The Kennesaw State Owls are known for being one of the top rushing teams in the country. And it was on full display on Saturday against the North Alabama Lions, rushing for 490 yards in a 41-17 win at Fifth Third Bank Stadium.
And the Owls did this while missing 13 players. A few of those players were out because of injuries, but the majority of them were out because of the flu.
“The flu bug got us,” Owls head coach Brian Bohannon said. “I’ve never been a part of one like this in my 20 years of coaching. We were trying to contain it. That was the hardest part.”
Along with being short-handed, the Owls were dealing with rainy weather and a North Alabama team that came out swinging to start the game. The Lions took the early lead when the scored on a four-yard run early in the first quarter. KSU was able to score on the ensuing drive thanks to a 1-yard run by quarterback Daniel David and then they took the lead early in the second quarter when David scored on a 13-yard run. But the Lions were able to answer with a 28-yard touchdown pass to take the 14-13 lead.
After that, the Owls were able to settle down and outscored North Alabama 28-3 the rest of the way. David finished with 116 rushing yards and three touchdowns and running back Kevin Ficklin tallied 80 rushing yards and two touchdowns on four carries. One of the big stories was sophomore quarterback Jonathan Murphy who made his 2019 debut on Saturday. Coming in relief for David, Murphy rushed for 98 yards and one touchdown.
“It was good to see Murph go in,” Bohannon said. “You can see some of the things we’re excited about with him. We have some young quarterbacks and they’re going to be good players.”
Defensively, the Owls were anchored by linebacker Bryson Armstrong who finished the day with 10 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and one sack. KSU allowed 318 yards of total offense and the Lions were only 1-of-9 on third-down conversions.
And an interesting note, the Owls did not complete one pass on Saturday. This is the first time in program history the Owls have not completed at least two passes in a single game.
KSU improves to 7-1 and 3-0 in Big South Conference play. They will face Monmouth next Saturday at Fifth Third Bank Stadium.
