Owls run past Tennessee Tech 27-14 in home opener
The Owls know they let one slip away last Thursday at Samford. So when they faced the Tennesee Tech Golden Eagles in their home opener on Saturday night, the Owls jumped on them in the first half which led to a 27-14 victory.
“We won tonight. We won the first half and at the end of the day we won tonight,” Owls head coach Brian Bohannon said. “At the end of the day we got done what we wanted to accomplish. There’s a lot of positives we can take from tonight and a lot of things we can learn from to continue to be the football team we want to be.”
After a 19-yard field goal by Justin Thompson early in the first quarter, running back Trey Chivers scored on a 29-yard run to give the Owls the 10-0 lead. That scoring drive was made possible thanks to an interception by Brenton Wimberley deep in Owls territory.
The next score came late in the in the second quarter when running back Darnell Holland scored on an 84-yard run. He finished the night with 129 rushing yards on four carries.
“It was a blessing,” Holland said after the game. “I wouldn’t take all the credit. I have an amazing offensive line and great coaching to put me in the right place at the right time to make plays.”
But the Owls weren’t done scoring in the second quarter. As Tennesee Tech was driving to get a score before halftime, the Golden Eagles fumbled and it was recovered by Owls linebacker Bryson Armstrong who now has two fumble recoveries in the last two games. That led to quarterback Chandler Burks throwing a 55-yard pass to receiver Justin Sumpter and two plays later, Burks found Sumpter again for the 3-yard touchdown pass.
“We’ve seen him to it multiple times since he’s been here,” Bohannon said when talking about Sumpter’s TD reception which was thrown behind him and he was able to grab it out of the air. “That was huge.”
As good as the first half was for the Owls, the second half was the complete opposite. The Golden Eagles were able to score 14 points in the fourth quarter with QB Andre Sale throwing two touchdown passes to D.J. Wilkes. And the Golden Eagles threatened to score two more times in the fourth, but Owls safety Taylor Henkle and cornerback Dorian Walker recorded interceptions in the red zone to seal the victory. The Owls defense ended up forcing five turnovers, a new school record.
“I think they took the foot off the gas,” Bohannon said. And the next thing you know, the momentum changes and then the whole game changes. It’s frustrating because that is something we’ve talked about.”
The Owls played in front of a sold out crowd of 8,418 at Fifth Third Bank Stadium. And Bohannon took notice of that, especially the student section.
“The first thing you notice when you come out is that student section,” Bohannon said. “That was awesome tonight. I thought the students were awesome, I thought the crowd was awesome and it definitely made a difference.”
The Owls next game will be a road contest against Alabama State in Montgomery, Alabama next Saturday. Kickoff for the game will be at 8 p.m. ET.
Source: ksuowlssports.com
Link: Owls run past Tennessee Tech 27-14 in home opener