KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP)—Andre Jones and Alphonso Owen combined on an 89-yard kick return on the game’s final play, giving Akron a 39-38 victory over Western Michigan on Saturday night.
Western Michigan (2-4, 1-1 Mid-American) led 38-31 with 15 seconds left when Jamarko Simmons ran out of the end zone on a fourth-down designed safety, cutting the Broncos’ lead to 38-33.
On the ensuing free kick, Owen grabbed the ball, headed toward the left sideline, then tossed it to Jones near the 25-yard line. Jones, who plays mostly at defensive back, followed a blocking wedge to the end zone for the winning score and his first career TD.
Akron (3-3, 2-0) scored the last 15 points of the game in the final five minutes. Zips receiver Jabari Arthur caught a school-record 15 passes for 223 yards and three TDs, including a 51-yard scoring pass from Chris Jacquemain with 4:54 left.
Tim Hiller completed 27-of-40 passes for a career-high 375 yards and three touchdowns for Western Michigan. Simmons caught a career-high 10 passes for 172 yards and two TDs. The two teams combined for 992 offensive yards.
Jacquemain completed 23-of-41 passes for 389 yards and four TDs.
The Broncos scored touchdowns on their first three possessions of the second half. Hiller at one point completed 14 consecutive passes, including a 13-yard scoring pass to Simmons.
After a 7-yard TD run by Mark Bonds with 12:25 left gave Western a 38-24 lead, the Zips began their rally, sparked by Arthur’s 51-yard TD reception.
Head to Head - Week 6
| Team | Total Yds | Pass Yds | Rush Yds | First Downs | 3rdD% | Pen./Yds | Turnovers | Time of Poss. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akron | 501 | 389 | 112 | 22 | 56.3% | 8/68 | 3 | 26:27 |
| Western Michigan | 491 | 375 | 116 | 27 | 46.7% | 8/60 | 2 | 33:33 |