KENNESAW, Ga. – The Shorter Hawks faced an uphill battle on Saturday afternoon as they traveled to Kennesaw to take on formidable Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) foe Kennesaw State University in the first game of the 2021 spring football season. The Owls defeated the Hawks by a score of 35-3 at Fifth Third Bank Stadium.
The Hawks were already a big underdog to KSU, but the injury of Shorter starting quarterback Aeneas Dennis in the first quarter only made matters worse. Dennis and the Shorter offense had moved the ball effectively on the first drive of the game and capped it off with a 42-yard field goal by Nick Pope.
The injury to Dennis forced true freshman Harold Cook to take over at quarterback, and he had no answers for a KSU defense that settled into a rhythm. Shorter's defense kept the Hawks in it, as they allowed a mere 14 points to KSU's lethal triple option offense in the first half to only trail 14-3 heading to the locker rooms.
The Owls got another touchdown on the board with 9:43 left in the third quarter, as Kyle Glover rushed for a 10-yard touchdown. Glover finished with 87 yards on the ground on 17 carries and added the aforementioned touchdown. Teammate Isaac Foster was electric on his five touches, as he rushed for 65 yards.
KSU (1-0) would tack on two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter to earn the 35-3 victory. One of those touchdowns was a 1-yard run by Owls' quarterback Tommy Bryant. Though his yardage accumulation was low, Bryant found the endzone three times on the ground during the game.
While offense was hard to come by for Shorter, multiple Hawks on the offensive side of the ball got valuable experience. Cook played the majority of the game at quarterback, and Brandon Dickerson got some snaps at the position as well. Jaiden Dollard rushed for 53 yards to lead the running back group, and tight end John Dietl III led the Hawks in receiving with 27 yards on four catches.
The play of Shorter inside linebacker Xavier Robinson was the biggest bright spot for the Hawks on the day. Robinson accounted for a game-high 13 total tackles, including two tackles for loss and a sack. Robinson also picked off a pass from KSU's Bryant on the first drive of the second half to go along with a forced fumble and a fumble recovery during the game.
The Hawks (0-1) will be back on the gridiron on Saturday, March 13, when they head to Due West, S.C., to take on Erskine College at 4 p.m.
