The Owls were handed a heart-wrenching fourth-quarter loss to Samford on Thursday night’s matchup resulting in a final score of 27-17.
Head Coach Brian Bohannon stated at the press conference on Monday that his guys were ready to go out and perform, which they did.
After stopping Samford on their opening drive, the Owls came out on the team’s first possession with a Preston Daniels rushing touchdown to give them the lead early in the game.
Samford stood their ground in the second quarter and scored twice before heading into the half.
Kennesaw State entered the 3rd quarter after being down 14-7 and would score 10 unanswered points to give the Owls the lead late in the quarter thanks to quarterback Xavier Shepard’s two-yard rushing touchdown.
Shepard would end up rushing a new single-game record 35 times for 64 yards along with his touchdown run. He secured five of 13 passes with an overall of 135 passing yards for the game.
Along with the new single-game record, Shepard also became the sixth Owl to record over 1,000 career rushing yards.
The Owls gave up two touchdowns in the 4th quarter, but KSU did not shy away from moving the ball. Shepard threw the longest pass of his career by connecting with WR Nykeem Farrow for a long 72-yard reception in the fourth quarter. The reception was also Farrow’s new career-long record, thus beating his previous career-long of 52 yards. This reception brought the Owls within scoring position late in the game.
Along with the new single-game record, Shepard also became the sixth Owl to record over 1,000 career rushing yards.
The Owls’ Garland Benyard garnered an astonishing seven tackles against Samford. The defense made their mark on the season with both Juandarion Silas, who was one of Coach Bohannon’s key freshmen talked about in Monday’s press conference. Silas collected three tackles and forced a fumble.
KSU’s defense dominated as Markeith Montgomery gathered four solo tackles and one tackle-for-loss. Kerick Reese forcing fumbles in each half gave KSU a position to score throughout the game.
The Owls’ offense also ignited as Shepherd dropped back and connected with a leaping Chavis Marshall. They entered Bulldog territory with a 38-yard pass. This reception was then highlighted as the longest of Marshall’s career.
KSU capitalized on this as this was the best positioning they had obtained all game. The Owls were able to make a 13-yard drive to capture a 17-14 lead. The rushing touchdown was Shepherd’s first of the season and 25th of his career.
Samford began the fourth quarter with immense momentum as they scored a 93-yard touchdown in eight plays. Although the extra point was missed, the score marked the fourth lead change of the ballgame. Samford’s Chandler Smith managed to earn a 31-yard pass from Michael Hiers.
The Owls would end up falling short losing the game 27-17. With this loss, the all-time record between the two football teams is now 2-2.
Kennesaw State will have a tough matchup ahead of them when they travel next Saturday, Sept. 10th, to take on the 23rd-ranked Cincinnati Bearcats with a 3:30 p.m. kickoff.
Saturday’s game will take place at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio. With this game, it will be the fourth time in program history that Kennesaw State will face an FBS opponent.
Fans can tune into the game via ESPN+.
