Akron Edged by Rival Kent State in Battle for the Wagon Wheel

Saturday, October 22

Kent, Ohio

12:00 PM

University of Akron

1-7 , 0-4

Kent State

3-5 , 2-2

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Akron

Kent St.

Akron Edged by Rival Kent State in Battle for the Wagon Wheel

October 22 | Football

Box Score Photo Gallery

BOXSCORE (PDF) | PHOTO GALLERY

KENT, Ohio – University of Akron football redshirt junior QB DJ Irons (Lawrenceville, Ga.) threw for 383 yards, while sophomore WR Alex Adams (Osyka, Miss.) pulled in nine receptions for a career-high 199 yards, but in the end the annual battle for the Wagon Wheel went to Kent State as the Golden Flashes bested the Zips, 33-27, on Saturday, Oct. 22 at Dix Stadium.

Irons registered 383 yards through the air for Akron on 32-of-43 passing, including one touchdown, while also rushing for 37 yards and a pair of touchdowns on the ground.

Adams recorded a career-best 199 yards on nine catches, including an 80-yard touchdown strike on the Zips' opening play of the game.

Senior WR Shocky Jacques-Louis (Fort Myers, Fla.) garnered a game-high 10 catches for 88 yards to lead eight Akron players pulling in a catch on the afternoon.

Sophomore RB Clyde Price III (Kansas City, Mo.), Irons and redshirt sophomore RB Cam Wiley (Las Vegas, Nev.) rushed for 41, 37 and 31 yards, respectively, for Akron.

Defensively, the Zips were led by a team-high nine tackles from senior LB Bubba Arslanian (Aurora, Ohio), including eight solo stops. Redshirt sophomore DB KJ Martin (Charleston, W.Va.), sophomore DB Rishad Hence (Detroit, Mich.) and redshirt junior DB Nate Thompson (Sanford, N.C.) each added five tackles towards Akron's defensive efforts.

Redshirt junior K Cory Smigel (North Royalton, Ohio) connected on a pair of field goals for Akron from 22 and a career-best 42 yards, while senior P Noah Gettman (Daytona Beach, Fla.) tallied five kickoffs for a 61.4 yard average (307 yards).

HOW IT HAPPENED
• After a missed field goal from Kent State on their opening drive, the Zips took a 7-0 lead as Irons hit Adams on an 80-yard touchdown strike with 11:12 left in the opening quarter
• Akron extended its lead to 10-0 on a 22-yard field goal from Smigel at the 10:52 mark of the second quarter
• The Golden Flashes responded with back-to-back touchdowns, before a five-yard rush from Irons for a touchdown gave Akron a 17-14 lead with 1:48 remaining before halftime
• Kent State answered with a touchdown right before the half to enter the intermission holding a 21-17 advantage
• The Golden Flashes posted the first nine points of the second half before Irons again found the end zone with a five-yard touchdown run with 2:41 left in the third quarter to cut the Zips' deficit to 30-24
• The two team exchanged field goals, including a career-best 42-yard strike from Smigel, to account for the 33-27 final

UP NEXT
Akron welcomes Miami to InfoCision Stadium for a noon kickoff on Saturday, Oct. 29.

SINGLE-GAME TICKETS NOW ON SALE
Single-game tickets for the 2022 football season can be purchased now going to GoZips.com/Tickets or visiting The C.P. and Cornelia S. Chima Athletics Ticket Office at InfoCision Stadium-Summa Field (located at 375 E. Exchange Street, near Gate 1 at the southwest corner of the venue, at the corner of E. Exchange and S. Union streets) during our business hours (Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.).

ABOUT ZIPS ATHLETICS
Founded in 1870, The University of Akron (UA) is one of Ohio's most influential public urban research universities, conducting high-quality research in focused areas of excellence, contributing to the vitality of the local economy, and providing a workforce highly trained in diverse disciplines. The University offers more than 200 degree programs, including unique, highly ranked associate, bachelor's, master's, doctoral and law degrees — with accreditations by 35 professional agencies. UA is focused on innovation, entrepreneurship, investment in community and economic growth. Akron sponsors 17 NCAA Division I sports with more than 500 student-athletes. Learn more at gozips.com.