Temple handily took care of business at Lincoln Financial Field on Saturday, and defeated the Seawolves of Stony Brook by a score of 38-0, in Matt Rhule’s second ever shutout as head coach of the Owls. The other shutout came against Delaware State, the last FCS school Temple faced in September 2014.
An Alex Starczyk 54-yard punt on the Owl’s opening drive to Stony Brook’s 1-yard line started a rolling ball of momentum that wouldn’t stop all afternoon. The Seawolves went 3 and out, gave the Owls great field position, and Phillip Walker’s offense drove 51 yards for their first touchdown of the day. Ryquell Armstead ran in his second touchdown of the season from 3 yards out that opened scoring- he finished with 14 carries for 54 yards.
The Owls finished the first half with 225 total yards, just 26 yards less than their entire game performance against Army.
Temple dominated the Seawolves in almost all stat categories- including a 300 to 128 total yard comparison. Stony Brook managed just 34 total yards in the first half. QB Phillip Walker played a full 3 quarters, with just one 4th quarter snap, finishing 11/23 for 124 yards, 3 touchdowns, and an interception through the hands of Keith Kirkwood.
The Owls defense had no problems with Stony Brook’s offense, limiting QB Joe Cardone to just 84 yards while forcing 3 interceptions. Stephaun Marshall led the way in the first half for the Owls with 4 total tackles, and true freshman William Kwenkeu burst onto the scene for significant minutes in the linebacker rotation- logging 5 total tackles to lead the Owls.
The Owls led 28-0 after the first half, highlighted with two passing touchdowns from Phillip Walker to Brodrick Nancy and Keith Kirkwood. Nancy caught a 15-yard rollout pass from Walker, and Kirkwood found a hole in the end zone from 5 yards out. Kirkwood added his second career touchdown in the 3rd quarter on a beautiful 26 yard crossing route.
There were plenty of firsts for Temple- including an interception for S Delvon Randall in his second career start, and a sack for Dana Levine in his college debut. WR Cortrelle Simpson took his first career rush 36 yards on a misdirection around the end, and RB Jager Gardner scored on his first carry of the season from 4 yards out.
Other true freshmen DL Karamo Dioubate, DB Benny Walls, and RB/WR Isaiah Wright saw plenty of game action, and made their collegiate debuts for the Owls. Walls intercepted Joe Cardone in his first drive in at safety. Wright played exceptional, averaging 6 yards per carry on 7 rushes. He finished with 42 yards on the ground, including a 14-yard punt return, where he evaded 2 Seawolf defenders displaying his quickness and agility.
The Owls are back in business on Saturday, Sept. 17, taking on Penn State at Beaver Stadium for their first away game of the season. Penn State has started the 2016 season 1-1, and suffered a heart-breaking loss to the Pitt Panthers on Saturday.
Be the first to comment