Sophomore Darian Green tied a Ball State record with four touchdowns, and the Ball State offense exploded for 567 yards as the Cardinals defeated the Virginia Military Institute Keydets 48-36 to begin the season.
“A lot of what we do offensively is taking what they're giving us,” head coach Pete Lembo said. “We were able to force their over-hanging players to widen out and that gave us an opportunity to run the ball.”
The Cardinals worked to get the running game going early, as Green and junior Teddy Williamson carried the ball six times on the first drive.
Ball State capped off a 16-play, 76-yard drive with a field goal by freshman Morgan Hagee. The Cardinals' 3-0 lead stood up at the end of the first quarter.
Quarterback Jack Milas got going early in the second quarter, leading the Cardinals on a drive that ended with a 4-yard touchdown by Green.
After a three-and-out on defense, Milas completed a pass to senior Jordan Williams for 36 yards to the VMI 20-yard line. The drive ended in another Hagee field goal, extending the lead to 13-0.
Williams moved into Ball State's top 10 career receptions list. He now ranks ninth with 136 receptions, and also moved into ninth all-time with 1,902 receiving yards.
After the Hagee field goal, VMI quarterback Al Cobb hooked up with Dontae Mauck for an 80-yard touchdown.
The Cardinals answered, however, as Milas connected with KeVonn Mabon to the VMI 2-yard line, where Green ran it in for his second touchdown of the game. Green finished with 73 yards on the ground.
“First off, give all the credit to the O-line,” Green said. “I felt very passionate.”
Both offenses stalled for the remainder of the half, but the Keydets added a field goal to make it 20-10 at the half in favor of the Cardinals.
Milas came out firing in the second half, capping off the team's opening drive with a 35-yard touchdown to Green on a screen pass.
Ball State was pass-happy throughout the game, as Milas finished with 34 completions on 52 attempts. He threw for one touchdown and one interception to go along with a career-high 338 yards.
Lembo credits said the number of attempts was due to what the defense was giving them.
Ball State started taking advantage of VMI's run defense again late in the third quarter, as freshman James Gilbert made the score 34-10 with a 1-yard score. VMI responded with a touchdown to make the score 34-17 after three.
After another Keydet touchdown, Gilbert scored again to extend the lead to 17 once again.
In his debut, Gilbert finished with 12 carries, 61 yards and two scores. Williamson led the backfield in carries with 16, finishing with 74 yards.
The Cardinals' defense struggled in the fourth quarter, as VMI kept inching closer. But Green's fourth touchdown, this one from 46 yards out, sealed the win for Ball State.
The offenses set a Scheumann Stadium record in the game with 1,114 combined total yards.
"We operated pretty well offensively," Lembo said. "Nobody panicked and everyone kept playing. Good, solid win."
Ball State (1-0) will return to action Sept. 12 when it travels to College Station, Texas to take on Texas A&M.
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