KSU special teams remain special

John Bednarowski, Marietta Daily Journal, Ga.
·2 min read

Mar. 22—KENNESAW — Kennesaw State special teams had another outstanding performance on Saturday in the Owls' 37-27 victory over Dixie State.

Cade Loden had a 15-yard scoop and score off a bad snap when the Trailblazers were in punt formation early in the second quarter to give Kennesaw State its first lead of the day at 10-7.

"We've been able to make some plays. We're fortunate," coach Brian Bohannon said. "The touchdown we scored on the punt was a return. The two guys that secure the punt, the snap was off and the kid dropped it and the guys were doing their job, they were back there and we were able to scoop and score, and that was huge. You talk about a change in momentum. Things that you can do like that in special teams."

The field goal rush team came away with another block when Desmond Scott got his hand on a potential 51-yard field goal at the end of the first half. It is already the third kick KSU has blocked this season, adding it to the punt and extra point block it had against Charleston Southern.

Nate Robertson was also solid, as he made all three of his field goal attempts from 23, 30 and 30 yards.

"I thought Nate was on point with the field goals today, which everything is critical right now. Everything is always critical, but I'm going to tell you, in the spring of '21, critical takes on a new meaning."

HAIGLER STEPS UP

Kennesaw State is not going to be mistaken for a passing team any time soon, but for the second week in a row, the team was able to hit some key plays through the air.

Against Dixie State, sophomore Will Haigler had a standout performance with three catches for 77 yards. Tommy Bryant connected with him for a 23-yard pass in the second quarter and a 41-yard catch in the third quarter to help set up field goals.

The third pass, may have helped seal the win. With just over 7 minutes to play, on third-and-11, Bryant hit Haigler with a 13-yard pass for a first down. Four plays later, the Owls scored to push the lead to 37-20.

"We had some huge plays in the pass game and Will was the recipient of those," Bohannon said. "The first was underthrown, it probably should have been a touchdown. The second one was a great throw and catch. The third one might have been the most critical of all because it gave us the ability to move the chains.

"It was good to see him make some plays. I think he blocked better, which is a real positive, and some of those in the play action pass game were big for us."