By Chris Raimondi—Sports Editor
All things must come to an end, and Kennesaw State’s win streak did just that Saturday in Dayton, Ohio.
The Owls (3-1) tallied 27 points in the first half and had two players run for over 100 yards, but KSU ultimately fell to the Flyers (3-0) 31-27.
“When you lose and you put a lot in to it I think for our team and coaches it’s tough,” KSU head coach Brian Bohannon said. “As I told them in there (locker room) I’m proud of them. They fought to the end and we are going to build on this.”
The Owls squandered a 13 point lead which they held in the first quarter, and failed to score in the second half. Dayton running back Connor Kacsor could not be slowed as he went for 229 yards on 44 carries and scored three touchdowns.
Trailing 31-27, KSU threatened to take the lead late in the fourth quarter when the Owls drove into Dayton territory at the 31-yard line, but they were unable to continue their drive and turned the ball over on downs. The Flyers took over with 4:38 remaining in the game and were able to run out the clock on the shoulders of Kacsor, who picked up two first downs on Dayton’s final drive to seal the victory.
The Owls’ defense gave up 287 yards rushing, the most by an opponent all season. However, they came away with two interceptions and have forced a turnover in all four games this season.
KSU tempered a hot Dayton start after the Flyers returned the opening kickoff 65 yards. Three plays later, Marcus Thurman intercepted Alex Jeske’s pass in the end zone for a touchback. On the first play from scrimmage for the Owls, Bennett burst for an 80-yard touchdown run to give KSU a 6-0 lead after the extra point was missed. Bennett finished as KSU’s leading rusher with 155 yards.
After forcing a three-and-out on Dayton’s next possession, KSU marshaled a seven play, 48-yard scoring drive that ended with a Darnell Holland 2-yard touchdown run and the Owls took a 13-0 lead with 10:04 to go in the first quarter.
Dayton eventually got on the board in the first quarter with a 20-yard pass from Jeske to Cory Stuart which made it a 13-7 game. KSU responded with another scoring drive early in the second quarter in which White capped off with a 1-yard touchdown run to make it 20-7.
KSU added another touchdown behind a 9-yard Jae Bowen run and Dayton scored twice before the half when Kacsor punched in a pair of scores, both 2-yard runs. The Owls held a 27-21 lead at halftime.
Dayton took its first lead of the game late in the third quarter when Kacsor scored his third and final touchdown of the day, another 2-yard rush, and the Flyers never looked back. KSU was held to 93 yards of total offense in the second half.
The Flyers added a field goal in the fourth quarter when William Will made a 37-yard field goal.
“This is part of the process we’re in,” Bohannon said. “We’re going to learn from this. Just like we learn from our wins, we’re going to learn from our losses. We’ll regroup and see if we can get healthy next week with an off week and get back on track and get back going.”
Despite throwing two interceptions and going 3-for-10 for 46 yards, White rushed for 133 yards. The game marks the first time that White and wide receiver Justin Sumpter failed to connect. The pair linked up on a pass play of at least 40 yards in each of KSU’s first three games.
The Owls have their bye next weekend and return to play Point Oct. 10 for Homecoming.
