Football Beats Lafayette in Home Opener, 30-14

Saturday, September 10

2:00 PM

Temple University

1-1 , 0-0

Lafayette

1-1 , 0-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Lafayette

Temple

Football Beats Lafayette in Home Opener, 30-14

9.10.22 | Football

Box Score Game Book Stan Drayton Postgame Isaac Moore and Jordan Magee Postgame

PHILADELPHIA – Temple (1-1, 0-0) defeated the Lafayette Leopards (1-1, 0-0) at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, 30-14, marking the first win in the head coaching career of Stan Drayton. The story of the game was the debut of true freshman quarterback E.J. Warner, son of NFL Hall of Fame quarterback, Kurt Warner. Warner threw for 173 yards and two touchdowns, completing 74% of his passes. The Owls defense also had a big day, recording eight sacks. De'Von Fox wreaked havoc on special teams, blocking three punts.

How It Happened

First Quarter
Temple won the toss and elected to kickoff where Lafayette's opening drive was stopped quickly thanks to a sack by linebacker Layton Jordan. On the ensuing drive, quarterback D'Wan Mathis led his offense down the field thanks to an over the shoulder third down conversion to wide receiver Jose Barbon for 29 yards. Running back Darvon Hubbard capped off the drive with a three-yard run into the endzone, the first touchdown of his collegiate career, and the first score for the Owls this season to make it 7-0. Temple's defense forced a second consecutive three and out on the following drive, but Lafayette forced a fumble to get the ball right back with a short field. The Leopards capitalized on the field position and were able to punch it in when quarterback Ryan Schuster connected with wide receiver Julius Young for the 14-yard score to even it up at 7.

Second Quarter
The Owls and Leopards traded empty possessions to open the second period true freshman quarterback, E.J. Warner, son of NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner, entered the game to lead the Owls down the field for a touchdown throw in the corner of the endzone to wide receiver Ian Stewart. The throw and catch were both Warner and Stewart's first collegiate touchdowns. Lafayette would be forced to punt again in a two-minute drill with Layton Jordan recording his second sack of the game. On the Leapords punt attempt, wide receiver De'Von Fox came off the edge and blocked the punt to set up the Owls with a scoring opportunity before halftime. Edward Saydee capitalized on the opportunity, hitting paydirt from nine yards out to give the Owls a 21-7 halftime lead.

Third Quarter
After deferring to start the game, Temple received the second half kickoff, but gave the ball back to Lafayette after a fumble. Jordan Magee added to the Owls' sack attack on the day, but the Leopards were able to find the endzone. Schuster found tight end Mason Gilbert on a crossing route to cut it to a one score game. Darian Varner met both the quarterback and the running back in the backfield for a disruptive TFL on the ensuing Lafayette possession. The teams continued to trade empty possessions to end the third quarter.

Fourth Quarter
Darian Varner continued the big day for the defense, adding their sixth sack to halt the Leopards drive. De'Von Fox blocked his second punt of the afternoon allowing E.J. Warner to find tight end Jordan smith for his first career touchdown reception, which gave the Owls a 28-14 lead. Linebacker Tra Thomas and defensive lineman Lancine Turay added the Owls' seventh and eighth sacks, respectively. In the waning moments of the contest, De'Von Fox blocked his third punt of the game resulting in a safety to make the final score 30-14.

Notes

This game was the first career win for Temple head coach Stan Drayton
Temple extended their winning streak to five games against Lafayette
Darvon Hubbard, E.J. Warner, Ian Stewart, and Jordan Smith scored their first career touchdowns

Statistically Speaking