Philly College Sports Football Week In Review – Games of November 23 and 30, 2013

PHILLY COLLEGE SPORTS FOOTBALL REVIEW

Season Ends For Locals

Villanova Wins Battle of the Blue, Temple Gets First AAC Win, Penn Loses A Heartbreaker

November 23 and 30, 2013 Games

PENN – Overall 4 –6, Ivy League 3 – 4

Result – Lost 42 – 41 vs. Cornell at Franklin Field

Summary – The inexplicable season ended for the Red and Blue in a most inexplicable manner.  Penn had a 21 – 7 lead in the first half, then watched as Cornell raced out to a 42 – 21 lead with 7:49 to play.  As in their previous game the Quakers would mount a furious rally.  Freshman quarterback Alex Torgersen connected on two touchdown passes, 45 yards to Cameron Countryman and 25 yards to Ty Taylor that brought Penn to within 42 – 35 with 2:52 on the clock.  The comeback was nearly capped when Sam Chwarzynski stepped in front of a Jeff Matthews pass on 3^rd and 18.  The Penn senior returned the interception 39 yards for a touchdown to bring the Quakers to within a point.  The expected tie did not materialize as Cornell’s Tre Minor blocked the kick to give the Big Red the victory.  The Red and Blue came in to this year as the preseason pick to win the Ivy League.  The team ended the season with a 4 game losing streak all in the Ancient Eight.  Wide Receiver Ryan Mitchell ended his career with 102 receptions.  Quarterback Billy Ragone ended his career playing injured, but also became the second most productive offensive player in school history with 6.724 total yards.  Gavin Hoffman holds the Penn record with 7,188.  Ragone holds the school record with 56 total touchdowns, 36 passing and 20 rushing.

Next Game – Season Opener in 2014

TEMPLE – Overall 2 – 10, 1 – 7 American Athletic Conference

Result – Lost 28 – 21 vs. Connecticut at The Linc, Won 41- 21 at Memphis

Summary –

Connecticut 28 Temple 21 – At the half the Owls appeared to be on their way to their inaugural AAC victory leading 21 – 0.  The Huskies tied the game in the fourth quarter, and then scored on a 59 yard interception return by Yaw Smallwood with 4:20 remaining to get the win.  Temple won the stat battle with 372 yards of offense compared to 235 for UConn.  However, the Owls committed 3 turnovers; the last interception provided the winning points.  Temple freshman quarterback P.J. Walker completed 26 of 46 for 280 yards and a touchdown, and was intercepted once.  Walker added 32 rushing yards and a score.  Wide Receiver Ryan Alderman caught a career-high 7 passes for 96 yards.  John Christopher also notched 7 receptions for 66 yards, while Robby Anderson snagged 6 catches for 81 yards and a touchdown.  Running back Zaire Williams had a touchdown while gaining 42 yards on the ground.  The Owls had leads in 7 of their 10 losses this season.

Temple 42 Memphis 21 – The Cherry and White broke through to get their first AAC win defeating Memphis 42 – 21 in Memphis.  The Owls took the lead early and would not be denied.  The game went in the direction of Temple in the 3^rd quarter when Chris Coyer had a 75 yard catch and run on a pass from P.J. Walker to give the Owls a 24 – 14 lead.  The Cherry and White closed out the game with ten 4^th quarter points.  Temple finished the game with 534 total offensive yards.  For the season the Owls amassed 4.788 yards of offense, second in school history behind the 1979 team with 4,815.  Walker completed his freshman campaign completing 20 of 32 passes for 328 yards and 4 touchdowns.  Walker threw 20 touchdown passes for the year, second behind Brian Broomell’s school record of 22 in a season.  In his seven starts Walker eclipsed the 200 yard passing mark.  Coyer led Temple in receiving yards for the game with 129.  Robby Anderson had a team-high 7 catches for 96 yards and 3 touchdowns.  He finished the season with 791 receiving yards and 9 touchdowns, third best at the school.  Running back Jamie Gilmore ran for 92 rushing yards.  He gained 62 yards on 4 straight carries setting up the Owls for their opening score.  Linebacker Tyler Matakevich had 8 tackles and completed the year with 137.

Next Game – Season Opener in 2014

VILLANOVA – Overall 6 – 5, 5 – 3 CAA

Result – Won 35 – 34 vs. Delaware at PPL Park

Summary – A 24 yard field goal by senior kicker Mark Hamilton with one second on the clock capped a furious rally for Villanova as the Wildcats win the Battle of the Blue by a single point over the Delaware Blue Hens.  With 1:24 remaining in the third quarter the Blue Hens held a 34 – 12 lead.  Villanova would outscore Delaware 23 – 0 in the fourth quarter to earn the victory.  The rally started with two touchdown passes from quarterback John Robertson to wide receiver Joe Price, 11 and 21yards.  Robertson found running back Gary Underwood for a 25 yard score with 1:45 to play to bring his team to within 34 – 32.  The Wildcats recovered an onsides kick to start the winning 8 play, 47 yard drive in 1:03.  Robertson finished the game with 417 total yards of total offense.  He completed 19 of 28 passes for 252 yards and 3 touchdowns while running for 165 yards and a score on 31 carries in earning the CAA Offensive Player of the Week award.  Price gathered in 5 passes for 103 yards.  The 626 yards of total offense for Villanova was second most in school history.  The record is 706 yards against North Carolina State in 1949.  Delaware wide receiver Michael Johnson had a game-high 8 catches for 127 yards and two touchdowns. The win gives the Wildcats their 11^th winning season in the last 13 under Coach Andy Talley as well as 22 in his 29 year tenure.

Next Game – Season Opener in 2014