Syracuse Leads 31-7 After Three Quarters
11/7/2003 2:48:48 PM | Football
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The Orangemen scored the only points of the third quarter to take a 31-7 lead into the final period versus Temple at the Carrier Dome. SU is in all orange uniforms for the first time since 2001 versus the Owls.
The Owls received the second-half kick and drove inside the Syracuse 40-yard line, but the SU defense stiffened and stopped Temple on fourth down to give the offense the ball at the 34-yard line. The Orangemen picked up one first down, but had to punt the ball back to the Owls.
The SU secondary struck again with Diamond Ferri stepping in front of a Walter Washington third-down pass for his second interception of the season. Ferri's pick gave Syracuse a first down at the Owls' 33-yard line.
The Orangemen converted the turnover into another touchdown with Walter Reyes finishing the drive on a four-yard scoring run to give Syracuse a 31-7 advantage. It was Reyes' 21st rushing touchdown in the Carrier Dome, breaking James Mungro's school record of 20.
The run also moved Reyes into a second-place tie on the Orangemen's single-season rushing touchdown list with 14. He is tied with Floyd Little (1965) and Mungro (2001).
Quarterback R.J. Anderson completed 15-of-18 for 209 yards and a touchdown through three quarters. Reyes accounted for 50 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
Washington leads the Temple offense with 114 yards passing and 42 yards rushing.
THIRD QUARTER
Syracuse extended its lead to 10-0 on a 26-yard field goal by Collin Barber with 14:08 left in the half. The kick capped an 11-play, 44-yard drive that took 5:18 off the clock.
The Orangemen defense again forced the Owls to punt, but this time McLaughlin hit a 57-yarder that was downed inside the SU one-yard line. R.J. Anderson hit Johnnie Morant for a 14-yard reception on third down, giving the Orangemen some breathing room at the SU 28-yard line. Anderson then went deep, hitting sophomore Rashard Williams on a 43-yard deep route putting SU inside the Temple 30-yard line. Walter Reyes capped the NCAA-record tying 99-yard drive with a three-yard touchdown run with 7:44 left in the quarter to five SU a 17-0 advantage. It was Reyes' 13th rushing touchdown of the season, moving him into a third-place tie with Jim Brown (1956) and Jim Nance (1964) on the SU single-season list.
Reyes has scored 31 total touchdowns in his career, tying him with James Mungro for third on the SU career list. All of his scores have been rushing which puts him in second place behind Floyd Little (35) on the Orangemen's all-time ledger.
Another three-and-out by Temple gave the Orangemen the ball back. SU was able to extend its lead to 24-0. Sophomore tight end Joe Kowalewski hauled in a 33-yard pass from Anderson for his first career touchdown. It was the longest catch of his career.
Anderson moved into a sixth-place on the Syracuse career touchdown pass list, tossing his 19th career scoring strike. Barber's extra point was the 76th of his career. He now ranks third on the SU career list, passing Dave Jacobs.
The Owls responded by driving all the way to the Syracuse two-yard line. Temple quarterback Walter Washington was brought down for a four-yard loss on first-and-goal by Josh Thomas and Kader Drame, but came back to hit Makonnen Fenton for a six-yard touchdown to make the score 24-7.
The Orangemen tried to mount one more drive at the end of the half, but Anderson's deep pass was intercepted by Pete McBride with 16 seconds remaining.
Anderson completed 10-of-13 passes for 164 yards with a touchdown and interception in the first half. He also ran for 33 yards. Reyes leads the SU ground attack with 38 yards and a touchdown.
Temple quarterback Walter Washington hit 7-of-12 for 82 yards with a touchdown and interception in the first half. He is also the Owls' leading rusher with 18 yards.
Syarcuse safety Anthony Smith and linebacker Kelvin Smith each made three stops in the first half. Anthony now has 71 tackles for the season and 102 for his career.
FIRST QUARTER UPDATE
After two first downs put the ball at the Temple 41, the Orangemen were forced to punt. Brendan Carney's kick was fair caught at the Temple six-yard line.
The Owls picked up a first down on their first play from scrimmage, but on the first pass attempt by starting quarterback Walter Washington, linebacker Kellen Pruitt recorded his second interception of the season. Troy Swittenburg deflected the ball and Pruitt returned it 10 yards to the Temple 30-yard line.
Syracuse was able to convert the turnover into a touchdown. Quarterback R.J. Anderson went around the left side for an eight-yard score. It was Anderson's fifth rushing touchdown of the season, tying his career high set in 2001. Collin Barber's extra point gave the Orangemen a 7-0 lead. Anderson has now been responsible for 31 touchdowns (running or passing) in his career, eighth most in school history. Ernie Davis is in seventh place with 35.
Anderson completed 4-of-5 passes for 43 yards in the first quarter. Walter Ryes has run for 26 yards on 11 carries and has one catch for 18 yards. Johnnie Morant extended his streak of consecutive games with at least one reception to 25. Morant has two catches for 16 yards.
Washington is 0-for-2 through the air, but has 22 yards rushing on three carries.
