Temple University Athletics
OWLS MAUL FUTURE BIG EAST FOOTBALL AFFILIATE, 56-7
11.24.01 | Football
Following an emotional 17-14 Big East Conference win at West Virginia last week, Temple (4-7, 2-5 Big East) marked the first time since 1990 to close out a season with back-to-back wins. For the season, Temple doubled its Big East Conference win total and posted an identical overall mark as the 2000 team. Connecticut (2-9), playing in its second season as an NCAA Division I-A independent, is slated to play a full Big East Conference schedule in 2005.
The Owls amassed 544 yards in total offense --including a season-high 349 on the ground- and won by the program's greatest margin since a 56-0 drubbing of Holy Cross on Oct. 19, 1974. The Owls narrowly missed equaling school records for the most points scored in a quarter with 28 in the first period (35 vs. Holy Cross in 1973) and in a half with 35 (42 vs. Akron in 1978). The Temple defense was also dominate, limiting UConn to a mere 12 total yards in the first half and just 113 for the game.
Sophomore tailback Makonnen Fenton got the Owls off to great start, returning the opening kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown. Cap Poklemba's first of seven extra-point kicks gave Temple a 7-0 lead just with just 16 seconds elapsed. Fenton, who prior to the game, ranked second in the Big East in kickoff returns in with a 22.5-yard average, boosted that number to 26.1 yards per return and is expected to top the conference's final list.
The Owls went on to score on each of their next three possessions. Junior tailback Tanardo Sharps broke loose for a 58-yard touchdown run at the 10:38 mark of the first quarter, giving Temple a 14-0 lead. Sharps went on to rush for a career-high tying 203 yards (vs. Eastern Michigan, Sept. 23, 2000), including a scintillating 83-yard burst off left tackle in the third quarter. That run was the longest of Sharps' career and the second longest from scrimmage ever by an Owl.
A four-yard pass from senior quarterback Mac DeVito to senior fullback Harold Jackson with 5:48 left in the first quarter made it 21-0 and DeVito's 14-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Gerald Butler with 2:34 left closed out the first period scoring. The Owls ran the margin to 35-0 on Lester Trammer's one-yard plunge with 2:09 left in the second period.
The onslaught continued in the second half, as Temple emerged from the locker room to score on its first three possessions. On the Owls' third offensive play of the half, DeVito connected with junior wide receiver Sean Dillard for a 46-yard touchdown bomb that increased the lead to 42-0. Temple required just four plays to score on its next possession, following a sensational 44-yard punt return by Dillard, who finished with a career-best 237 all-purpose yards and scored two touchdowns. Trammer capped the short 15-yard drive by scrambling in from four yards out, and the Owl lead was 49-0. DeVito concluded his finest day as an Owl with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Dillard with 3:30 left in the third quarter that ran the lead to 56-0. For the day, DeVito completed 13-of-18 passes for 202 yards and four touchdowns.
Connecticut averted the shutout with 3:37 remaining in the game, as sophomore tailback Evan Benson scored on a two-yard run off right tackle. The TD followed a 31-yard pass from Dan Orlovsky to Cliff Hill on third and long from the Owl 33. The Temple defense staged a goal line stand on the Huskies' previous possession, holding UConn out on three attempts from the one. For the game, the Temple defense limited the Huskies to seven first downs, recorded four quarterback sacks, made 17 tackles for loss and picked off two passes.
