“The University of Akron football team evened its record at 2-2 with a 22-3 road win Saturday against Army at Michie Stadium. The Zips capitalized on five Black Knight turnovers and used a run-dominated offense to earn their second road victory of the season.”
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The University of Akron football team evened its record at 2-2 with a 22-3 road win Saturday against Army at Michie Stadium.

The Zips capitalized on five Black Knight turnovers and used a run-dominated offense to earn their second road victory of the season.

UA (2-2, 0-1 MAC) gained 357 offensive yards on 37 rushes and 25 pass attempts. The Zips never trailed in the contest, beating the Black Knights at their own game. UA controlled the ball for 30:13, while Army was on offense for 29:47. The Black Knights entered the game ranking third nationally in time of possession.

Looking at the stats, this is the kind of game I thought it was going to be, UA head coach J.D. Brookhart said during his post-game news conference. I am a little surprised we had the time of possession advantage that we had.

The Zips began the game by driving 69 yards on 13 plays to take a 3-0 lead on a 25-yard field goal by redshirt sophomore Igor Ivelijic.

UA added to its lead on its first offensive series of the second quarter when redshirt sophomore quarterback Chris Jacquemain connected with senior wide receiver Andre Jones for a 25-yard touchdown pass. The scoring drive was set-up by a fumble recovery by senior cornerback Miguel Graham. Ivelijic missed the extra point, keeping UA’s lead at 9-0.

Jacquemain said the touchdown gave the Zips’some confidence, after failing to get into the end zone on their first two red zone attempts.

It was huge, the Zips quarterback said. It was a pretty close game, so the touchdown was important because it got us going and gave us momentum.

Along with forcing five turnovers, UA’s defense contained Army’s veer-option offense, allowing the Black Knights to convert only 2-of-11 third down attempts. It also limited Army’s leading rusher, quarterback Chip Bowden, to a net of 65 yards rushing on 21 carries.

Brookhart said he was pleased with the play of his makeshift defensive front.

If someone said six weeks ago that Shawn Lemon, Wally Pendleton and Dan Marcoux would be the key to this game, I would have said ‘they aren’t even on the two-deep roster,’ UA’s fifth-year head coach said. But they started for us on the defensive line. They fought very hard and did some good things.

Up 12-3, the Zips secured the win with 8:12 remaining in the game when redshirt senior running back Dennis Kennedy scored a rushing touchdown from the 1-yard line. The five-play, 24-yard drive was sparked by a fumble recovery by senior strong safety Bryan Williams.

Ivelijic would cap the team’s scoring by converting a 37-yard field goal with 3:32 remaining in the game.

Kennedy led the Zips with 73 yards rushing on 19 carries. Jacquemain completed 14-of-25 passes for 204 yards and the touchdown to Jones, who was named Mid-American Conference East Division Player of the Week.

Army scored its only points when sophomore place-kicker Matthew Campbell converted a 36-yard field goal to end the first half.

UA will return to the Rubber Bowl Saturday to host the Big East’s Cincinnati Bearcats in the team’s final nonconference game of the season.

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