Syracuse University
LOUISVILLE
Orangemen Lose Home Opener to Louisville
9/13/2003 4:54:09 PM | Football
Box Score
Syracuse Game Notes
Louisville Game Notes
Coach Pasqualoni Quotes
Syracuse Player Quotes
Louisville Head Coach and Player Quotes
SYRACUSE, N.Y. –The Syracuse football team lost its home opener, 30-20, to Louisville on Saturday, September 13 in front of 38,550 fans at the Carrier Dome. The Orangemen are 1-1, while the Cardinals improved to 2-0.
The Orangemen recorded 446 yards of total offense, including 265 total yards by senior quarterback #R.J. Anderson#. Anderson was 19-of-30 for 229 yards through the air, while gaining 36 yards rushing on nine carries.
Anderson's favorite target was senior wideout Johnnie Morant. Morant caught a career-high eight passes for 141 yards. It is the first time in his career he has had consecutive 100-yard receiving games (160 vs. UNC). Morant also returned three kicks for 94 yards, giving him 235 all-purpose yards. It was his second straight game with at least 200 all-purpose yards. Junior wide receiver Jared Jones also had a career day, tying his single-game best with five catches for a career-high 47 yards. Junior running back Walter Reyes finished with 87 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. It was the seventh straight game that Reyes reached the endzone. Sophomore running back Damien Rhodes had 74 yards on 11 carries.
Louisville quarterback Stefan LeFors completed 16-of-25 attempts for 266 yards. He threw three touchdowns and one interception. Eric Shelton led the Cardinals on the ground with 135 yards on 24 carries.
Louisville struck first with a 40-yard touchdown pass from LeFors to wide receiver J.R. Russell on their initial possession. The play capped a seven-play, 82-yard drive that took 3:51 off the clock.
The Orangemen came right back to tie the game with an 80-yard drive of their own. Senior fullback Darryl Kennedy's two-yard run finished the drive. It was Kennedy's second career touchdown run. On the drive, Anderson was 3-for-3 for 48 yards, including two completions to Morant. Morant has now caught a ball in 19 consecutive games.
Louisville took a 10-7 lead on a 48-yard field goal by Nate Smith with 1:43 left in the quarter.
The Orangemen tied the game at 10-10 with 12:48 left in the second quarter on a 42-yard field goal by Collin Barber.
The Cardinals responded with a 47-yard touchdown drive to re-take the lead at 17-10. The drive was set up by a 50-yard kick return by Broderick Clark. D.J. Kramer hauled in a one-yard touchdown pass with 10:00 minutes left in the second quarter.
An Orangemen fumble on the ensuing possession gave the Cardinals a first down at SU's 29-yard line. Louisville drove to the SU two-yard line, but the Orangemen defense held firm, allowing only a 19-yard field goal by Smith, giving the visitors a 20-10 advantage with 6:18 left. Diamond Ferri and Christian Ferrara each made stops near the goal line to prevent the Cardinals from reaching the endzone.
Syracuse took the ball down to the Louisville 19-yard line, but another Orange fumble turned the ball over to the Cardinals with 3:02 left in the half. UL couldn't convert as the SU defense forced Louisville into a three-and-out.
The Cardinals scored on the first possession of the third quarter to take a 27-10 lead with 12:36 left in the stanza. LeFors found Michael Bush for a 24-yard touchdown pass. The Orangemen responded with an 80-yard scoring drive on just three plays. A 42-yard pass from Anderson to Morant set up a 35-yard touchdown run by Reyes, his fourth of the season and 22nd of his career.
Trailing 27-17, the Orangemen forced Louisville into its first turnover of the game on the next possession. Safety Anthony Smith intercepted LeFors for his first career pick.
SU drove the ball to the Louisville 19-yard line where Barber connected on his second field goal of the game, this one from 36 yards out, to cut the Cardinals' lead to 27-20.
Nate Smith hit his third field goal of the game, a 37-yarder, with 6:58 left in the game to push Louisville's lead to 30-20, setting the final score.
Anthony Smith and Rich Scanlon led the Orange defense with 12 tackles each.
The victory was the Cardinals' first in four games versus the Orangemen.
Syracuse plays the second of three consecutive home games on Saturday, September 20 versus Central Florida. Kickoff is slated for 12 p.m.
