#22 Excel H Sports Ranked Hoosiers Turn Up Noise and Bright Lights

By Nick Jenkinson\Excel H Sports

Photos by: Eric Thieszen,/Thieszen Photo Creations

   Elijah Sarratt caught three touchdown passes from Fernando Mendoza as the #22 Excel H Sports Ranked Indiana Hoosiers beat the Kennesaw State Owls 56-9 Saturday Afternoon on Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium.

   Sarratt caught 3 passes for 44 yards last Saturday in a 27-14 over Old Dominion and was not targeted in the first half. This week the 6-2 Senior from Stafford, Virginia was the main weapon catching 9 passes for 97 yards.

   Mendoza finished 18-25 for 245 yards with 4 three touchdown passes and no interceptions. Last week the Redshirt Junior from Miami, Florida was 18-31 for 193 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.

   The Hoosiers punted on their first possession of the game but scored on the next two possessions Riley Nowaloski scored 8:28 left in the first quarter on a 1-yard run. Mendoza found Sarratt for the first time on a 9-yard touchdown pass with 3:45 left in the first quarter to make it 14-0 Hoosiers.

   Kennesaw State was forced to punt on their first four possessions of the game and found some momentum as Amari Odom replaced starting Quarterback Dexter Williams II after the second offensive series.

   Williams started his career at Indiana in 2022 and after missing the 2023 season he transferred to Georgia Southern and transferred to Kennesaw State in the offseason. Williams passed 1-2 for (-1) yards on his return to Bloomington.

   Odom, who is a Redshirt Sophomore from Inglewood, California played at Panther Creek HS in North Carolina and started his career at Wofford. The 6-4 205 Pounder went 10-16 for 176 passing with one interception along with 11 carries for 5 yards.

   Odom had a 7-yard run that gave the Owls a first down which was their first in the game that led to a 28-yard field goal from Daniel Kinney which got Kennesaw State on the board trailing 14-3 with 5:46 left in the second quarter.

   Lee Bebee Jr. scored on an 11-yard touchdown run with 3:40 left in the second quarter to give the Hoosiers a 21-3 lead. Kinney added second a field goal with 28 seconds left before the half to make it 21-6 Indiana going into the locker room.

   The Hoosiers had 237 yards total offense in the first half with 144 passing and 93 yards rushing. The Owls were balanced with 69 yards passing and 68 yards rushing.

  In the second half Daniel Kinney added his third field goal of the game with a 50 yarder to make it 21-9 with 12:39 left in the third quarter as Kennesaw State scored on three straight possessions after punting on their first four possessions.

  Indiana came out of the locker room scoring on their first five possessions. Mendoza threw three touchdown passes, two to Elijah Sarratt and one to E.J. Williams Jr. Omar Cooper Jr. ran one in from 75 yards after Jamari Sharpe stripped the ball and recovered. Amari Odom was picked off by Louis Moore who had his second interception of the season and the fourth interception in two games for the Indiana defense.

   Alberto Mendoza replaced his older brother at Quarterback for the Hoosiers, and he found Charlie Becker on a 6-yard touchdown pass with 6:03 left in the fourth quarter to give the Hoosiers a 56-9 lead. The Redshirt Freshman from Miami competed all three of his passes hooking up with Johnathan Brady on a 12-yard pass and then a 17-yard pass to Jackson Wasserstorm.

  The Mendoza brothers were a combined 21-28 for 280 yards passing with 5 touchdowns and no interceptions and found nine different receivers. The Indiana offensive line did not give up a sack and only gave up 1 sack on the season.

  Indiana racked up 593 yards of total offense as the Indiana rushing attack had 313 yards on 39 carries with 7 different ball carriers. Lee Bebee Jr. had 11 carries for 95 yards and responded after his fumble last week against Old Dominion.

  The Hoosiers had 27 first downs, 5-9 on third downs and 1-2 on fourth downs. The Hoosiers ran 67 plays and were 7-7 in the red zone and controlled the clock with 32 minutes and 30 seconds of possession time. The Hoosiers had 4 penalties for 40 yards and had no turnovers.

   Kennesaw State finished with 271 yards of total offense. The Owls had 182 yards passing as Redshirt Junior Tommy Utawoski who transferred from Kent State came on in the fourth quarter and was 2-3 passing for 7 yards. Coleman Bennett was the leading rusher with 34 yards on five carries.

   The Owls had 32 carries for 89 yards. Lyndon Ravare caught 2 passes for 72 yards. Kennesaw State had 10 first downs, 2-13 on third downs and did not attempt a fourth down conversion. The Owls ran 53 total plays and were 2-2 in the red zone. Kennesaw State had the ball for 27 minutes and 30 minutes and the Indiana Defense got to the Quarterback twice.

    For Indiana it is what you expected after a 13-point win against Old Dominion. The Hoosiers scored 8 of their 13 possessions. Indiana still has some things to clean up, but the Red Zone worries last week were not there today as the finished every time. The Hoosiers had no turnovers, and defense had two take aways and they controlled the game and now face Indiana State in their last non-conference matchup on Friday Night.

   Kennesaw State is 0-2 season and will return home to face Merrimack after two tough road games to Wake Forest and Indiana to start Head Coach Jerry Mack’s first year at the school located in Kennesaw, Georgia outside Atlanta.