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The Cincinnati Bearcats aided by five Colerain Cardinal grads shut down the offense of the Kennesaw State Owls in the first half and continued in the second half in a 63-10 win to even their record at 1-1.
The Bearcats responded well after dropping a winnable game at Arkansas last week. A game that dropped them out of the Top 25 AP rankings.
"If I would have known this would be the result I would have slept better," Cincinnati coack Luke Fickell said. "I'm happy to say we did a really, really good job across the board. We played the most together football game we could for game two. We answered some questions about our maturity."
The Owls had a field goal blocked by Deshawn Pace was recovered by Colerain alumn, Eric Phillips. It was the first scoring attempt by either team.
plays later Ben Bryant found Josh Whyle in the end zone from 17 yards out with a touchdown pass to start the scoring. It was the first of three TD passes by Bryant, tying a career high. It marked the third straight home opening game in which Whyle, out of La Salle High School, caught a scoring pass.
"What was good after last week, when he threw one soft in the flat, he threw the ball with confidence," Fickell said.
Byrant connected with Leonard Taylor for a nine-yard scoring pass and Tyler Scott with a 21-yard throw.
At one time, Dontay Corleone had a sack while joining Ivan Pace Jr. and Ja'von Hicks to complete the Cardinal quintet that accounted for nearly half the defense.
Senior Juwon Briggs from Walnut Hills HS has spent his collegiate career clogging the middle of the line att Cincinnati. Corleone is coming on fast to challenge the big man's playing time.
"Not only is he giving me a breather," Briggs said. "Having Dontay nipping at my ankles, gives mbe more of a reason to keep going and keep pushing because if I take a play off and thing I've arrived. Dontay will be right there lapping me. It is a real, real, real great thing to have a competitve room. I think D Line is our strength this year."
Kennesaw, a FCS classified NCAA participant scored on a 30-yard field goal by Nathan Robertson to get on the scoreboard with 4:20 left in the first half.
After the break Ivan Pace Jr. stripped the ball from Owl running back, Jonathan Murphy, and Jabari Taylor returned the recovered fumble for a 23-yard score.
Charles McClelland carried the ball five yards for the fifth TD of the game for the Bearcats.
The Cardinal "Birds of Prey" combined for another defensive score when Eric Phillips pressured QB Xavier Shepherd into throwing the ball into the waiting arms of Ja'von Hicks for a 45-yard interception return, the first in his Bearcat career.
"Those kind of eluded us last year we got our hands on a lot of balls and took them to the two yard line. We had a thing with coach Coombs (former Colerain coach Kerry Coombs) that the next time a
Colerain guy gets his hands on the ball he will take it to the end zone. He got it done. Hicksy would have had to fall down,: Fickell said.
Hicks hasn't scored with the ball in his hands since his senior year at Colerain.
"It felt extremely good," Hicks said. "I think we needed this win a lot coming off the Arkansas game. Two years against Army, they gave me the same formation to the flat and I missed it. All week the coach told me to watch my man. I didn't miss it this time. I went to coach Coombs and asked him how about those Colerain guys and those return skills. Every body from Colerain would get a chance we'd miss the chance to get in the end zone. This time we did it."
Roger Bacon's Corey Kiner ran the ball in from 12 yards out to add more local flavor to the UC's scoring.
Preston Daniels cracked the goal line for Kennesaw State with a four-yard run with 9:26 remaining in the game.
Wyoming HS favorite son Evan Prather scampered 44 yards for the Bearcats eighth touchdown. Myles Montgomery capped the scoring with a 76-yard run late in the fourth quarter.
This was the first meeting the two schools.
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