Barkley, PSU roll; Temple nips ’Nova
PHILADELPHIA » With time winding down, the game tied and Temple within field goal range, albeit a long one, first-year Owls coach Geoff Collins faced a rather difficult decision.
Does he go with senior Austin Jones or sophomore Aaron Boumerhi?
It was not a cut-and-dry choice.
Jones booted a 22-yard field goal early in the game and the extra point in the second quarter following Temple’s only touchdown that gave the Owls a double-digit lead at halftime.
Boumerhi missed a 48yard field goal try in the second quarter, but came back to boom a 44-yarder as the third period was coming to a close.
Collins thought about it and sent out Boumerhi. It was the right choice.
Boumerhi boomed a career-best 49-yard field goal with one minute remaining in the game to help the Owls pull out a 16-13 win over Villanova Saturday in front of an announced crowd of 35,117 at Lincoln Financial Field.
“Huge kick by Boumerhi,” Collins said. “There was no doubt we were going to kick the field goal if we were within range, and he’s got a strong leg. We’re confident with Austin and we’re confident with Boum; just the distance today that Boum had the leg for that kick.”
Boumerhi wasn’t nervous. Nor was he concerned with the length of the kick.
“I try not to think about the distance,” Boumerhi said. “I just knew we needed the kick and I just went out there and tried to put it through the uprights.”
The Owls needed Boumerhi’s kick because the Wildcats, who are ranked sixth in the FCS, refused to yield, despite a 10-0 deficit at halftime and a 13-0 shortfall early in the third quarter. The Wildcats shut down Temple’s running game and rode the left arm of quarterback Zach Bednarczyk to fight back and tie the game on Drew Kresge’s 34-yard field goal with 3:29 to play in the second quarter.
“I’m real proud of the way our guys responded in the second half,” Ferrante said.
Bednarczyk had a lot to do with that. The junior quarterback connected on 27 of 41 passes for 382 yards and one touchdown, a 24yard pass to Taurus Phillips with 10:18 to play in the game. Bednarczyk put up most of those numbers in the second half.
He was 19-for-24 for 284 yards and a TD after the break.
“We never gave up,” Bednarczyk said. “We played with a lot of passion in the second half. The first half, we were a little sloppy … We had some good drives so we knew we could do it. We came out in the second half and we really wanted to win.”
That was evident by the play of Villanova’s offensive line. Although two of the three sacks the Wildcats allowed came in the second half, Bednarczyk had plenty to time to throw and clear avenues to make the right throws.
“I thought my O-Line did great today,” Bednarczyk said. “They gave me time back there. I’ll take the hits as long as they give me a little bit of time.”
As much time as Bednarczyk had, and as well as the defense played, it was not enough for the Wildcats to pull out a W.
“I’m not big on moral victories,” Ferrante said. “It’s a loss. It’s in the right-hand column, not the left-hand column when you’re looking at the record, but it’s not a league game so we’re going to get better from this.”
The killer for Villanova, and the big break for Temple, came with time winding down in the second quarter. Temple drove from its 25-yard line to the Villanova 18, where it faced a third-and-10. Wide receiver Adonis Jennings made a diving catch of a Logan Marchi pass at the one-yard line that came under replay review.
After what seemed like an eternity, the call on the field was confirmed. Nick Sharga took it from there to give the Owls a 10-0 halftime lead.
“We executed the plays well,” Marchi said. “And I’m not going to lie, we had a couple of lucky tips there, too.”
Marchi came through again after Kresge drilled his second field goal to tie the game with 3:29 remaining. He drove the Owls 42 yards to get Temple in field goal range and give Collins a difficult decision.
Collins went with Boumerhi, who had never made a game-winning kick in his career. It was the right choice.