes, whose Golden Flashes improved to 1-2. "I'm proud of our guys for the way they bounced back after a tough loss…and I'm proud of how they worked and of their attitude this week."

For the second week in a row, the Flashes' defense pitched a shutout heading into halftime. The two Mitchell-to-Holley scores helped KSU build on the the 13-0 advantage after the break. Making the second consecutive start in his redshirt-freshman season, Mitchell extended the Kent State lead to 20-0 when he found Holley on a 6-yard throw over the middle at the 5:53 mark of the third quarter. Mitchell then sealed the victory on a 28-yard strike to Holley with 2:34 to play.

"I think (Mitchell) did some good things," said Haynes. "Every rep he takes, he will continue to get better. The more we can be 50/50 throwing and running…the more we will help him make plays.

Mitchell finished with 106 yards on an interception-free 14-for-18 passing performance.

The two scores for Holley continued a restorative comeback after he missed the bulk of last season to injury.

"I tell people that football is my therapy," said Holley, who finished with seven catches for a team-best 65 yards. "It's nice to be out there getting therapy again. The touchdowns are just extra."

Shane Hynes kicked field goals of 22 and 38 yards in the first and second quarters, providing bookends to Washington's first career touchdown – a 7-yard run through a brief downpour of rain, and capped by a lunge for the goal line with 10:56 on the second-quarter clock.

Monmouth's lone score arrived with 5:53 remaining on a 2-yard Zach Welch touchdown run. Kent State's defense dominated the rest of the day.

"We are a hungry (defense)," said Refuge, whose fourth-quarter interception continued a turnover streak that included fumble recoveries in each of the season's first two weeks. "We feed off of each other's plays. Any time we are on the football field, there are plays to be made. I look forward to creating energy with those plays. We made some mistakes here and there where and we'll have to go to the drawing board on a couple of things, but overall we played pretty decent."

Kent State's stingy run defense played a big role in the Flashes dominating the rushing battle. KSU out-gained Monmouth on the ground 235-to-67 as Mitchell led the way with 77 yards on 14 carries while fellow freshman Justin Rankin added 59 yards on 12 runs.

Next up for Kent State is a trip to visit Alabama – the No. 1 team in the nation coming into week three of the college football season.

"We are just going to work on our execution," said Haynes. "We've been to places like Ohio State and LSU, so we'll be alright."

Postgame Notes
Kent State's 235 yards rushing were the most in their last 11 games. Monmouth's 67 yards rushing were lowest by an opponent in the Flashes' last 13 games.

After two sacks and 4.0 tackles for loss, senior Terence Waugh has 14.0 sacks and 20.0 tackles for loss in his last 13 games played.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Mylik Mitchell has thrown five touchdown passes in his last two games. His 77 yards rushing was a career-high.

Senior linebacker Elcee Refuge intercepted a pass, giving him a hand in a turnover in three straight games.

Senior safety Nate Holley led both sides with 17 tackles. Holley has made 15 or more tackles in five of his last six games.

Kent State held an opponent under 10 points for the first time since 2013.

Sophomore back Myles Washington scored his first career touchdown in the second quarter.

Freshman receiver Mike Carrigan made his first career catch in the second quarter.

Freshman Derek Adams had a career-long 50-yard punt in the first half.

The Flashes' defense held Monmouth to 2-for-15 on third down attempts.

Sophomore kicker Shane Hynes improved to 7-for-7 on field goal attempts inside 50 yards until a third quarter attempt was blocked.

Sophomore receiver Raekwon James, junior tackle Brock Macaulay, junior defensive back Akeam Peters and junior cornerback Jerrell Foster each made their first start of the season.

Freshman offensive lineman Mike Marinelli made his collegiate debut at right guard during the second offensive series.

Postgame Press Conference

Postgame Quotes

Head Coach Paul Haynes

It's good to get in the win column, it feels good to be in the locker room singing that fight song. I'm proud of our guys for bouncing back after a tough loss. I'm proud of how they worked this week and their attitude this week.

On the defense, controlling the game
Our guys did a good job, we talked a lot about discipline and execution they did that pretty well this week.

On how meaningful the win is
It's very meaningful especially when you're 0-2. It confirms validity on how hard these guys worked in the summer and in the offseason. It's good for them (the players) to feel good about the hard work that they put in.

On Mylik Mitchell developing
He did some good things, every rep he takes, every game, he continues to get better. The more we can be 50/50 running and passing and simplify things for him, I think he can make plays.

Importance of halftime lead
We were in the same situation as we were last week so it was all about not coming out flat and continuing to execute.

On being a little more critical of the defense
Defense wins championships, no matter we do on the offensive side of the ball, they've got to score on our defense. When we've given up big plays it's been us not the offense. We only had five or six calls. We simplified things this week and let guys play.

Nick Holley:

Q: After missing all of that time you did last year, how great was it to come in to win the game to come back and get yourself a few touchdowns.
A: It was nice. I always told people that football is my therapy and its just nice to you know it was nice being on the field again and the touchdowns were just extra. I know it was just good to get a win.

Elcee Refuge:

Q: Elcee, can you talk about that interception again?
A: It was because of the guys who got the QB out of the pocket for me to make that play and I give those guys credit for getting the QB out of the pocket.

Q: You've made a lot of great plays this year. It's always been something you've tried to do, but what's different this year.
A: I mean, I came out a lot hungrier, we're a lot hungrier as a football team. People feed off of each other's plays and that's just the main thing. When you are on the field, there are plays to be made. So, we look forward to making those plays on defense and make energy on those plays and that's what I look forward to.

Q: How did you feel about the defense today?
A: We had mistakes here and there, but like coach said, when it's coming down to execution, it's about the fundamentals and we got to go back to the drawing board on a few things, but overall I think we played pretty decently.