Score: Charleston Southern 28, Kennesaw State 14
Records: Kennesaw State (6-3, 2-2), Charleston Southern (8-1, 5-0)
Key Players: Chaston Bennett (2 catches, 86 yards, 1 TD); Tremayne Trawick (4 catches, 85 yards); Taylor Henkle (10 solo tackles, 2 INT).
Key Play: 61-yard fumble return for TD by Charleston Southern's Anthony Ellis
Key Stats: Kennesaw State 113 yards rushing; 1 of 12 on 3rd down 

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KENNESAW, Ga.  – In a match-up of the of the nation's top-ranked defense versus the country's third-ranked rushing offense, No. 13/15 Charleston Southern came out on top as it posted a 28-14 victory over Kennesaw State on Senior Day Saturday at Fifth Third Bank Stadium.
 
In the process, the Buccaneers (8-1, 5-0) clinched at least a share of the Big South Conference title and earned the league's automatic bid to the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoffs, while in the process handing the Owls (6-3, 2-2) their first home loss in the season finale at Fifth Third Bank Stadium.
 
Charleston Southern entered the game allowing just 244.1 yards a contest, including 105.8 yards on the ground, while the Owls were totaling 455.3 yards a game, including 322.5 yards on the ground.
 
In the end, Kennesaw State was held to a season-low 302 yards of offense, including 113 rushing yards.
 
After surprising the Buccaneers with a pass on the first play from scrimmage, the Owls struck early as quarterback Trey White found a wide open Chaston Bennett for a 79-yard touchdown and 6-0 lead.
 
Following a Taylor Henkle interception on Charleston Southern's second drive, Kennesaw State took over at the Buccaneers' 29-yard and in position to extend its lead. However, back-to-back penalties negated positive gains and big plays by the CSU defense forced a punt.
 
Charleston Southern then scored 21 unanswered points on a 23-yard pass play from quarterback Austin Brown to wide receiver Colton Korn, a 12-yard run by Darius Hammond and a 61-yard fumble return for a score by defensive end Anthony Ellis that gave the Buccaneers a 21-6 lead with 6:40 remaining in the first half. 
 
The defensive score by Charleston Southern came after Kennesaw State took possession of the ball at the Buccaneers' 34-yard line and trailing 14-6 with 6:53 remaining in the second quarter.
 
Charleston Southern opened the third quarter with a 10-play 61-yard drive was capped by a 7-yard run by Brown that increased the Buccaneers' lead to 28-6 with 9:53 left in the third quarter.
 
Redshirt-freshman quarterback Jake McKenzie, who replaced an injured White late in the second quarter, engineered 6-play, 83-yard drive that culminated with his own 1-yard run.
 
McKenzie established season-highs by completing 8 of 15 passes for 103 yards, including a season-long 46-yard hookup with wide receiver Tremayne Trawick.
 
Henkle recorded a game-high tying 10 tackles and had two interceptions, while linebacker Dez Billingslea totaled 10 tackles, including two tackles for loss.  

SENIOR DAY: Saturday marked Senior Day for four Owl players. Brett Gillespie (Kennesaw, Ga. / Kell HS), Ryan Godhigh (Acworth, Ga. / Harrison HS), Mason Harris (Fort Oglethorpe, Ga. / Ridgeland HS) and Prentice Stone (Marietta, Ga. / Sprayberry HS) donned the home uniforms for the last time during the regular season.
 
Next Game: Kennesaw State will head back out on the road to conclude the regular season with away contests at nationally-ranked Coastal Carolina (Nov. 14) and Presbyterian (Nov. 21).  The Owls will face the Chanticleers in Conway, S.C. on Saturday at 2 p.m. 

Notes
* The Owls finished their inaugural season with a 5-1 record at Fifth Third Bank Stadium.
* Seniors Brett Gillespie, Ryan Godhigh, Mason Harris and Prentice Stone were allowed to pick Saturday's uniforms and the Owls came out wearing gold jerseys and black pants for the first time this season. It marks the fifth different uniform combination the team has worn.
* Seniors Brett Gillespie, Ryan Godhigh, Mason Harris, Prentice Stone served as game captains.
* QB Trey White's 79-yard TD pass to Chaston Bennett on the game's opening play marked the third time this season that the Owls have scored on the first play of the game. KSU also scored on its first offensive play versus Edward Waters (Sept. 12) and at Dayton (Sept. 26). White hooked up with Justin Sumpter on a 55-yard pass play versus Edward Waters and Bennett rushed 80 yards for score at Dayton.
* The Owls lost the time of possession statistic for only the third time in nine games this season. Charleston Southern held the ball for 33:36, while Kennesaw State had possession for 26:24.
* KSU forced at least one turnover for the eighth time in nine games as Taylor Henkle had two interceptions, bringing his season total to four. It also marked the first time he has had a pair of picks in the same game.
* Junior quarterback Trey White went over 1,000 yards passing after throwing for 86 yards increasing his season total to 1,022 yards. He also has 809 yards rushing and is 91 yards shy of becoming the first quarterback in Big South Conference history to rush for 1,000 yards and pass for 1,000 yards in the same season.


 

Fifth Third Bank is the Official Bank of Kennesaw State Athletics. Fifth Third Bank Stadium is the home of women's soccer, women's lacrosse and football, which will play its inaugural season in 2015.
 
Keep up with Kennesaw State Athletics by following KSU on Twitter @KSUOwlNation and or by liking Kennesaw State Owls on Facebook. You also can follow Kennesaw State football at @KennesawSTFB and The Owls fund on Twitter at @TheOwlsFund.