Wake Forest hangs on to beat Kennesaw State 109, gives Jake Dickert a win in Demon Deacons debut AARON BEARD August 30, 2025 at 3:30 AM 1 / 5Kennesaw State Wake Forest footballKennesaw State defensive back Kody Jones trips up Wake Forest running back Ty Clark III in the first half of an NCAA footbal...
- - Wake Forest hangs on to beat Kennesaw State 10-9, gives Jake Dickert a win in Demon Deacons debut
AARON BEARD August 30, 2025 at 3:30 AM
1 / 5Kennesaw State Wake Forest footballKennesaw State defensive back Kody Jones trips up Wake Forest running back Ty Clark III in the first half of an NCAA football game on Friday, Aug. 29, 2025 in Winston-Salem, N.C. (Walt Unks/The Winston-Salem Journal via AP)
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — Robby Ashford scored Wake Forest's lone touchdown on a first-quarter keeper and the Demon Deacons came up with a clinching late stop to hold off Kennesaw State 10-9 on Friday night and give Jake Dickert a successful sideline debut.
Ashford's 5-yard keeper that ended with him flipping through a hit at the goal line was a rare highlight on a bumpy night for the Demon Deacons (1-0), who lost top player Demond Claiborne to injury after just three carries.
Still, Wake Forest hung on after forcing Dexter Williams II to throw incomplete on fourth down with 1:50 left, prompting Dickert to pump his fist in exuberance that might've had some mixed-in relief, too.
Wake Forest didn't go ahead for good until Connor Calvert's 22-yard field goal with 3:05 left in the third.
Coleman Bennett bounced off a hit and rumbled loose for a 19-yard touchdown in the first quarter for the Owls (0-1), who are in their second year of Bowl Subdivision play after a 2-10 reclassification season in the move up from FCS.
The takeaway
Kennesaw State: The Conference USA program had the second-lowest rating in the league's Bowl Confidence Index indicating a team's likelihood of reaching postseason play (16.67%). But the Owls flirted with a first-ever win against a power-conference foe, leading 9-7 until late in the third on a night when they missed a field goal and extra point.
Wake Forest: The 42-year-old Dickert left Washington State to take over here after Dave Clawson's unexpected resignation. His first team was picked to finish 16th in the 17-team Atlantic Coast Conference even with Claiborne in the backfield, so his status will be a concern going forward.
Up next
Kennesaw State: The Owls get another power-conference matchup, heading to No. 20 Indiana on Sept. 6.
Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons host an instate FCS team in Western Carolina on Sept. 6.
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Source: "AOL Sports"
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