Football wins two straight games

By Forrest Dukes

For the first time since the 2007 season, The University of Akron (4-7 overall, 3-4 MAC) has won four games, two of which were back-to-back. The Zips went to the University of Massachusetts (1-9 overall, 0-7 MAC) on Saturday and won a close game, 14-13.

“It was a beautiful win … we went in the fourth quarter saying, ‘Oh my, what are we going to do? Something bad is going to happen,’” head coach Terry Bowden said to media after the game. “Our players continue now to say, ‘What are we going to do to win the game?’ That’s the difference and the transition we’re having to make … this is something special.”

Kyle Pohl had another great game, as he finished with 20 completions and 208 yards through the air. Pohl also ran for the first touchdown of the game while also throwing the game-winner to Jawon Chisholm, his first receiving touchdown in his career. It was good for 17 yards. Chisholm also rushed for 72 yards on 10 attempts.

Pohl’s main targets were Zach D’Orazio, with six catches for 82 yards, and Fransohn Bickley, who added another 55 yards with his six catches. Another contributor to the Zips’ victory over the Minutemen of UMass was Conor Hundley. He rushed for 57 yards on 11 carries.

The Zips’ offense had a total of 69 yards, 18 first downs and 341 total yards. While on the defensive end, the Zips held UMass to 41 percent on third down and 0-3 on fourth downs. UMass did have 323 yards in total offense, but also had two turnovers.

Notable players on the defensive side were Jatavis Brown, who led the Zips in tackles with 13. C.J. Mizell had 10 tackles (1.5 were for loss), while Justin March, Keontae Hollis, Cody Grice and Malachi Freeman recorded seven, six, six and five tackles respectively.

The Zips will have next week off and will finish their season home against the University of Toledo on Nov. 29. The game is scheduled to start at 12 p.m.