OWENSBORO, KY – The Quincy University football team went on the road for the second week in a row and defeated Kentucky Wesleyan College 34-16 on Saturday (Sept. 14). The Hawks forced five turnovers and picked up over five hundred yards of offense in the victory. 

1st Half

The Quincy offense opened the game with the ball and came out in their no-huddle attack. Quarterback Andrew Rund and the Hawks marched down the field in 13 plays and scored on a pass from Rund to Melvin Brock from 13 yards out. QU led 7-0 after the opening drive of the game. 

On Kentucky Wesleyan's drive, after a third down completion, Keenan Stegall forced a fumble which was recovered by the Hawks. QU regained possession near mid-field. 

The offense was not able to take advantage as they were forced to punt after a three-and-out. 

Possession flipped to KWC, but the Hawks defense minimized their advance with another three-and-out to force a punt. 

Quincy again tried to gain back the momentum, but they were stuffed on a fourth down and one which turned the ball over on downs. 

On the Panthers next drive, KWC's offense ran twelve plays for 56 yards and got the ball down inside Quincy's 5-yard line. Jeffrey Smoot and Peyten Chappel made the third down stop to force a field goal attempt. 

Wesleyan converted the attempted to get on the board as QU remained ahead 7-3 with fifty three seconds in the first quarter. 

The Hawks next drive started at their own 30-yard line, but after a 20-yard run by Rund, and a 28-yard catch by Beau Kaffka, Quincy was nearly in the redzone on KWC's 23-yard line. 

As the second quarter began, QU's offense looked to regain the lead. A personal foul penalty on the Panthers allowed Quincy to get inside the 5-yard line. 

A costly fumble on first down killed the momentum as Kentucky Wesleyan recovered. 

The Hawk defense stymied the Panthers near their own 20-yard line to force another punt and keep the score at 7-3. 

On the next offensive possession, Quincy marched from mid-field down to Kentucky Wesleyan's 11-yard line. After a short run and two incompletions, the Hawks were forced to attempt a field goal. The 27-yard attempt missed wide left as the score remained 7-3 with 10:09 left in the first half. 

Another short drive and punt by the KWC offense gave QU the ball back in decent field position, but the turnover bug struck again. Andrew Rund's third down pass was intercepted at QU's 39-yard line. 

The Panthers were able to return the interception inside the Hawks 10-yard line to set up very favorable field position. Quincy's defense once again held firm by stopping KWC short three times in a row to force a field goal by Wesleyan. 

KWC's short field goal attempted missed wide right as the score still sat at 7-3 with 6:55 left in the half. 

Quincy's next offensive possession yielded a punt and no points as the Panthers looked to take the lead. KWC orchestrated an eight-play, 73-yard drive capped off by a touchdown pass of five yards. Kentucky Wesleyan led 10-7. 

QU was unable to drive in the last two minutes of the half as they trailed 10-7 going to the locker room. 

2nd Half

After the break, Quincy's defense wasted no time in getting the ball back to the offense. Marvion Harris intercepted a pass and returned it to KWC's 13-yard line to set up great field position. 

The Hawks capitalized on the opportunity after a 1-yard punch-in touchdown run by Jalen Griffin. QU went back in front 14-10 with 13:55 left in the quarter. 

In the next Wesleyan drive, Quincy's defense continued to smother the Panthers attack. KWC punted back to QU after three plays. 

Rund was able to convert a third and short on the next QU possession on a pass to Paul Sullivan. After the first down, Quincy was forced to punt. 

On the punt, the Panthers got a hand on the ball and returned the blocked punt 55 yards for a touchdown. Wesleyan held a 16-14 lead after the PAT was no good. 

The offense responded quickly on the next drive. Two big pass plays allowed Quincy to move into the redzone. Rund connected with Marlin Washington for 30 yards, and he also completed a deep ball to Carlton Stamp for a 27-yard gain. 

Jalen Griffin capped of the drive with another short yardage score to make the score 21-16 QU with 8:34 left in the third quarter. 

Both teams would punt on their next two possessions leaving 2:57 left in the third. 

The last two and a half minutes of the quarter saw a flurry of turnovers. Quincy forced a fumble on a second down which was recovered by the Hawks. 

Only three plays later, Kentucky Wesleyan forced a fumble of their own to regain possession with a minute left in quarter number three. 

The Panthers drove for eight plays, but QU's defense stopped Wesleyan on third down to bring up a 38-yard field goal attempt. The kick was missed as Quincy got the ball back with 12:39 left while still holding a 21-16 lead. 

Following the missed field goal, the Hawks used a nine-play, 79-yard drive to extend their lead. The three and a half minute drive was capped off by a 10-yard touchdown pass from Andrew Rund to Marlin Washington to make the score 28-16 QU. 

On Kentucky Wesleyan's next offensive possession, Nathaniel Reese intercepted a pass to quickly give the ball back to the offense. It was Reese's second interception of the season. 

The Hawks once again took advantage of the KWC mistake. Rund completed a 27-yard pass to Carlton Stamp to start off the drive. Freshman running back Keenan Hailey scored his first touchdown of his collegiate career on a 5-yard score. 

QU led 34-16 with 6:41 left to play. 

On the first play of Kentucky Wesleyan's next drive, the Panthers connected on a 51-yard pass to get into QU territory. Four plays later, Wesleyan was inside Quincy's five yard line. 

With KWC knocking on the door, Quincy's defense rose to the challenge once again. Marvion Harris intercepted a pass in the end zone for his second interception of the game. QU got the ball with 4:18 left to play. 

QU looked to be in control, but the Panthers did not lie down. KWC forced a fumble marking the tenth turnover in the contest. Wesleyan started the drive on the QU 33-yard line with 1:52 left in the game. 

A 14-yard run by KWC advanced the ball inside the redzone. Jacques Jean Baptiste made a three-yard tackle for loss on the next play. 

Two incompletions brought up fourth down from the 17-yard line. On fourth down, KWC tried to hit a receiver in the middle of the field in the end zone, but safety Keenan Stegall delivered a big hit to break up the pass. KWC was forced to turn the ball over on downs as Quincy took over possession with thirty seconds left to play. 

The Hawks went on to win 34-16 to move to 2-0 on the season. 

Stat Leaders
Offense
Andrew Rund – 24-41, 319 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT, 25 rush yards
Jalen Griffin – 21 attempts, 129 yards, 2 TD

Defense
Marvion Harris – 10 tackles, 2 INT's, TFL

Next up for the Hawks
The Hawks return home next Saturday (Sept. 21) to take on Wayne State University. Kick off is set for 1 p.m.