Unable to find the end zone until the final seconds of the game, Kennesaw State scraped an 18-10 win over Shorter on Saturday at Fifth Third Bank Stadium.
Linebacker Dez Billingslea scored his first touchdown of the season with a 65-yard fumble recovery as the clock ran out. Billingslea recovered after a fumbled snap on the Hawks’ final field-goal attempt, with eight seconds remaining in the game and the Owls holding a 12-1o lead.
“I knew I had two options: take a knee and win the game or if I run, I better not fall on the ball,” Billingslea said. “(That last play) is a testament to how hard we fought.”
Bohannon said he saw early in the game that the Hawks (0-2) were going to challenge the Owls (3-0) to the wire.
“We just couldn’t get a ball in the end zone,” Bohannon said. “A big part of that was we can move the ball a little bit, and then we’d have a negative play.”
The Owls took the lead in the fourth quarter with a 28-yard field goal by freshman kicker Justin Thompson after quarterback Trey White rushed to convert a fourth down on the Shorter 18-yard line.
Although Thompson missed three field-goal attempts Saturday, Bohannon said that Thompson made it when it counted.
“Coach tells us every day that the next play is the most important play,” Thompson said. “If you miss a field goal, you forget about it. If you make a field goal, you forget about it and move on.”
The Owls struggled on offense in the first half, with two turnovers in the half, both in field-goal territory.
“I turned the ball over in the red zone and on a drive where we were moving the ball pretty well — and I can’t do that,” White said. “The defense kept us in the game. I’m so proud of our defense. I’m proud of everybody, but our defense came to play.”
White threw an interception to Hawks cornerback Wesley Clay at the Shorter 25. Clay returned the pass for 73 yards and was tackled at the KSU 2 by P.J. Stone. The interception led to the Hawks’ only touchdown by fullback Aki Coles, giving the Hawks the lead 10-6.
Linebacker Zach Butts forced White to fumble at the Shorter 3 as White fought for extra yards.
White said the offense and the defense will use the mistakes of this game as a learning opportunity.
“We just weren’t executing in the first half,” White said. “We were able to move the ball effectively, especially in the second half. Between the red zones, we were just having some trouble, but that’s something we can work on.”
White was 9-of-16 passing for 186 yards and rushed for 85 yards.
Unable to find the end zone in the first half, the Owls settled for field goals on their first two possessions of the game.
The Hawks, in the twelfth season of the football program and third as a member of the Division II Gulf South Conference, lost their ninth game in a row.
Bohannon said although his team didn’t come out of the same energy of their past two games, he’s proud of what such a young football team accomplished.
“Every little bit of adversity you could think of — penalties, turnovers, missed kicks, big plays on the other side — at the end of the day, our team kept fighting and clawing and found a way to win a ballgame that was (very) hard to win,” Bohannon said.
“There are so many teachable, coachable moments from this game. Film study will be great Monday morning.”
About the Author
