Eagles run wild
Pound out easy win
Boston College entered yesterday’s game against Wagner following a week of practice in which it turned the attention inward, focusing on a litany of necessary self-corrections following a drubbing last week against Virginia Tech.
It certainly helps when your next opponent plays in the FCS ranks, too.
BC rumbled to a 42-10 win in front of 22,728 fans at its Alumni Stadium opener, riding a decided power advantage within the trenches against an undersized Wagner front seven to a seasonhigh 490 yards in the win.
The Eagles (2-2) racked up 300 rushing yards and four scores on the ground alone.
“We made a decision today going into the game,” BC coach Steve Addazio said. “We felt like we hadn’t really run the ball well yet, up to what our standard is. We wanted to emphasize really running the football today.”
Still, Addazio said the results were “consistently inconsistent.”
He often reverted to BC’s youth and inexperience. He noted their mistakes — BC committed seven penalties for 85 yards — while remaining mindful the building blocks remain in place for what he believes is a bright future. If he were to forget, a running game led by redshirt sophomore Jon Hilliman and redshirt freshman Davon Jones served as a quick reminder.
Hilliman ran for 83 bruising yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries, while Jones added 90 yards on 12 carries. Quarterback Patrick Towles added two rushing touchdowns while also throwing for two scores — including an impressive 58-yard playaction strike to deep threat Jeff Smith to make it 21-10 midway through the second quarter.
“We’ll just see how long we can ride the wave from this game and continue to get better as the weeks progress,” Hilliman said.
A week ago, a deafening Virginia Tech atmosphere “wreaked havoc” on the offensive line’s communication, according to Addazio. Yesterday’s more serene environment certainly aided BC, which soundly handled a team it was expected to beat, holding Wagner (2-1) to 107 total yards of offense.
Still, it likely won’t quell most concerns surrounding the Eagles following a lackluster start to the season. Wagner, which went 1-10 last season as a member of the Northeast Conference, beat Division 2 St. Anselm and NAIA-level Concordia College to begin its season. The Seahawks didn’t look overmatched, at least initially, racing out to a 7-0 lead on a 55-yard touchdown run by quarterback Alex Thomson.
The Eagles answered by turning to the bruising Hilliman, handing it off to him five straight times — including a 41-yard dash down the left sideline — to set up a 1-yard touchdown to tie the game two minutes later.
“I feel like those are the things I’m supposed to do,” Hilliman said. “Not to be like cocky or arrogant or anything, but I think I’m supposed to do that when the hole is that big.”
Consistently generating running room is BC’s bugaboo, and Addazio knows it, saying this season continues to be a growing experience. Just as there are days like last week’s 49-0 loss, there will be positive steps like yesterday.
“We’re going to get to a point when they have a good run together,” Addazio said of the offensive line. “When BC’s been good, that’s been the case. You get those lines where you get them to a point where they make a good run together.
“And we’re going to get to that point. This year is going to be a work in progress with that, but we’re going to get to that point.”