Marquez Cooper Runs all over his Former Team as Ball State dominates Kent State 34-3 

By Nick Jenkinson\Excel H Sports

Marquez Cooper ran for 140 yards and a touchdown as the Ball State Cardinals beat the Kent State Golden Flashes 34-3 Saturday afternoon at Scheumann Stadium in Muncie. Cooper who transferred from Kent State in the offseason is 93 yards short of his third straight 1000-yard season which those of coming at Kent State. Cooper recorded his 16th 100-yard game of his career and third this season. The Cardinals are 4-7 on the season and 3-4 in the MAC while Kent State drops to 1-10 and 0-7 in the MAC.

Ball State dominated the game start to finish with two Jackson Courville Field Goals and Cooper’s Touchdown to lead 13-0 with 10:48 left before halftime. Kent State scored on a 45-yard field goal by Andrew Glass with 42 seconds left before halftime as the Cardinals led 13-3 going into the locker room. Ball State dominated the second half outscoring the Golden Flashes 21-0. Quarterback Kaiel Kelley ran for 2 touchdowns in the third quarter and Vaughn Pemberton added a rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter. The Cardinals had 300 yards rushing and 88 yards passing for 388 yards of Total Offense. The Cardinals defense held Kent State to 97 total yards of offense which consisted of 68 passing yards and 29 yards on the ground.

Kaiel Kelly was 4-14 passing for 71 yards and ran 88 yards on 16 carries with 2 touchdowns. Layne Hatcher was 4-4 passing for 17 yards. Vaughn Pemberton carried the ball six times for 61 yards and a touchdown. Amahad Edwards was the leading receiver with two catches for 50 yards. The Ball State defense had five sacks on the day. Ball State has won 2 in a row and three of the last four. They will host Miami Ohio next Saturday at noon in the season finale.