Akron Falls at Central Michigan in MAC Opener, 45-24

Saturday, September 14

Mount Pleasant, MI | Kelly/Shorts Stadium

3 PM

University of Akron

0-3 , 0-1

Central Michigan

2-1 , 1-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

AKRON

Central Michigan

Akron Falls at Central Michigan in MAC Opener, 45-24

September 14 | Football

Box Score

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MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Akron football opened Mid-American Conference play on the road at Central Michigan as the Zips fell 45-24 at Kelly/Shorts Stadium on Saturday.

Akron (0-3, 0-1 MAC) fell behind early as the Zips generated 329 yards of total offense. Junior QB Kato Nelson (Hollywood, Fla.) led the Zips with 241 yards in the air and 33 yards on the ground. Nelson completed 26-of-42 passes with three touchdowns, finding redshirt sophomore TE Maverick Wolfley (Morgantown, W.Va.), redshirt senior TE Brandon Junk (Clearwater, Fla.) and junior WR Nate Stewart (Bethlehem, Pa.).

Stewart led the receiving corps with five receptions for 78 yards and a long of 22 yards. Junior WR Andre Williams (Orlando, Fla.) followed with 58 yards and a long of 23 yards while corralling five passes. Also, recording five receptions for 36 yards and a long of 24 was freshman WR Michael Mathison (Covington, Ga.).

In addition, Nelson found junior WR Dustin Burkhart (Akron, Ohio) three times for 62 yards and a game long 40-yard completion. Burkhart also had an onside kick recovery.

Defensively, senior LB John Lako (Monroe, Mich.) led the way with 11 tackles, including two sacks for three yards of loss. Lako added a fumble recovery and returned it 25 yards as a result of senior DB Alvin Davis, Jr. (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), and junior LB Michael Scott (Tallahassee, Fla.) breaking the ball loose. Sophomore LB Bubba Arslanian (Aurora, Ohio) added 10 tackles and a sack, while junior DL John Mitchell (Crete-Monee, Ill.) had a sack for a two yards of loss.

Central Michigan (2-1, 1-0 MAC) was led by QB David Moore, WR Kalil Pimpleton and RB Kobe Lewis. Moore went 20-of-31 behind center for 316 yards and two touchdowns, finding Pimpleton 116 of those yards. Pimpleton scored a touchdown and posted 41-yard long reception. On the ground, Lewis picked-up 146 yards and a 43-yard long run while finding pay dirt three times.

The Chippewas started the scoring with 6:12 remaining in the first quarter. CMU used its second possession of the game to put points on the scoreboard with a seven-play, 57-yard drive (2:25), highlighted by the 41-yard pass play. The Akron defense halted the Chippewas drive, forcing them to a 24-yard field goal, 3-0 CMU lead.

The home team opened the second quarter with a touchdown, capping an eight-play, 78-yard drive with a four-yard rush to the corner of the endzone by Lewis. The drive lasted 3:19, but only used 45-seconds of the second stanza as CMU claimed a 10-0 advantage.

Again, the Chippewas added to the lead when Sean Adesanya intercepted an Akron pass attempt and scampered 49 yards, taking the ball to the Akron five yardline. CMU followed with a touchdown to increase the lead to 17 points.

Akron used its next possession to put three points on the scoreboard. The drive lasted 3:35 and ended on the foot of redshirt junior PK Jerry Fitschen (Orange, Calif.) from 40 yards away. The seven-play 46-yard scoring drive was fueled by a pair of 20+ yard pass plays. First, Nelson hit Stewart with a 22-yard gain and followed with a 23-yard strike to Williams. With 7:48 left in the first half, Akron trailed 17-3.

Before the half ended, both teams put more points on the scoreboard. CMU answered Akron's field goal with one of their own, from 43 yards, and added a 35-yard touchdown pass for a 27-3 advantage with 37 seconds left on the clock.

Akron used the remaining time to travel 55 yards on four plays with two seconds to spare. Nelson initiated the drive with a 13-yard run, taking the ball to the CMU 42 yardline. Next, he found Burkhart for a 40-yard pickup and finished the drive with a pass to Wolfley in the endzone. At halftime, Akron trailed 27-10.

In the third quarter, Central Michigan capped a 12-play, 60-yard drive with a 35-yard field goal for a 30-10 advantage. CMU used 5:24 for the scoring drive.

The Zips responded with a touchdown in the fourth quarter to shrink the lead 30-17 on a 15-play, 80-yard drive that lasted 5:17. Nelson started the drive with a 12-yard run and followed with two big pass plays. Williams grabbed a 20-yard pass on fourth down while Stewart snagged a 13-yard gain. Next, Nelson scrambled for 14 yards and found Burkhart for nine more to setup Junk's first career touchdown reception with 11:15 remaining in the game.

After a CMU touchdown and two-point conversion, Akron attempted to make things interesting as Davis and Scott stripped the CMU ball carrier, Lewis, and Lako recovered and ran for 25 yards into the Chippewas territory. The Zips capitalized with a touchdown on back-to-back passes to Stewart for 22 yards, and the Zips trailed 38-24.

On the ensuing kick-off, the takeaway pencil poked its head again as redshirt freshman PK Cory Smigel (North Royalton, Ohio) perfectly placed an onside kick attempt and Akron's Burkhart recovered.

Unfortunately, the Zips turned the ball over on downs and CMU put away the game with a 43-yard run by Lewis for the 45-24 decision.

Akron returns to action at InfoCision Stadium–Summa Field next Saturday, Sept. 21, against Troy. Kickoff time is set for 3 p.m. on ESPN+.