Ā鶹¾«Ń”

Ā鶹¾«Ń”Wins 45-13

April Goss Kicks Her Way Into College Football History

The Ā鶹¾«Ń” football team rolled to a 45-13 win over Delaware State University in its 2015 home opener on Saturday, Sept. 12, but one of the points scored by the Golden Flashes was a bit more special than the rest.

April GossWith 4:18 to play before halftime, fifth-year senior kicked an extra point to extend the Golden Flashes lead to 29-6 and become just the second woman to score in a major college football game.

ā€œI knew this was a possibility tonight,ā€ said Goss, who played high school soccer at Hopewell High School in Pennsylvania, but always dreamed of kicking for a Division I college football team. ā€œIā€™ve been waiting for this moment for an awfully long time. I felt like I blacked out a little bit when I kicked it. It wasnā€™t the cleanest hit ā€¦ but it went through, and thatā€™s all that matters.ā€

Goss was mobbed by her teammates after her kick cleared the crossbar just inside the right upright behind Dix Stadiumā€™s south end zone. They then carried Goss on their shoulders to the sidelines where she was greeted with hugs from Kent Stateā€™s coaching staff and congratulated by Ā鶹¾«Ń”President Beverly Warren.

Earlier in the week, Ā鶹¾«Ń”head football coach Paul Haynes confirmed to a reporter that he would get Goss, a native of Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, into a game at some point this season. 

ā€œApril deserved it,ā€ Haynes said. ā€œShe is the first player out there every day at practice and the last one to leave. She didnā€™t get this because she is a female. Itā€™s because she has worked hard. Everyone on the sideline was excited for her.ā€

Gossā€™ kick was just one moment in a night filled with Golden Flashes highlights. What Haynes called ā€œa fearless attitude that we want to see all season longā€ led to Ā鶹¾«Ń”scoring through the air, on the ground, with two-point conversions, blocked punts and fumble recoveries.

ā€œIt was good to get back on the winning ways,ā€ said Haynes, whose team improved to 1-1. ā€œA lot of good things happened tonight. We talked about controlling the line of scrimmage, and our (defense) did that. There were a bunch of great performances out there.ā€

Ā鶹¾«Ń”broke onto the scoreboard with 8:20 to play in the first quarter on a -to- touchdown pass of 20 yards. Dixonā€™s score was the first of his career, and it arrived on his debut drive in a Ā鶹¾«Ń”uniform.

Reardon added two more touchdown throws on an 11-for-16, 142-yard night that was interception-free. He hit running back for an 18-yard score just before halftime, then opened the third quarter by finding Holley again on a 4-yard touchdown.  

and backup quarterback added touchdown runs of 1 and 5 yards, respectively, in the second quarter. Bollas also converted a pair of two-point conversions in the first quarter, hitting for after the opening score, then rumbling into the end zone himself after Kent Stateā€™ second touchdown.

Defense and special teams also got into the act for the Golden Flashes as recovered a fumbled snap in the end zone in the first quarter, and Ryan Seibert blocked a punt out of the end zone for a third-quarter safety. Terhune set up another score with a 44-yard run on a fake punt before the half. 

Kent Stateā€™s defense dominated Delaware State, holding the Hornets to 5 yards passing and -38 yards rushing. 

The Golden Flashes outgained the Hornets 492-to-(-33) while picking up 25 first downs to Delaware Stateā€™s 1.

The fewest total yards allowed by a Ā鶹¾«Ń”defense prior to this game was 81 against Marshall University in 1967.

ā€œIt was a good night, and we will be able to watch film and see a lot of good things,ā€ Haynes said. ā€œBut there were also a lot of things we have to clean up. We had 12 penalties (for 114 yards) after 11 last week when we lost at Illinois. Thatā€™s something we have to work on. A win is a win, though, and now we are on to preparing for Minnesota.ā€

The Golden Flashes play at the University of Minnesota on Sept. 19 before returning home to face Marshall at 3:30 p.m. on Sept. 26.

Information on Football Tickets

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POSTED: Tuesday, September 8, 2015 10:13 AM
Updated: Thursday, December 8, 2022 02:31 PM
WRITTEN BY:
Aaron Chimenti