Kohn Directs ‘Hounds to 35-14 Win Over Eagles
November 2, 2002

Vicks cough drops have been on the market for years and although there have been plenty of copycats, no one stifles a cough like the originators.

As a quarterback, the Atlanta Falcons’ Michael Vick is an original. He can beat teams with his arm or his legs and is the new-wave quarterback college and professional teams look for. Now everyone is looking for Vicks.

Indianapolis quarterback Matt Kohn is playing at a different level, but on Saturday (Nov. 2) at Key Stadium in Indianapolis, he made the Ashland University defense hiccup. Then he nearly made the Eagles throw up.

Kohn completed 18 of 21 passes for 180 yards and a touchdown and ran for 37 yards and a score on nine carries as the Greyhounds shot past the Eagles, 35-14. Kohn was sacked just once as time and again he eluded the AU rush. Not only did he dodge the pass rush, but once he was flushed out of the pocket, he flustered the defense with his pinpoint passing.

“We came at him with blitzes, four-man stuff and he ducked out of it,” said AU head coach Gary Keller, who watched his team lose for a third straight time and drop to 2-8, 2-7 in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play. “Really, the only time we caught him was when I grabbed him and shook his hand at the end of the game.”

“Once he started to run, we just tried to grab a man and stay with him,” said junior defensive back Jeremy Westbrooks. “We didn’t do that very well.”

Kohn’s ability to maneuver through the Eagles gave the Greyhounds (4-5/3-5) a shot of confidence. Ashland had scored on its first possession, moving 67 yards in three plays. The touchdown came when sophomore wide receiver Michael Hull broke free down the middle and caught a 41-yard pass from sophomore quarterback John Szabo. That catch gave Hull the AU single-season reception record. The sophomore finished the day with eight catches for 111 yards and for the year, has 68 receptions. The previous mark was 60 catches by Bob Rosati in 1972.

The Greyhounds answered that score immediately, going 97 yards on 12 plays and running 5:55 off the clock. The touchdown came when Kohn found junior wideout Travis Zike with a 5-yard TD pass. At one point, Kohn was intercepted by senior free safety Toby Stepsis inside the AU5, but that theft was nullified by a pass interference penalty.

Indy’s next score came with 4:48 left in the quarter, sophomore running back Donnie McCoy sprinting into the end zone from 10 yards out. That was the first of his three touchdowns. That 3-play, 17-yard march was set up by a Matt McCullough fumble at the AU46. The junior quarterback/wide receiver had caught a slant pass from Szabo. Sophomore cornerback D.J. Henkle stripped him of the ball and junior strong safety Chris Jackson returned the drop 29 yards to the AU17.

That kind of play wasn’t out of the ordinary for the Eagles on this afternoon. Even though AU outgained the home team, 324-307, the Eagles gave the ball away six times – three interceptions and three lost fumbles. Throw in some shoddy tackling and AU was in for a long day.

“We failed to make plays,” lamented Keller. “Turnovers killed us.”

Turnovers alone didn’t do in the Eagles. AU did very little to control the Indy offense. The Greyhounds had three drives where they took the game right to the defense. That first scoring drive was 97 yards. Then with 7:06 left in the first half, Kohn’s 1-yard run capped a 13-play, 75-yard trip. That put the ‘Hounds in front, 21-7. The margin grew to 28-7 with 2:33 to go in the third quarter when Donnie McCoy scored again, this time on a 4-yard run. That jaunt put the finishing touches on a 6-play, 71-yard drive.

AU finally got on the scoreboard with 8:58 left in regulation, senior tailback J.R. McCoy hauling in a 17-yard TD pass from Szabo. That was the first touchdown reception of McCoy’s career. The senior gained 49 yards on 18 carries on the ground. He enters the final game of the season next week at Ferris State needing 76 yards to become the school’s career rushing leader.

Donnie McCoy ended the day’s scoring with a 5-yard run with 2:12 to play. He carried the ball six times for 22 yards. His last touchdown was icing on the cake and for the Eagles, a bone-chilling reminder of a season gone all wrong.

“Turnovers hurt you in every game,” said Westbrooks. “If you can’t control the ball and you go into the fourth quarter trailing by 21 points, well.”

Szabo finished 24 of 47 for 278 yards and two touchdowns. He was sacked three times. AU’s leader on defense was junior strong safety Aaron O’Reilly. He led all players in the game with 12 tackles (10 solo). He also had two tackles for loss.