Photo by Larry Levanti
Philadelphia, PA – The Wagner College football team took an early 7-0 lead and trailed just 17-7 at the half before falling 41-7 to Temple at Lincoln Financial Field on Saturday.
After receiving the opening kickoff, head coach
Tom Masella kept the offense on the field twice on fourth down during the first drive of the game.
On the first attempt, freshman quarterback
Guenson Alexis, who made the first start of his collegiate career, found graduate student
Jeremiah Lorick for 11 yards. Four plays later, freshman running back
Rickey Spruill broke free for a 50-yard gain to set the Seahawks up with first down and goal to go on the Owls' one-yard line.
From there, Alexis called his own number, sneaking into the end zone to give the Seahawks the lead.
Wagner outgained Temple 108-34 in the first quarter, keeping the Owls off the scoreboard, while also holding a 16:42 – 13:18 advantage in time of possession in the first half.
With 38 seconds to play in the second quarter, the Seahawks recovered a muffed punt inside Temple territory, as graduate student
Joe Schmidt came up with his second fumble recovery on special teams this season, but the Seahawks were unable to capitalize on the good field position.
Throughout the game, the Seahawks outgained Temple 123 – 115 on the ground, as Spruill led all players with 73 yards rushing.
Defensively, senior
Tre Vallar led the Seahawks with eight tackles, while reigning Northeast Conference (NEC) Defensive Player of the Year
Titus Leo finished with three tackles, including one sack, one pass breakup, and one quarterback hurry.
The Owls scored 17 points in both the second and third quarter and added seven points in the fourth quarter to earn the victory and even their record at 2-2 on the season, while Wagner falls to 0-4 this season.
Next up, the Seahawks will host Delaware State on Saturday, October 2, at 5:00 pm.
