Kennesaw State football defended their home field advantage by claiming a 30-20 victory against Charleston Southern.
KSU witnessed record breaking history as Markeith Montgomery became the new record holder in career interceptions. Montgomery grabbed his ninth career pick, moving past Donte Blackmon and securing the first place position in KSU record books.
KSU’s quarterback Xavier Shepherd went 11 of 25 in the air, finishing with 158 passing yards and one touchdown. The senior also gained 62 rushing yards on 28 carries. Throughout the game, Shepherd collected two rushing touchdowns.
Sophomore, Gabriel Benyard, set a new single-game KSU record with 117 punt return yards. Benyard also earned two receptions for a team-high of 61 yards, with one receiving a touchdown.
The Owl defense buckled down on CSU, steadily maintaining the pressure. Deontre Morris and Chance Gamble combined for seven tackles. Senior Travis Bell put up five tackles for the game.
Conor Cummins put the Owls on the board with a career-long field goal, allowing the 46-yarder to give KSU an early 3-0 lead.
The offense thrived on a six-play drive. One of the plays from this drive included a 30-yard catch from Chavis Marshall. KSU capitalized from this with a 37-yard touchdown from Benyard, extending the lead to 10-0.
Charleston Southern answered back with a 25-yard pick-six, cutting KSU’s advantage to 10-7.
Just before the second quarter, the Owls’ offense maneuvered to CSU’s 12-yard line. Cummins booted a 29-yard field goal, pushing the Owls’ lead to 13-7 shortly before halftime. After only five plays into the third quarter kickstarted, Senior Montgomery obtained his history-making interception. Montgomery’s inception marked his fourth interception of the season, which set a new single-season high for him.
Following this, Montgomery returned the ball making it to CSU’s 10-yard line. KSU was determined to make the most out of this. Shepard dove across the goal line, rushing for a one-yard touchdown two plays later.
Shepherd’s touchdown extended the Owls’ lead to 20-7.
Tensions rose as CSU toughened up, stiffening the competition. CSU’s running back, TJ Ruff, scored a 22-yard rushing touchdown late in the third quarter bringing the score to 20-14.
Shepherd rushed for a three-yard touchdown, refusing to allow CSU to catch up and resulting in a new score of 27-14.
Cummins connected on a 46-yard field goal that was documented as his third converted kick of the day. All three of his successful kicks were noted as a new single-game high for Cummins and furthered the Owls’ lead to 30-14.
Late in the fourth quarter, CSU fought to make a comeback by scoring a touchdown resulting in a final score of 30-20.
KSU will be on the road for next week’s matchup against UT Martin. The game will be held Saturday, Nov. 4. Kickoff is set for 1:00 PM ET.
