It was over soon after it began.
Kennesaw State’s opening play of the season was 54-yard kickoff return that was followed by a 38-yard reception that took the Owls to their opponent’s 1-yard line.
From there, quarterback Daniel David would keep it and run into the end zone for the Owls’ first touchdown of the season.
“I owe that first touchdown to the guys up front,” David said. “They blocked their butt off. It felt good to be back in the end zone.”
Kennesaw State’s 41-second opening-touchdown drive foreshadowed what would become a long night for Point University, as the Owls rolled to a 59-0 victory.
The Owls’ second drive of the season took a little longer, but the offense drove down the field just as smoothly. The five-play drive was capped off by a huge 36-yard rushing touchdown by senior Bronson Rechsteiner. The Owls would add two more touchdowns before the opening quarter ended.
Sophomore defensive back Markeith Montgomery attributed the team’s performance to their mentality.
“Everybody on the team got that dog mentality, and it starts in practice,” Montgomery said.
From there the offense wouldn’t look back, and Point wouldn’t force a Kennesaw State punt until there was just over a minute left in the half.
Kennesaw State’s offense looked as sharp as ever to start the season, but the defense was the story of the game. The starters held Point scoreless through the half and to 132 yards of offense. The score at halftime was 42-0.
Point’s offense couldn’t get anything going, and that continued against Kennesaw State’s backups in the second half. The blowout led to a lot of players taking the field, and regardless of who was on the field for the Owls, Point couldn’t find any type of rhythm to its offense.
Point could muster only three more first downs in the third quarter, and the fourth was more of the same. Coach Brian Bohannon was impressed with the younger players, some of whom saw their first collegiate action.
“They showed their hunger tonight,” Bohannon said. “Those guys got the opportunity, and I think they took advantage of it.”
The absolute domination of Point did answer a couple of questions the Owls had following their quarterfinal loss last year. Daniel David proved he can fill the void left by Chandler Burks at quarterback, and the defense proved it can be elite, the shutout cementing that.
“Anytime you get a shutout, I don’t care who, what, or when, that’s a challenge,” Bohannon said. “I thought the defense came in and did a nice job today.”
After enduring another heartbreak to end the season last year, the Owls wanted to start this season right.
“This the first time we won an opener at Fifth Bank Stadium. We were 1-3 coming into tonight,” Bohannon said. “So that was a big deal for us.”
They couldn’t have dreamt of a more perfect home opener.
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