Switch to midweek games gives Kent State football team much-needed time to heal
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Kent State junior quarterback Collin Schlee was not able to play last Saturday against Akron, and remains questionable moving forward due to a “lower body bruise” according to head coach Sean Lewis.
“Collin had a lower body bruise that he’s been dealing with for the past couple of weeks. It was noticeable in the past couple of games,” said Lewis. “He just didn’t get to a place on Saturday where we felt comfortable that he could [play]. It's my job to protect these kids and put them in the best possible positions to be successful. So, we held him out.”
Lewis said there’s a “50-50 chance at best” that Schlee would be able to play when the Golden Flashes (3-5, 2-2 Mid-American Conference) return to action on Tuesday, Nov. 1., against Ball State (4-4, 2-2) at Dix Stadium.
“These next three to four days are going to be huge [for Schlee],” said Lewis.
True freshman Devin Kargman replaced Schlee and led Kent State to a 33-27 victory over the Zips in his first collegiate start. Kargman completed 14-of-25 passes for 213 yards and two touchdowns, and did not commit a turnover.
The Flashes were also missing a pair of defensive starters in junior tackle CJ West and grad student safety Antwaine Richardson, who were injured in the previous contest against Toledo, while star junior wide receiver Dante Cephas was injured early in the second half against Akron and did not return.
Lewis said Richardson’s injury will keep him out for the rest of the season. Richardson also suffered a season-ending injury in game two of the 2021 season with the Flashes, and during the 2019 preseason while he played at Maryland.
“Really unfortunate with everything that he’s been through,” said Lewis.
Richardson finishes the 2022 season with 38 tackles.
The 315-pound West is the only KSU defensive lineman who weighs over 280. Lewis said he’s day-to-day.
“We’re hopeful that he’s up and available for Ball State,” said Lewis.
Cephas, the MAC’s leading receiver (91.4 receiving yards per game), had to be helped to the medical tent after getting tackled on the KSU sideline at the end of a 7-yard catch near the 10-minute mark of the third quarter.
“Dante went down with a lower body injury,” said Lewis. “We're going to get him some images and different things today. We’ll see where that’s at once those results come back.”
Grad student linebacker Marvin Pierre was also injured against Akron, but Lewis said he’s good to go against the Cardinals. Pierre finished with a career-high 14 tackles last Saturday, and has made 38 stops in Kent State’s last three contests.
Break in the schedule comes at a great time for Kent State
The Flashes will get a couple extra days of rest while the MAC schedule flips to weekdays.
“It comes at a good time so we can finish the season strong,” said Lewis. “We need to utilize this time the right way to get healthy. The players are off [Monday], and we will not practice on Tuesday. Our athletic training staff is going to get overwhelmed with guys getting proper treatment.”
Lewis finds himself dealing with a rash of major injuries for the first time since taking over the Kent State program in 2018. Grad student Khalib Johns suffered a season-ending injury against Georgia on Sept. 24, grad student receiver Isaac Vance was lost for the year in the second quarter of the season opener at Washington on Sept. 3, and a slew of other key players – mostly on defense – have missed various games in 2022.
"When you look back [at the injuries], the majority of them are contact related,” said Lewis. “You would really take a deep dive and do a heavy self-assessment if there were a ton of non-contact or fluke injuries. But each one of these is a football play where there was a collision, and because of where that collision occurred the injury happened. It's very black and white. I think our strength staff does an unbelievable job.”
Flashes dig deep to defeat rival Zips
The Flashes were banged up and fell behind 10-0 on Saturday at Dix Stadium, but rallied to retain the Wagon Wheel by earning their fourth straight triumph over the Zips. They snapped a two-game losing streak and stayed alive in the MAC East Division title race.
“Just a gritty, tough win,” said Lewis. “I’m really proud of the staff and the way that they led through the adversity, and the way that the kids responded. It’s been a tough couple weeks where we learned a lot of hard lessons. You’re going to face obstacles, and those obstacles need to fuel you.”
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Injuries continue to pile up for Kent State football team
