GRAYSON, K.Y. – After a bye week last week, the Knights were looking to get back into the win column against Kentucky Christian University. The teams put on a show for over 350 fans in Grayson, K.Y. as they battled each other throughout the game. The Knights, although their best offensive performance of the season, couldn’t battle with KCU down the stretch and ultimately fell 51-28.
The loss was the first for the Knights in AAC conference play, as they fell to 1-1 in the AAC overall with the defeat.
The Knights fell behind just before halftime as they were outscored 21-14 in the opening half where they had just one third-down conversion, but did make a couple key fourth-down conversions. As the Knights were able to gain serious yardage throughout the game, it would prove not to be enough to take down KCU on their home turf.
Senior quarterback Andrew Fowler (Hillsdale, MI) had a career day as he threw for 311 yards on 21 of 42 passing, to go along with four touchdowns and three interceptions. His 311 yards were the most he’s thrown for in a game this season, and ranks as one of the top performances by any AAC quarterback this season.
The Knights were able to get a large chunk of the yards on the ground in addition to their passing attack, as they rushed for 206 yards as a team. Fowler led the way with 78 yards, followed by D’Vonte Allen (Marion, SC) who had 54 yards, Dennis Leggett (Fair Bluff, NC) adding 38 and Anterius Carpenter (Charlotte, NC) adding an additional 34 yards on the ground.
The Knights’ best receiver had arguably the best day of his career. Senior Marquis McCoy, who transferred to St. Andrews from Southern Miss this offseason, hauled in five passes for 107 yards and two touchdowns on Saturday.
Senior leader and middle linebacker Austin Hunt (Fayetteville, NC) led the team with 16 tackles. Hunt has been phenomenal all season long, and has been on the team for four years now. He knows what it takes to play football at this level, which is why he’s become a leader and force in the heart of this Knight’s defense this season.
Jaylen McFadden’s (Chester, SC) forced fumble came in the second quarter when he tackled a KCU running back before he could get any yards on 2nd down; it was recovered by Dawon Joyner (Blackville, SC). A few plays later, McFadden sacked a Kentucky Christian quarterback just as he was about to throw an incomplete pass downfield.
Recently returned from injury, Trevor Collins (Charlotte, NC) collected a key interception, one of the two total turnovers the squad was able to force, as the team hopes the veteran presence will help in upcoming games. The senior will be counted on to help lead a young squad moving forward.
The Knights were only 2 of 13 on third down compared to 6 of 13 on third down from KCU. The team needs to convert more third downs in order to win games, stay competitive and keep the game close in games to come. However, the positives might outweigh the negatives, and if the Knights could clean just a few areas up, we’re looking at a potentially dangerous team that could do some damage in the conference.
The Knights had a great game overall, but it was not enough to get the win. It was the first time the teams have played each other this season.
The Knights are looking forward to their next game against the Reinhardt Eagles on Oct. 29, when the squad travels to Waleska, G.A. for a 1 p.m. kickoff.
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