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How much better are the Temple Owls than they were at the end of the 2006 campaign? Twenty-five points better, judging by the score of their season-opening loss to Navy. The Owls lost their 2006 finale at Navy, 42-6. On Friday night, at Lincoln Financial Field, the final score was 30-19.
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Junior quarterback Adam DiMichele and Temple’s fabulous freshmen were as good as advertised, but it still wasn’t enough for the Owls to beat Navy in their 2007 season opener on Friday night at Lincoln Financial Field. The Midshipmen jumped to a 14-0 lead and held strong to the finish to earn a 30-19 victory over Coach Al Golden’s hard-charging squad.
The youngsters took center stage from the very start, which had positive and negative consequences for the Owls.
On Navy’s first play from scrimmage, freshman defensive end Elisha Joseph batted down quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada’s pass attempt. On 2nd-and-10, freshman linebacker Amara Kamara stopped slotback Reggie Campbell for no gain. Kamara lost his helmet on the jarring hit and his teammates mobbed him in celebration.
But on the very next play, freshman cornerback Jamal Schulters took a misstep in coverage and slotback Shun White got behind everyone to catch a 37-yard pass.
Navy went on to score a touchdown – running the ball eight straight times – and things looked bad for Temple when the Middies got the ball again and scored even more easily. Enhada completed a 20-yard pass to Campbell and followed with a 44-yard touchdown run on an option keeper. The 18-second drive gave the Middies a 14-0 lead with 4:51 to go in the first quarter.
But the Owls got back in the game thanks to DiMichele’s arm and legs and some more big plays from the rookies.
On the first play of the second quarter, DiMichele escaped several pass rushers and darted ahead for a 10-yard gain. He took a huge hit at the end of the run and had to sit out two plays. When he returned, DiMichele hit freshman wide receiver Mike Campbell for a 10-yard gain to set up a 41-yard field goal by sophomore Jake Brownell.
Then came the real excitement.
Navy picked up a first down and was nearing midfield when slotback Zerbin Singleton received an option pitch and was immediately cracked by Owls cornerback Anthony Ferla. The ball came loose and sophomore linebacker John Haley picked it up and raced 25 yards to the Navy 12.
Two plays later, DiMichele tossed a screen pass to freshman tailback Daryl Robinson, and the highly-touted freshman turned on the jets and beat the Middies to the corner of the endzone. Brownell’s extra point cut the deficit to 14-10.
And the battle was on.
Navy responded to Temple’s rally with its own 10-point run to close the second quarter. First came a nine-play, 72-yard touchdown drive that was aided by a 21-yard pass reception by Singleton that appeared to hit the ground when replayed on the big screen at the Linc.
Golden was not able to challenge the call for an official review because the Owls had used all three of their first half timeouts. And Navy got the next play snapped before the official in the replay booth could stop the action.
The Middies added a field goal on the last play of the half.
Again, the Owls appeared to be in trouble as Navy got the ball with a 24-10 lead to start the second half. And again, a huge hit, a fumble, and a Temple rookie helped change the momentum.
On Navy’s third play of the third quarter, fullback Adam Ballard tried to spin away from a tackle and was crunched by Owls safety Richard Sheppard. Ballard lost the ball and Joseph picked it up.
DiMichele completed three straight passes and the Owls advanced to the Navy 4 before moving backwards and settling for a Brownell 25-yard field goal.
Leading 24-13, the Middies were stopped at midfield on their next possession and forced to punt for the first time in the game. Temple freshman Marquise Liverpool slipped away from two tacklers on a 12-yard return.
But DiMichele overthrew sophomore wideout Dy’Onne Crudup and was intercepted by Navy’s Ketric Buffin. The Middies converted that turnover into a field goal.
DiMichele answered by completing 6 of 6 passes on an 11-play, 86-yard drive that culminated with another huge play from a freshman. This time, on 4th-and-2 at the Navy 23, DiMichele rolled to his right and rookie tight end Matt Balasavage waited a second and then slipped out to the backside. He pulled in DiMichele’s throwback pass and ran all the way to the endzone.
With 4:06 remaining in the game, the Owls were within one score of a team that had beaten them by 36 points (and could have beaten them by more) last November.
However, Brownell’s extra point attempt was blocked after the ball was moved back to the eight-yard line on a delay of game penalty. The Owls were forced to take the penalty because they only had 10 players on the field for the extra point, and Golden couldn’t afford to burn a timeout. Junior guard Dwavon Battle appeared to be the player who missed his assignment.
Golden opted not to attempt an onsides kick and the Middies quickly moved to seal their victory. White put them in scoring position with a 33-yard gain off an option pitch. Placekicker Matt Harmon then clinched the win with a 43-yard field goal with 1:07 to go.
DiMichele finished 21 of 29 for 199 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He wasn’t sacked a single time. (Backup QB Vaughn Charlton was sacked when he replaced DiMichele in the second quarter.) Last year, Navy recorded six sacks in its 42-6 win over Temple.
The Middies rolled up 361 yards rushing and 439 yards of total offense. But there was a big difference between their numbers in the first half (286 yards, 24 points) and the second half (153 yards, 6 points). The Owls totaled 164 yards in the second half (273 for the game).
Penalties were an issue for both teams. Temple’s first two drives were killed because of penalties. Navy had a touchdown pass erased by a holding call. The Middies were also whistled for a personal foul and a facemask penalty.
In the second quarter, Owls cornerback Evan Cooper drew a questionable pass interference call. Later, though, a pair of potential pass interference calls against the Owls went unpunished. Navy also drew an offensive pass interference penalty.
Sheppard left the game after sustaining a leg injury on the last play of the third quarter. He had to be carted off the field. But he didn’t look to be seriously injured when he left the locker room after the game. Golden didn’t have a postgame injury report.
DiMichele said afterward that he was still feeling the effect of some hard hits. He’ll have a week and a day to recover.
The Owls will host Buffalo in their first MAC game next Saturday (1:00 p.m. kickoff) at the Linc. The Bulls lost their season opener to Rutgers, 38-3, on Thursday night.
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