Behind a strong defensive effort, The Tennessee State Tigers went on the road and picked up a win against the Owls of Kennesaw State, 27-20.
The Tigers struck first, scoring on a 51-yard field goal off the foot of James Lowery to take a 3-0 lead early in the first quarter. Later in the period, the Tigers extended the lead to 10-0 on a 5-play, 64-yard drive that ended on a 2-yard from Jordan Gant.
The Owls would get on the board later in the period, on a one-yard Jonathan Murphy touchdown run to trim the score to 10-7. Kennesaw State would knot the game at 10 on Connor Cummins’ 29-yard field goal with 11:19 remaining in the first half. Tennessee State reclaimed the lead late in the half, ending a 13-play, 55-yard drive with a 41-yard field goal off the foot of James Lowery that put the Tigers up 13-10 heading into halftime.
A 4-yard touchdown pass from Draylen Ellis to Karate Benson pushed the Tennessee State advantage to 20-10. Kennesaw State answered back on its next offensive possession on a Murphy 1-yard keeper to slice the lead to 20-17.
Jordan Gant’s second touchdown of the day, a 20-yard scamper put the Tigers up 27-17. The Owl’s next score Cummins’ second field goal of the afternoon, would pull Kennesaw to within a touchdown at 27-20, but the Owls would be able to draw no closer.
Here are some key trends:
The TSU quarterback carousel continues.
With Daveon Bryant ineffective in his limited action completing just 2of his 6 passes for 16 yards, Draylen Ellis saw the majority of the snaps at quarterback. Ellis completed 15/31 passes for 159 yards for 1 touchdown and did not throw an interception.
The Tennessee State defense
It was another solid outing for the Tigers, defense. The Brian Fisher-coached unit held the Owls to just 261 yards of total offense. The defense also recorded 4 sacks and an interception. This marked the fourth consecutive outing the TSU defense has held an opponent to 25 points or less.
Up next for Tennessee State is a homecoming meeting with Norfolk State.
