FOOTBALL: Ball State gets fast start to beat Army, 40-14

Last Thursday, Ball State needed a whole half to get its offense started against Illinois State.

That wasn’t the case on Saturday as Ball State racked up 440 yards of offense in a 40-14 win over Army.

On Ball State’s opening drive, it took quarterback Keith Wenning and the rest of the offense just 3:24 to march down the field for a touchdown.

“Against a team like Army, you always want to get off to a fast start,” Wenning said. “They kind of thrive on controlling the ball and trying to control the clock.”

Wenning hit junior wide receiver Willie Snead three times throughout the drive.

Missing usual starter Jahwan Edwards due to injury, redshirt sophomore Horactio Banks started at running back.

Banks, who finished the game with 17 carries for 51 yards and two scores, found paydirt at the end of a 10-yard run.

The Cardinals’ second drive was just as fast.

After an Army punt, Ball State had the ball at its own 24-yard line.

Wenning hit five different receivers on the drive to set up atouchdown throw to senior wide receiver Jamill Smith.

Smith dove for the ball in the corner of the end zone. After a replay review confirmed the score, Ball State took a 14-7 lead.

In last Thursday’s season-opener, Snead caught nine passes for164 yards and two touchdowns. He had a quieter game on Saturday, catching five passes for 64 yards.

It was the other receivers who picked up Snead’s slack. Smith caught five passes for 83 yards and a score, while sophomores KeVonn Mabon and Jordan Williams both reeled in four passes each.

Mabon was able to use his quickness to find holes in the defense and make catches.

Williams continued to impress in his second game of the season, using his big frame in two different ways – shielding defensive backs to make catches and running through would-be tacklers to pick up extra yards.

“Every week is going to be different,” Ball State head coach Pete Lembo said. “People have to make decisions who they want to take away.”

Lembo credited his receivers’ versatility for their ability to each catch a few passes, as opposed to one player dominating the stat sheet.

“One of the nice things about our top five receivers right now is that they all understand the offense well enough that we can move them around,” Lembo said. “So it’s not just trying to take away what Willie Snead does at one position, it’s Willie in different personnel groupings and different formations lining up in different spots.”

On Ball State’s last series of the first half, Wenning moved the offense 74 yards in just four plays.

He hit Mabon for 12 yards, Snead for 11, then Mabon again for 11 and finally Smith for 39.

At first and goal at the 6-yard line, Banks slithered his way into the end zone to give Ball State a 27-7 lead at halftime.

Despite putting 40 points on Army’s defense, Ball State stillmanaged to leave some plays on the field throughout the game. Scott Secor hit four field goals in the game, including two that were chip shots late, from 19 and 20 yards away.

In the fourth quarter, backup quarterback Ozzie Mann entered the game in replacement of Wenning. He went 0-for-5 passing on the day.

The total of 91 points scored by Ball State in its first two gamesis the most scored in the team’s history.

“ID-ing the fronts of the defense is kind of tricky, so we emphasize a lot of that in practice,” Wenning said of Army. “We saw a lot of different looks.”