On the bus before Saturday’s game against Samford, Kennesaw State Football Head Coach Brian Bohannon emphasized to the team that special teams would prove to be the difference in the game against the Bulldogs. Heeding the words of his coach, running back Darnell Holland found himself where he does best — in the open field.
Holland opened the second half by returning a kickoff for 72 yards, allowing the Owls to take their time before extending their lead and putting the game out of reach. With favorable field position, quarterback Chandler Burks capitalized with a three-yard rushing touchdown to score his third touchdown, assisting the Owls in a 24-10 victory Saturday night.
“You want to talk about a momentum swing,” Bohannon said. “When you come out of the second half and return a kick and you’re able to capitalize, I mean, it was a back breaker.”
With the game marking the third meeting between the two teams, Samford is one of the few teams KSU is familiar with in the program’s young history. After a road loss to Samford to begin last season’s campaign and an equally dramatic home victory in the FCS playoffs, the Owls prove ready to take charge in this budding rivalry.
KSU’s defense forced the Bulldogs out of their own game plan. Samford quarterback Devlin Hodges was held to 150 passing yards — less than half his season average. The Owls allowed only four passes for over ten yards and none over twenty, resulting in the Bulldogs’ lowest scoring bid in 31 games.
“We figured out he loves rolling to his right,” linebacker Bryson Armstrong said. “One of our goals was to force him to step up in the pocket or force him left.”
Offensively, Burks led the ways with three total touchdowns. He led the rushing attack with 15 carries for 56 yards and a pair of touchdowns in addition to a passing touchdown.
Burks became only the second player in Big South Conference history with 2,000 rushing yards and 3,000 passing yards during his career.
“I think we took a huge step,” Burks said. “We came out guns a blazing, ready to play and it was exciting to watch.”
Armstrong shared the lead for most tackles with nine, along with Anthony Gore and Cole Loden.
“That was a really big win tonight,” Bohannon said. “More than even that, we took a step forward at playing the type of football we’re capable of here.”
The Owls play their fourth straight home game next week against Presbyterian, where they seek to extend their winning streak to five games.
The Blue Hose are 2-1 on the season, winning their last two games after having a game canceled due Hurricane Florence and losing their opening game against ranked Austin Peay.
Burks will be seeking to set a new Big South conference record, as he is three passing touchdowns away from becoming the first quarterback in conference history to record 30 rushing touchdowns and 30 passing touchdowns.
Next week’s game will be at 2 p.m. at Fifth Third Bank Stadium and will air on ESPN3.
