Robert Morris football blanked by Kennesaw State in Big South debut

KENNESAW, Ga. — Robert Morris fell flat in it Big South football debut.

Xavier Shepherd passed for a touchdown and ran for another, and Kennesaw State won its first four games of the season for the first time in program history with a 35-0 victory over the Colonials on Saturday. Robert Morris is playing in the Big South for the first time after being a longtime member of the Northeast Conference.

The Colonials (0-2, 0-1 Big South) drove to the Kennesaw State 2 late in the third quarter but turned it over on a fumble to end their best scoring chance.

Alijah Jackson ran 20 times for 94 yards for Robert Morris, which played a football game in Georgia for the first time in program history.

Shepherd completed all three of his passes for 45 yards, including a 33-yard scoring pass to Will Haigler in the second quarter, and ran 19 times for 93 yards.

Shepard opened the scoring for the Owls (4-0, 2-0) with a 1-yard keeper on their first drive of the game. Bryson Armstrong made it 14-0 on a 75-yard interception return, and Isaac Foster scored on a 20-yard TD run to make it 21-0 before the end of the first quarter.

The interception return was emblematic of George Martin’s day. The Robert Morris quarterback completed 8 of 19 passes for only 51 yards. He also was sacked twice.

Haigler’s TD catch made it 28-0 late in the second quarter, and Adeolu Adeleke capped the scoring with a 15-yard TD run late in the fourth.