The Wagon Wheel is staying in Kent.
Quarterback Dru DeShields threw four touchdown passes and ran for another score, wide receiver Wayne Harris caught three of them, and ¹ú²úÂ×Àí pulled away from Akron in the second half for a 35-20 win Saturday afternoon at Dix Stadium.
The Golden Flashes (3-5, 2-2 MAC) trailed three separate times before outscoring the Zips (1-7, 0-4 MAC) 28-13 after halftime in front of 12,375 fans, holding on to the trophy they won last season with a 42-35 overtime victory in Akron.
How it happened
Akron struck first, going 91 yards in 10 plays and finishing with a 6-yard Jordan Gant run midway through the first quarter. ¹ú²úÂ×Àí's offense found its footing late in the half, as DeShields led an eight-play, 77-yard drive and hit Harris for a 1-yard touchdown with 36 seconds left to tie the game 7-7 at the break.
The third quarter turned into a back-and-forth affair. Gant's second rushing touchdown, a 5-yard run that capped a 12-play drive, put Akron back in front. ¹ú²úÂ×Àí answered in five plays, with DeShields connecting with Harris on a 55-yard touchdown strike to tie it at 14. The Zips regained a 17-14 edge on a 40-yard Aidan Stire field goal, but the Flashes needed just four plays to go 75 yards, and DeShields found Hunter Hopperton for a 2-yard score to give ¹ú²úÂ×Àí a 21-17 lead heading into the fourth.
The Flashes then broke it open. DeShields and Harris hooked up for a third time on a 19-yard touchdown that capped a quick three-play, 22-yard drive, making it 28-17 with 6:40 remaining. Defensive back Norey Johnson then intercepted Brayden Roggow and returned it 37 yards, and DeShields finished the ensuing short drive himself with a 1-yard touchdown run to push the lead to 35-17. A 50-yard Stire field goal in the final minute provided the final margin.
