football
KENT – The second year of the Kent GRIT era opens the home season Saturday afternoon at Dix Stadium when the Saint Francis (PA) Red Flash come to town for a Battle of the Flashes.
Kickoff is scheduled for 2:32 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+ and the Cleveland Clinic Sports Medicine Kent State Radio Network. The pregame at Kent State begins at 2 p.m.
FAN FESTIVALS
It will be an action-packed day for fans as game day kicks off with the second annual Kent State 5K, which starts in downtown Kent and ends at the stadium.
Tailgating begins at 11:30 a.m., with the team arriving at the GRIT Walk at 12:00 p.m. Gates officially open at 1:00 p.m. and the first 1,000 fans will receive a gold replica jersey. Fans are encouraged to wear gold to represent Dix Stadium with
Flash’s best color.
It is also Sorority Day, Parents and Family Day, and the Flashes 101 celebration, welcoming freshmen to their first home football game. Fans are encouraged to check out our Pre-Game Things to Know to familiarize themselves with a football game day.
ABOUT THE MATCHUP
The Golden Flashes lost their opening game in Pitt last weekend. Lukas Floriea led the offense with a personal-high 106 yards and a fourth-down touchdown. The Flashes’ defense recorded four sacks by four different players. Stephen Daley was part of that group and had two stops in the backfield against the Panthers. Andreas Glas Added to that were a field goal and three extra points, these three-pointers after touchdowns brought him to over 100 in his career. Glass was only the third Golden Flash kicker to surpass this 100-point mark.
Saint Francis, of Loretto, Pennsylvania, 90 minutes east of Pittsburgh, competes in the Northeast Conference. They opened the season with an 18-10 loss at Dayton. Nick Whitfield Jr. threw for 121 yards against the Flyers and caught most of Gavin Thompson’s passes with 44 yards. DeMarcus McElroy ran for 70 yards on nine carries and added another 30 yards on four catches. The Red Flash defense had five sacks, led by Paul Tangelo, who had two sacks and three TFLs.
This is the first meeting between the Red Flash and the Golden Flashes. The schools have met on the basketball and volleyball courts, the field hockey and soccer field, and the softball field. The week two contest is the second of three for the Flashes against teams from the Keystone State.
Next week, Kent State travels to Knoxville to face the Tennessee Volunteers, with kickoff scheduled for 7:45 p.m. ET.
