Kennesaw State football was defeated 35-28 in overtime at Jacksonville State on Saturday, Oct. 1.
Senior quarterback, Jonathan Murphy, earned his sixth career game with 100+ rushing yards. Murphy is now tied for the second-most in school history.
Safety Markeith Montgomery had four solo tackles out of seven tackles and forced two fumbles. Montgomery was celebrated as the first Owl to force multiple fumbles in a game since Tyler Moore at Robert Morris last season on Nov. 6.
KSU’s defense collected five turnovers throughout the game with four being fumbles and one interception. The defense tied the program record from Nov. 16 2019 at Hampton.
Montgomery stripped the ball from Jacksonville State quarterback Zion Webb causing a fumble on the first play of the game. The Owls’ Deontre Morris quickly secured the loose ball, giving KSU’s offense a chance to put the Owls on the board.
The Owls capitalized on this as Murphy rushed one yard into the end zone early in the first quarter.
Montgomery forced another fumble on the Gamecocks’ second drive by stripping the ball from a Jacksonville State running back. The fumble was recovered by the Owls’ Garland Benyard.
As the competition warmed up, Jacksonville State blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown.
The Gamecocks led a 10-7 lead into the second quarter.
In the second quarter, Murphy rushed for a two-yard touchdown run after gaining his second possession which pushed the Owls up to 14-10 following a nine-play, 40-yard drive.
As halftime was near, KSU was forced to punt on the fourth down. The kick was muffed allowing the Owls’ Chance Gamble to fall on the ball and give possession to KSU once again.
Preston Daniels utilized this turnover to rush from the JSU eight-yard line and scored to give the Owls a 21-10 advantage before halftime. As the third quarter began, Jacksonville State turned up the heat. The Gamecocks scored two touchdowns and a field goal in the third quarter to take the lead of 28-21.
Feeling the pressure as the fourth quarter arrived, KSU chose to punt the ball on fourth and long, but another muffed kick gave KSU the ball on the JSU 5.
Three plays later, Murphy rushed for two yards scoring a touchdown to tie the game 28-28. This touchdown was the first time an Owl had scored three rushing touchdowns in a game since Nov. 13 of last season at North Alabama. The previous Owl to do this was Xavier Shepherd.
Once the clock expired, it was anyone’s game as overtime arrived. Jacksonville State’s quarterback Webb passed the ball to Sterling Galban scoring the winning touchdown. This win was their first win in series history over the Owls for the Gamecocks.
As for the Owls, the loss shattered the 17-game win streak that KSU football maintained for games in the month of October.KSU will be back at home next week for another ASUN matchup against North Alabama at 6 PM. The game will be one-of-four straight inside Fifth Third Bank Stadium.
