Wake Forest hangs on to beat Kennesaw State 10-9, gives Jake Dickert a win in Demon Deacons debut

By Canadian Press on August 29, 2025.

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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Aaron Beard, The Associated Press