FOOTBALL: Mabon shines in Ball State win

Members of the Ball State football team get ready to take the field before the start of the home opener against Colgate on Aug. 20 at Scheumann Stadium. DN PHOTO BREANNA DAUGHERTY
Members of the Ball State football team get ready to take the field before the start of the home opener against Colgate on Aug. 20 at Scheumann Stadium. DN PHOTO BREANNA DAUGHERTY

Heading into Ball State football’s 30-10 win over Colgate, wide receiver KeVonn Mabon hadn’t played for almost a full year.

It didn’t take long, however, for him to show the collarbone injury that prematurely ended his 2013 season was a thing of the past.

With 1:17 left in the first quarter, quarterback Ozzie Mann fired a screen to the left, caught by Mabon. He quickly shed a tackle and raced down the sideline and into the end zone for a 34-yard touchdown, the Ball State faithfuls erupting in the stands to his left.

The touchdown gave Ball State a 10-0 lead, one it would never relinquish.

“I thought he bounced all the way in here during the Cardinal walk, he was pretty fired up to play,” Ball State head coach Pete Lembo said.

Mabon finished the game with 11 receptions for 110 yards and a touchdown, suddenly becoming Mann’s favorite target after teammate Jordan Williams left the game after an ankle injury in the first quarter.

Mabon himself left the game early but quickly returned, immediately moving the chains before breaking off his touchdown reception.

“We had to switch around to fill Jordan’s gap,” Mabon said. “But like coach said, with the young guys being focused and ready, I didn’t think we missed a beat.”

Ball State’s varied offensive attack kept Colgate on its heels, as running back Horactio Banks broke off a 30-yard gain to get Ball State deep into Colgate territory early in the second quarter. Kicker Scott Secor added a field goal to extend Ball State’s lead to 13-0.

With the Cardinals threatening to take a commanding lead, the Raiders Adam Bridgeforth intercepted Mann in the end zone on a jump ball. Colgate quickly capitalized; quarterback Jake Melville to his tight end John Quazza for 38 yards. Running back James Travellin followed with a run to the left, reaching the ball across the goal line to cut Ball State’s lead to 13-7.

Momentum swinging, Ball State drove downfield, and Mann hit Aaron Hepp in the corner of the end zone to extend Ball State’s lead to 20-7 with just 45 second left in the first half.

Mann finished his first game as Ball State's starting quarterback going 20-for-32 with 203 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. The touchdown at the end of the second quarter was Hepp’s only catch of the game, and the first touchdown of his career.

 “Hepp is a classic player in our program in that he’s an overachiever,” Lembo said. “He’s a guy who maximizes who he is doesn’t look pretty, he’s not the fastest guy, not the shiftiest guy.”

After tacking on a field goal early in the third quarter, Ball State’s running attack emerged again. Banks ripped off a 36-yard run before Mann found Chris Shillings for 15 yards. After a 15-yard facemask penalty on Colgate, running back Jahwan Edwards brought the ball to the Colgate four yard-line before bouncing to the left and into the end zone, extending the Ball State lead to 30-7.

Edwards and Banks dissected the Colgate defense, running for a combined 243 yards, 134 from Banks and 109 from Edwards.

The Cardinals would outgain the Raiders 514 to 227, controlling the pace of the game.

With Ball State pulling away, Colgate mounted a drive to start the fourth quarter, but it stalled and kicker Jonah Bowman hit a field goal to cut Ball State’s lead to 30-10.

 “We dealt with a little bit of adversity, it was a tight game there for a while and nobody panicked,” Lembo said. “Everybody stuck to the plan, so that was good to see.”

The 10 points given up by Ball State are the fewest surrendered by Ball State during the Lembo era.


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