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COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – An hour rain delay couldn't cool the jets of Kennesaw State football's offense as it amassed 552 yards in the 49-10 victory over Tennessee Tech on Thursday night.
 
The Owls (1-1) used a program-record seven rushing touchdowns and record 507 rushing yards to defeat the Golden Eagles (0-2), winning their 13^th game in their last 15.
 
The offensive charge was led by Chandler Burks, who finished with three rushing touchdowns and 91 rushing yards on the night. His three TDs made him the first Big South quarterback to rush 30 touchdowns in a career, while his yardage made him the second quarterback in conference history to reach the 2,000-yard milestone.
 
Tennessee Tech would actually get on the board first with a 41-yard field goal to start the game, before Kennesaw State was able to retake the lead with a 1-yard touchdown by Burks. The Owls would score twice in the second quarter – off a 27-yard rush by Trey Chivers and a 5-yard rush by Burks – to extend the lead to 21-3.
 
The Owls then broke out of the gate to open the second half, recording back-to-back one-play scoring drives on a 75-yard run by Darnell Holland and a 50-yard breakout by Burks on the first two possessions of the third quarter.
 
Backup quarterback Daniel David then entered the game, capitalizing fully to score at 10:38 in the third quarter on a 5-yard run to push the lead to 42-3.
 
The Golden Eagles then scored a fourth-quarter touchdown through the air to get to 10 points before Tommy Bryant used a 2-yard rush with 1:38 left in the game to set the final score at 49-10.
 
Holland finished as the game's leading rusher by 1 yard, finishing with 92 total yards off four carries while Burks finished with 11 carries for 91 yards. Kevin Ficklin and Trey Chivers also ran for more than 50 yards with 58 and 50, respectively.
 
With the ground attack firing on all cylinders, Justin Sumpter only targeted once on the night, but it was a deep one, going for 41 yards.
 
Defensively, Le'Vonte Larry continues to impress in his first year as a transfer, racking up a team-high nine tackles (eight solo), while Charlie Patrick finished with seven tackles and one for loss and Anthony Gore, Jr. with six and 0.5 for loss.
 
The Owls' defense extended its turnover forced streak to 16-straight games as freshman Cincere Mason jumped a route to nab his first career interception and Dorian Walker recovered a muffed punt. KSU has now forced an interception in 15 of its last 16 games.
 
Kennesaw State now returns home for its home-opener matchup against Alabama State on Sept. 15. Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m.
 
NOTES
Burks' 30 rushing touchdowns also rank him sixth all-time in Big South history among all positions … Burks' three touchdown effort was his sixth-career game with three or more rushing touchdowns and the seventh multi-rushing touchdown game for his career overall … he's ran for a touchdown in 11 of his last 13 games … freshman Isaac Foster recorded his first career carry for a key 11-yard rush in the first quarter … Chivers' rushing touchdown was the seventh of his career and first since Oct. 7, 2017 (Texas Southern) … Sumpter's 41-yard completion ranks as the ninth-longest of his career … Holland's 75-yard rushing TD is the second-longest of his career and fifth-longest in program history … Walker's muffed punt recovery marks his first fumble recovery of his career … already co-leading the country in fourth-down conversions entering this week (four), the Owls finished 2-for-3 on the night … with two to start the second half, KSU now has 10 one-play scoring drives since 2016 … the team's 552 total offensive yards ranks fifth all-time in school history and is the fifth time KSU has amassed 550 yards … the 39-point victory marks the largest positive point margin since Oct. 7, 2017 (+45 over Texas Southern) … the Owls have not lost a regular-season game to an FCS opponent since Aug. 31, 2017 at Samford (372 days).
 
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