Deacon Defense stifles Owls in 10-9 Win! » Greenville Sports Media

Read Time:3 Minute, 30 Second

August 29, 2025

Winston- Salem, NC

Friday night at Allegacy Stadium in front a large crowd, the Jake Dickert era started off with a bang. as Wake Forest (1-0) took the opening drive of the 2025 season opener for the quick touchdown. The drive lasted 14 plays and 75 yards and lasted 7:02. Newly named starting QB Robbie Ashford started the game on fire going 5-5 for 43 yards passing and added another 13 yards rushing. Ashford capped off the opening drive with a flip into the endzone as he gave the Deacons the early 7-0 lead.

The Owls would respond quicky as they opened their season with an opening drive touchdown of their own. The PAT was no good as the score remained 7-6 with 4:38 left in the first quarter. Kennesaw State went 75 yards of their own on 10 plays. The drive was capped off with a 13 3rd down 19-yard scamper by redshirt senior Coleman Bennett. Bennett had 4 carries for 27 yards and Williams was 4-5 for 35 yards. Williams added another 13 yards rushing on the opening drive.

The Owls and Deacons, both breaking in new coaching staffs, kept their foot on the gas early showing off their high-powered new offenses. The Owls defense flexed their muscles on the second Demon Deacon drive of the night forcing the Deacs into their first 3 and out of the night. As fast as the Deacon offense scored on their first drive, they were off the field lightning quick on the second drive.

The first quarter ended with the score remaining 7-6 Deacons. The Owls were led on offense by Dexter Williams as he finished the quarter 6-8 for 47 yards. Running back Coleman Bennett carried 6 times for 40 yards and 1 TD. The Demon Deacons were led by QB Robbie Ashford who finished the quarter 5-7 for 43 yards. The Deacons finished 96 yards total.

The second quarter began with the Demon Deacons punting to the Owls after their drive stalled out after 6 plays and just 11. The Owls responded with a sustained drive of 11 plays and 73 more yards however were unable to capitalize on the drive after a field goal attempt from 28 yards missed wide right.

The Owls received the ball to begin the second half and once again were able to put together a sustainable drive this time leading to a successful 29-yard field goal giving the Owls a 9-7 lead to start the half. The scoring drive for the Owls lasted 14 plays and 5:15 of game time. The Owls were able to put together a string of first downs spanning 64 yards.

The Wake Forest Deacon defense proved to be too much for the Owls in the second half as the Owls were held to just 1 FG of offense after their opening drive of the game. Robbie Ashford in his first start of the season was a very efficient presence for the Demon Deacon offense who finished the game without their star running back Demond Claiborne, Ashford finished the game 20-28 for 218 yards and added another 42 yards rushing on the ground.

Both teams finished the game without any turnovers in what ended up being a very clean game from both teams. The story of the night was the ability of the Wake Forest defense to completely neutralize the Owl passing attack holding Dexter Williams to 7-28 passing after his 5-5 start. Williams would finish with just 149 passing yards in a very tough night for the Owl offense.

Defensive Back Nick Anderson was once again the leader of the Deacon defense as he tallied 9 tackles on the night. The senior showed once again why he was tabbed as a preseason All ACC performer after finishing his 2024 campaign with 122 tackles. Anderson and the Wake secondary consistently showed impressive open field tackling and forced Kennesaw State into numerous stalled drives on the evening.