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Syracuse University
#25 WEST VIRGINIA
SU Loses to #25 West Virginia, 34-23
11/22/2003 5:11:51 PM | Football
Box Score
Syracuse Game Notes
West Virginia Game Notes
Coach Pasqualoni Post-Game Quotes
Syracuse Player Post-Game Quotes
West Virginia Post-Game Quotes
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Syracuse lost to #25 West Virginia 34-23 before 41,801 fans in the Carrier Dome, ending its four-game home win streak. Junior running back Walter Reyes finished the game with 142 yards of total offense, including a career-high 80 yards on three receptions. He also scored a touchdown on a 67-yard catch in the fourth quarter.
Reyes left the game in the first quarter with a left knee injury, but returned to the lineup at the beginning of the second half. Before he was injured he had one catch for a seven-yard gain and one two-yard rush. In the second half he rushed 11 times for 70 yards, including a 33-yard run in the third quarter.
Senior wide receiver Johnnie Morant caught a 75-yard touchdown pass from R.J. Anderson with 12:05 left in the first quarter to give SU a 7-0 lead. Anderson connected with Morant on the first play of SU's second possession to put the Orangemen on the board. The reception was the longest of Morant's career (74 yards vs. Tennessee, 2001), and it extended his streak of consecutive games with at least one catch to 27. The scoring drive, which took just 14 seconds off the clock, was SU's fastest of the season in regulation. The previous mark was 20 seconds when Morant caught a 48-yard touchdown pass at North Carolina.
Morant finished the game with 151 yards on seven receptions. It marked his third game with 100-or-more receiving yards this season (160 vs. North Carolina, 141 vs. Louisville).
The Mountaineers scored cut the SU lead to four, 7-3, with 5:25 left in the quarter when Brad Cooper kicked a 25-yard field goal, and took the lead, 10-7, when Travis Garvin ran for a 20-yard touchdown.
Syracuse true freshman Marcus Clayton returned a punt 56 yards for a touchdown 90 seconds into the second quarter, giving the Orangemen a 14-10 lead. It was Clayton's first career score, and his longest punt return of the season. The last time an SU player returned a punt for a touchdown was Jamel Riddle's 51 yard return at Virginia Tech in 2001.
West Virginia quarterback Rasheed Marshall threw a four-yard touchdown pass to Tory Johnson with 9:29 left in the second quarter to give WVU a 17-14 advantage.SU's Collin Barber hit a 25-yard field goal with 11 seconds left in the quarter to tied the game at 17.
The Orangemen tied the game at 17-17 when Collin Barber kicked a 25-yard field goal with 15 seconds left in the first half.
In the second half, West Virginia took a three point lead on a 25-yard field goal with 8:00 remaining in the third quarter.
WVU extended its lead to 10, 27-17, when Chris Henry caught a 24-yard pass from Marshall to cap a six-play, 82-yard drive with 9:25 left in the fourth quarter.
Syracuse cut the margin to four, 27-23, when Reyes scored a touchdown on a 67-yard pass from Anderson. It was Reyes' first receiving touchdown of the season. The Mountaineers scored the final touchdown of the game about one minute later when Marshall threw a 67-yard touchdown pass to Henry, making the final score 34-23.
SU sophomore linebacker Kellen Pruitt recorded his third interception of the season. SU's offense generated 499 yards of total offense, including Anderson's 336 passing yards (23-of-36 passing). Junior wide receiver Jared Jones had three catches for 40 yards. Redshirt freshman Tim Washington entered the game when Reyes was injured and gained 39 yards on nine carries. Senior middle linebacker Rich Scanlon led the SU defense with 13 tackles.
Syracuse plays its final road game of the season when it takes on Rutgers on Saturday, Nov. 29, in Piscataway, N.J. Kickoff is scheduled for noon.
