Kennesaw State suffered its first home loss and saw its starting quarterback go down with a shoulder injury. Yet, as the Owls walked off the field Saturday after a 28-14 defeat against Charleston Southern at Fifth Third Bank Stadium, the rain-soaked student section chanted, “K-S-U, K-S-U.”
It was poignant moment for a first-year program led by enthusiastic coach Brian Bohannon, who said his team would flush the loss and move forward.
“All three times we’ve gotten beat,” said Bohannon, who led the Owls to a 5-1 mark at home this season, “we go into the locker room, I’ve tried to point out why we got beat, but I’ve also tried to finish on a positive note because we’ve got a bunch of young kids in there that need to get ready to go next week, and it would be easy for them to let this drag.”
Kennesaw State star freshman safety Taylor Henkle, who had two interceptions Saturday, said this season’s home record is only the beginning.
“Today, we played a good football team and came up a little short,” Henkle said. “But I think over the next three years that I’m here and beyond, being here at home Fifth Third Bank Stadium, it’s going to continue to grow. The atmosphere’s been great and going to get better. The team’s going to get better, and it’s going to be a special place.”
Here are five things we learned from Saturday’s game:
Owls lose their quarterback. Junior quarterback Trey White separated his left shoulder on a hustle play in the second quarter and did not return. White sustained the injury to his non-throwing shoulder, while attempting to bring down Charleston Southern defensive end Anthony Ellis.
Ellis, who was a menace all the game, batted down an option pitch from White, scooped up the ball, fended off White’s tackle attempt and scored to put the Buccaneers 21-6 at halftime.
White, who has been praised for his toughness, stayed on the ground in obvious pain and had to be helped to the locker room. The junior returned to the sideline in a sweatshirt with his left arm in a sling.
Kennesaw State backup quarterback Jake McKenzie replaced White and capped a fourth-quarter scoring drive with a 1-yard touchdown run that cut the Charleston Southern lead to 28-14 with 10 minutes to play.
Bohannon said it was unlikely White would be able to play next week at Coastal Carolina.
Quick start. For the third time this season, Kennesaw State (6-3, 2-2) scored on its first play of the game, with running back Chaston Bennett catching a 79-yard touchdown pass from White. The Owls did not huddle before the opening play, but mingled around instead. The ploy confused Charleston Southern, which did not line up anyone over Bennett on the outside. Left wide open, Bennett hauled in White's pass and raced to the end zone to put the Owls up 6-0.
Two momentum-shifting plays. Charleston Southern (8-1, 5-0), ranked No. 1 in the FCS, made two huge defensive plays in the second quarter that deflated the Owls. Trailing 14-6, Kennesaw State was threatening at the Charleston Southern 4-yard line, but faced a fourth-and-short. Bohannon elected to go for it, but White was stopped for a loss on a keeper off left tackle.
“They just blew us up,” Bohannon said.
The Owls forced a punt and took possession at the Charleston Southern 34-yard line, before Ellis got his hands on White’s option pitch and returned the ball 61 yards for a touchdown that gave the Bucs a 21-6 lead at halftime.
“That was big shift,” Bohannon said.
Impressing the Commish. Big South commissioner Kyle Kallander was in attendance Saturday for his first game at Fifth Third Bank Stadium. Kallander, who is in his 20th season with the conference, described the Owls' early success as "remarkable."
“We always felt that they had the right leadership in place. They were making a commitment to the program and were doing it the right way,” Kallander said. “It’s not shocking to me that they’re successful because we knew that in a very short period that they’d be competitive in the Big South, but to have this level of success in their first year is remarkable.”
Home-field advantage developing. The Owls went 5-1 at home in their first season. On Senior Day, 8,670 braved wet conditions and celebrated Kennesaw State's first four senior football players: offensive lineman Brett Gillespie, running back Ryan Godhigh, defensive end Mason Harris and wide receiver Prentice Stone. For the season, Kennesaw State averaged 8,820 fans for home games.
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