Kennesaw Mountain edges Cass, 26-25

In an exciting matchup that saw the lead exchanged seven times, the Cass Colonels were edged by the Kennesaw Mountain Mustangs Friday night 26-25 at Barron Stadium in Rome.

The neutral site game was part of the 2022 Corky Kell Classic and was the second of three games Friday at Barron Stadium. When rain pushed through the Floyd County area, the game was delayed for an additional 20 minutes at halftime before the weather cleared.

Kennesaw Mountain’s T.J. Jenkins rushed for 179 yards and a touchdown to lead the Mustangs offense. Quarterback Cayman Prangley finished 7-for-15 through the air for 128 yards and a pair of touchdowns while his top receiver Cayden Lee caught five passes for 93 yards and two scores.

Lee’s two touchdown receptions were from seven yards in the first quarter to give Kennesaw Mountain a 7-0 lead and from 53 yards in the second period that put the Mustangs up 14-13.

Jenkins scored on a 41 yard run in the third period to give Kennesaw Mountain a 23-19 lead and placekicker Ty Roldan — who made all three of his PAT kicks — coverted on a 35 yard field goal with 9:11 left in the fourth quarter for the final go-ahead points. Cass junior runningback Mac Nelson carried 17 times for 111 yards and one touchdown. His score was a 2 yard run into the end zone that gave Cass a 25-23 lead with 1:16 left in the third quarter.

Colonels’ quarterback Devin Henderson was 9-for-14 with two touchdowns and 113 yards. He also rushed for 77 yards on 18 attempts including a 29 yard TD scamper that knotted the score 7-7 late in the first quarter. In the second period, Henderson connected with Kintrell Whatley in the back of the end zone for a 19 yard touchdown. The deflected catch capped a 10-play, 79 yard drive for Cass giving the Colonels a 13-7 lead.

Sacovie White caught six passes for 59 yards and one touchdown. White’s touchdown catch came on the final play of the first half. It capped a brilliant three play drive in the final minute that covered 58 yards and gave the Colonels a 19-16 halftime advantage.

Cass will reflect on some missed opportunities.

Two missed PAT kick attempts in the first half, primarily due to poor snaps, led to a failed two-point conversion attempt later in the third quarter. Another poor long snap sailed over punter/placekicker Saul Villela’s head and through the back of the end zone with 5:20 remaining in the second quarter. That miscue gave Kennesaw Mountain a 16-13 lead.

“If we eliminate a few of our mistakes, we’re going to be difficult to stop,” Colonels’ head coach Steve Gates said after the game. “We’ve got a few things to clean up — especially the missed tackles — and we’ve got to execute a little better, but I think we discovered we can play with just about anybody. We’re going to be okay. We will regroup and get back to work.”

Will Buttram led all Colonel tacklers with seven. Devin Henderson was credited with five stops. Kevin Henderson had four tackles and an interception. Chris Wood finished with four tackles and Todd Gaddy picked off a pair of Mustang passes. Kennesaw Mountain (1-0) hosts Campbell next Friday.

Cass (0-1) will entertain Rockmart. The Colonels’ game will be broadcast live on BartowSportsZone.com with pregame coverage beginning at 6 p.m. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Cochran Stadium.