Mason Wittner, Staff Writer
Kennesaw State held its first open football scrimmage Saturday, Oct. 11 and provided a preview of what is to come from KSU’s defense. The Owls showed a great deal of promise as the defense held the offense in check for a large portion of time throughout the scrimmage.
Much to the surprise of those in attendance, the first KSU touchdown publicly witnessed belonged not to an offensive skill position player, but rather a defensive lineman. After stalling the offense on the first few drives, the Owls’ defense made a statement as defensive lineman, Austin Byrd, scooped up a fumbled pitch and took it the distance for the score.
“That’s just a little bragging rights,” defensive lineman Luther Jones said. “You know we got something over them, and then some days they’ll beat us. It’s all fun and it’s good completion. We talk a little bit, we get a little smack talk, but in the end we’re all brothers. The offense is happy when we do something big, and we’re happy when they do something big.”
On the ensuing drive, the defense almost capitalized off another offensive miscue, as defensive back, Brandon Symonette, dropped an interception. However, the Owls’ defense continued to look strong in all areas, as they stuffed the run and locked down wide receivers. The offense struggled to move the ball for the first couple of drives of the scrimmage.
“There’s no doubt, early on the defense shut down the offense,” head coach Brian Bohannon said. “They had a touchdown, which is awesome. That’s the kind of things we need on defense. Anytime you look at a scrimmage, you can look at the good and the bad. Early on the defensive kind of stifled the offense, and then the offense got going a little bit. But I think both sides competed.”
The defense seemingly would not bend or break, until they eventually began to do both.
As KSU’S offense executed the long ball and began moving vertically down the field using an air raid approach, they began to find their groove. After allowing a 70-yard scoring drive, the defense surrendered another quick score, as Demetrius Hill mistimed his jump, allowing wide receiver Tremayne Trawick to snag quarterback Jantzen Jeffery’s pass and take it in for a long touchdown.
The Owls defense surrendered another touchdown, as quarterback Jake McKenzie connected with wide receiver Justin Sumpter for the third offensive score of the day. The offense also punched in two scores with the ground game, courtesy of running backs Christian Rall and Cameron Blackburn.
Despite allowing four touchdowns, a competitive nature was exemplified, and it became evident that KSU’s motto of “Effort, Attitude and Toughness” had been firmly executed on the defensive side of the ball.
