FOOTBALL: Ball State’s Kenneth Lee plays through injury, lifts defense

Just inches away from the goal line in the third quarter, the Ball State defense made a stand to keep University of Toledo’s David Fluellen out of the end zone.

On the next play, the Cardinals forced a fumble and recovered at their own 9-yard line.

It was plays like this from a shorthanded defense that gave Ball State the edge in a game featuring two high-powered offenses.

For the entire third quarter, in which Ball State forced two turnovers, neither team scored. Senior linebacker Kenneth Lee made the diving interception at the Ball State 30-yard line that halted another would-be Toledo scoring drive.

Just two weeks removed from a minor medial collateral ligament sprain, in the knee, Lee took the field and helped to carry a defense riddled with injuries.

“There’s a difference between being hurt and being injured,” head coach Pete Lembo said. “Kenny’s hurting a little bit, but he battled through it.”

Unlike Lee, junior safety Christopher Calloway was injured. He was unable to play Saturday, putting more responsibility on Lee’s shoulders.

Lee registered eight tackles in the 31-24 victory and sacked Toledo quarterback Terrance Owens once.

“He played really hard, really physical,” Lembo said. “And obviously, he came up with the huge interception, but the most important thing is that he played.”

His presence on the field led to his first career interception paired with a number of helpful plays behind the line of scrimmage, all to keep momentum on Ball State’s side.

Lee said the lack of offensive production early in the second half did not change how the defense approached the game.

“With us, the focus isn’t really what’s going on when we’re not out there,” he said. “When we’re out there, we go out and do our job.”

Though Lembo said the Toledo offense “leaned on” Ball State in the second half, the defense was able to prevent scoring drives when it needed to. Much like Lee, it rose to the occasion.

“[There was] no panic, nobody losing control through adversity,” Lembo said. “There’s going to be adversity in games like this, it just comes with the territory.”

Coaches and players said the matchup with Toledo was just another game, but the win gave Ball State a head-to-head win over another contender in the league’s west division.

The win moved Ball State to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in Mid-American Conference play — the team’s best start since 2008.

It’s the fourth time since 1978 that Ball State has started 4-1 or better. Lembo said having players stepping up to fill in for injured teammates was a big part of the win over Toledo.

Freshman safety Dae’Shaun Hurley, who had played scarcely this season, filled in for the injured Martez Hester. He went on to record a career-high nine tackles in the game.

Hurley said practicing on basics during the week helped the shorthanded defense play well in the game.

“Coaches always tell us, ‘when things don’t go right out there, rely on fundamentals, and we’ll be fine,’” Hurley said.

The next-man-up mentality allowed the defense to play as a unit despite injures to key players. Lee fought through his injury, so there was no need for another player to fill in, but Lembo said he was setting an example for his younger teammates.

“We don’t have many seniors, we don’t have many juniors even,” Lembo said. “But when you have a senior like that, battling through and saying, ‘I’m going to go,’ it sets a great example for the younger guys.”