By Mason Wittner, Staff Writer
Having outscored their first two opponents by a combined margin of 114-23, Kennesaw State had their first taste of adversity Saturday in an 18-10 victory over Shorter.
Despite totaling 417 yards of offense, their highest total through the first three games of the season, KSU’s offensive unit was held out of the end zone for the entirety of game. The Owls drove the ball inside the red zone five times on the day, yet repeatedly stalled and were forced to settle for field goal tries.
KSU struggled kicking the ball, as true freshman Justin Thompson was 3-of-6 entering KSU’s final offensive possession. Thompson’s seventh attempt of the game, however, sailed through the uprights from 28 yards out to put KSU on top 12-10 with 1:39 remaining in the fourth quarter.
“Coach every day tell us that the most important play is the next play,” Thompson said. “So, if you miss a field goal, you forget about it. If you make a field goal, you forget about it and move on. My job is to make field goals for the team and kick the ball to the best of my ability.”
The struggle was not yet over for the Owls as Shorter drove the ball down the field to the KSU 21-yard line and set themselves up for a potential game-tying field goal with eight seconds remaining in the game.
The Hawks mishandled the snap and KSU’s Dez Billingslea scooped up the loose ball and returned it 65 yards for the first Owl touchdown of the day as time expired; sealing an 18-10 victory over Shorter.
That play of the game, perhaps, happened before Billingslea’s fumble recovery and Thompson’s go-ahead kick.
On fourth and inches from the 18-yard line with four minutes left in the game and a 10-9 deficit, quarterback Trey White used a second effort to pick up the first down and keep the game alive for the Owls.
“Our [offensive] line came off the ball and [Shorter] stopped us initially,” White said. “But, with the drive of the offensive line, the backs and myself, I definitely thought I got it. On that second effort, I felt myself move a couple feet and that’s all we needed.”
KSU fought against multiple difficulties throughout the day, but the Owls eventually earned the right to still be called undefeated.
“We’re going to learn a lot from this game, as we do from every game,” KSU head coach Brian Bohannon said. “But I think we’re going to learn a lot more from this one than the first two.”
