Football Wins 37-30 in 2OT Thriller Over Akron

MUNCIE, Ind. - The Ball State University football team (3-7, 2-4 MAC) defeated Akron (0-10, 0-6 MAC) 37-30 in double overtime Saturday afternoon at Scheumann Stadium.

"We had one a few weeks ago we lost in overtime, but we won this one," Ball State head coach Stan Parrish says. "If you wanted excitement and plays, this was the game. Neither team played particularly well, but it was a good football game to watch."

Quarterback Keith Wenning connected on a 19-yard touchdown pass to tight end David Schneider for the winning TD in the second overtime. Safety Joshua Howard sealed the victory after intercepting the ball on Akron's final possession of the second overtime.

"Wenning has the mental attributes of a champion," Parrish says. "He has a lot of grit, and I say the same for Kelly Page. We lost a tight end early in the game and Schneider made a play. That play was not supposed to go to Schneider. He was the third option out of three, but Wenning got flushed out of the pocket and saw him open and made the throw."

Akron on its second drive of the game took the early 7-0 edge over Ball State after quarterback Patrick Nicely completed a 12-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jalil Carter.

The Zips kept the Cardinals scoreless until the second quarter when Wenning threw the longest TD pass of his career for 63-yards finding wide receiver Jack Tomlinson with 12:38 remaining in the second quarter. It was a career long reception for Tomlinson.

"I have told you from the beginning Tomlinson has a chance to be special," Parrish says. "If he had not gotten injured in the summer and been slowed through fall practice you would have seen it sooner."

Kicker Ian McGarvey nailed a 23-yard field goal at the 7:13 mark to give the Cardinals a 10-7 lead over the Zips. McGarvey would then kick a 44-yard field goal to put Ball State up 13-7 with 2:13 remaining in the half.

In the opening drive of the second half the Zips marched down the field to the nine-yard line before strong safety Derrick Henry intercepted a pass and returned it for three yards. The interception was Henry's first of his career.

On Akron's next possession cornerback Charlie Todd intercepted the ball for the third time in his career and second of the season which setup an 18-yard field goal from McGarvey making the score 16-7 with 5:22 left in the third quarter.

Nicely found tight end Richard Hall in the end zone for the touchdown with 2:52 on the clock. The Zips would miss the extra point making it a 16-13 ball game. An onside kick was recovered by Akron which resulted in a 36-yard field goal for the Zips to tie the game 16-16 before the end of the third quarter.

Quarterback Kelly Page connected on a 49-yard touchdown pass to Tomlinson with 13:15 left in the fourth quarter given Ball State its lead back at 23-16. It was the longest TD pass for Page this season.

"Kelly Page is hurt, but when we needed his number and called it, he produced," Parrish says. "Wenning got banged up and Page came in and did a great job."

With 1:36 remaining, Akron tied the game at 23-23 after Nicely found Jeremy LaFrance in the end zone which sent the game into overtime.

In overtime the Cardinals won the toss and elected to defend. Akron would score on a 22-yard touchdown pass to LaFrance to go ahead of the Cardinals 30-23. Ball State answered back after Wenning connected on a 24-yard TD pass to Tomlinson his third TD reception of the game sending it into double overtime.

"We got off to a rough start with three turnovers in the first three possessions," Parrish says. "We were certainly down. The defense was playing well and we kept the game within range. When you haven't won in a while it gets more difficult. We made a play in the last overtime to win a ball game. Our defense is really banged up, and we were really undermanned. We lost a couple of guys during the week and in the game, so we were doing a lot of manipulating."

The Ball State football team will travel to Buffalo Friday for a 6 p.m. kickoff. The game will be televised on ESPNU.

Notes:

Quarterback Keith Wenning's 63-yard touchdown pass with 12:38 remaining in the second quarter was the longest of his career.

Jack Tomlinson had his longest touchdown reception of his career with 12:38 left in the second quarter. The touchdown was his third of his career.

Tomlinson had a career best three TD receptions in one game.

Ian McGarvey's 44-yard field goal ties his longest of the season.

Derrick Henry had his first interception of his career in the third quarter.

Charlie Todd tallied his third interception of his career in the third quarter resulting in a field goal for the Cardinals.

Robert Eddins moved in to sixth all-time in career sacks for Ball State surpassing Rush Brown, who tallied 17 sacks for the Cardinals from 1976-79.

Kelly Page had his longest TD pass of the season which was 49-yards.

Jack Tomlinson had a total of 175 receiving yards which is 12^th all-time in most yards receiving in a single game. Tomlinson passes Ricky George who did it against Northern Illinois in 1984.

Jack Tomlinson is now tied with Dante Ridgeway vs. WMU (2004), Juan Gorman vs. Purdue (1994) and Vic Comparetto vs. Indiana State (1971) for most touchdown passes caught in a single game.

Joshua Howard had his first interception of his career in the second OT.

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Team Stats

Keith Wenning

Kelly Page

Players Mentioned

Robert Eddins

Derrick Henry

Joshua Howard

Ian McGarvey

Kelly Page

Kelly Page

David Schneider

Charlie Todd

Jack Tomlinson

Keith Wenning

Players Mentioned

Robert Eddins

Derrick Henry

Joshua Howard

Ian McGarvey

Kelly Page

Kelly Page

David Schneider

Charlie Todd

Jack Tomlinson

Keith Wenning