Rickel’s run was ‘knockout punch’
Punter was given green light by Kiffin
BOWLING GREEN, KY — Ryan Rickel saw an opportunity and just went with it.
With 7:11 left in the game, the Florida Atlantic punter came onto the field. His Owls were leading Western Kentucky 35-28, but they faced a fourth and 11 at the Hilltoppers 42. Coach Lane Kiffin gave him the green light to run with it if he had a chance to get first down.
Sure enough, there was a large hole on the right side of the field. The Fort Lauderdale native and Westminster Academy product got 22 yards on the play. Five plays later, Devin Singletary’s 5-yard run gave the Owls a 14-point lead.
Kiffin called the fake punt “a knockout punch” in the game.
It also wasn’t his only carry. As the holder for placekicker Greg Joseph, Rickel had trouble handling a low snap on a 42-yard attempt early in the third quarter, when FAU trailed 21-20. The Toppers stuffed him for no gain on that scramble, but he said that play wasn’t on his mind when he took off on the fake punt.
“It definitely feels good to contribute to the team positively,” he said. “That was a big play in the fourth quarter.”
Singletary sets TD mark
Devin Singletary continued his assault on the Owls record book Saturday night.
The sophomore from broke the school’s record for career rushing touchdowns in the Owls win. His score on a 1-yard sweep with 11:12 left in the first half — his second touchdown of the game — gave him 28 for his career. Alfred Morris previously held the mark.
He also eclipsed the 2,000-yard mark for his career, and supplanted Doug Parker (1,981 yards) as the team’s fourth-best all-time rusher. With his 244 yards Saturday, his career total stands at 2,074.
With 18 touchdowns on the season, he already holds the school’s singleseason mark as well. He also eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark for the second straight season, and he needs just 339 yards over the rest of the season to break Morris’ single-season rushing mark of 1,392 yards.
Turnovers turn the game
Florida Atlantic forced Western Kentucky into four turnovers. It was the fourth straight game where the Owls forced their opponent into multiple miscues. The 22 points off those Topper turnovers was a season-high.
Redshirt junior safety Andrew Soroh said the Owls defense is just doing what it has to do to help the team win.
“Like they say, defense wins championships,” said Soroh, who had an interception and a fumble recovery. “In order for it to be a championship defense, we got to do stuff like that. Take the ball away, wrap up, make tackles (and) cause fumbles.