Looking To The Future... Finally

May 4, 1970. Ohio National Guardsmen opened fire on a group of students at Kent State University protesting the American bombing of Cambodia and Laos. 13 students were injured, and 4 were killed. For the 31 years since that tragic incident, the mere mention of the words "Kent State" bring back those horrifying thoughts.

The school can't escape the stigma, and they've tried. Recently, they've taken to going simply by "Kent" whenever possible. But people aren't easily fooled, and no part of the school is unaffected by the memories of that sping day over three decades ago.

For as long as anyone can remember, Kent's football team, the Golden Flashes, has revelled in mediocrity. Even in the Mid American Conference, they were lucky to win 3 games a year. When I was playing for the team, I vividly remember a picture on the front page of our newspaper, the Daily Kent Stater, showing our coach doing a somersault after our third win of the season. At the time, our third win had already tied our win totals for the previous two seasons combined. Sadly, that was also our last win of the year.

Kent decided that a change was in order. After averaging 35 points a game in 1998 and still walking away with only 3 wins, they hired defensive guru Dean Pees from Michigan State. Surely, he was the answer. Or was he? The defense continued to struggle, and the offense followed very quickly. The only time Dix Stadium reached maximum capacity was during the high school playoffs, when local powerhouses Canton McKinley and Massillon moved in.

Last year, Kent State didn't show any signs of improvement. They fought their way to a 1-10 finish, and money became a serious problem. Talks of disbanding the football program began. Then came this year. 2001. With a tough non-conference schedule and a freshman starting quarterback named Josh Cribbs, another dark year was predicted.

After starting in typical Kent State fashion, 1-4, Kent State picked themselves up, dusted themselves off, and won 5 of their last 6. They found themselves at 6-5 at the end of the year - the first time since 1987 that the Flashes had been over .500 at the end of a season. A tough loss to cross-town rival Akron proved to be the turning point. And as for Josh Cribbs, he became a ray of light in a program's dark history.

Only once has a freshman quarterback both run for 1,000 yards and thrown for 1,000 yards in the same season. No, it wasn't Michael Vick (formerly of Virginia Tech, now playing for the NFL's Atlanta Falcons). It was this year. It was Kent's own #9, Josh Cribbs.

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