Photos: Jesse Garber
By: Austin Boynes
PHILADELPHIA – After a 27-21 home win against UTSA last week, head coach K.C. Keeler looked to keep his Owls undefeated in the conference as the Navy Midshipmen came into town looking to spoil Temple’s homecoming celebrations.
After getting punched in the mouth early, back and forth scores by both sides, Temple fell to .500 in conference play after a narrow 32-31 defeat at the hands of the Midshipmen.
“We played with a lot of enthusiasm and intensity,” Keeler said. “We didn’t panic and kept on playing so, a lot of positives but it’s a game that we walked off the field feeling that we gave it away at the end.”
The Navy Midshipmen put a damper on Temple's homecoming celebration, winning 32-31 in the final minute of play - Photo by Jesse Garber
The Owls started the game on offense and things seemed to click early as quarterback Evan Simon found receiver Kajiya Hollawayne for a 46-yard gain. The drive took a weird turn after Simon was called for a fumble that was ultimately ruled an incompletion, the drive stalled and kicker Carl Hardin could not get his side on the board first with a missed 39 yard kick.
The Midshipmen had no issues on their first drive of the afternoon as they used their option offense on three straight runs to dial up a play that caused busted coverage in the Temple defense as quarterback Blake Horvath found wide-open tight end Cody Howard for a 50-yard score to take an early 7-0 lead.
“They (Navy) had a game plan and really stuck to what they did," Temple defensive tackle Allan Haye said. “They just came out with a different energy, probably making some adjustments in the first half on things that we were doing wrong.”
Temple and its offense fared much better in its second attempt with the Owl’s drive starting on their own 25 yard line. Owls running backs Jay Ducker and Hunter Smith got it going early on the ground with positive rushes each, but it was Simon who capped off the drive with a two yard rushing score to tie the game up at seven.
The Owl’s defense stood up and forced a three and out by the Midshipmen. Temple ended the first quarter with all of the momentum. Simon followed up with two big plays again, a 30-yard pass to speedster wide receiver Jojo Bermudez and a 26-yard completion to Hollawayne to get them on the Navy seven yard line heading into the second quarter.
That is where the offense would stall, as Temple only managed to gain two yards, which was followed by a Hardin field goal to give the Owls their first lead of the game. The Temple defense held strong again, as the Midshipmen could only run four plays before punting the ball back to the Owls.
Simon marched his offense all the way down the field, which included a fourth down quarterback run by third string QB Tyler Douglas to keep the drive alive. It was all for naught in the end as Simon fumbled the ball back to the Navy defense, which ended another promising drive.
The fumble did not seem as bad after Temple forced a three and out to get the ball back, as they looked to score before the end of the first half. After two straight incompletions, Simon found Colin Chase on a third and 10 to keep the drive alive as they headed into the two-minute timeout.
“I thought they were eventually going to go back to their fundamentals because they did get a little cute that first half and they actually put themselves in second and long situations a number of times which was a big benefit for us,” coach Keeler said. ”That’s really when we stopped them.”
The Owls did their best to end their drive on a high note and it worked with three chunk plays of over 13 yards which included a 29-yard strike to Chase at the one yard line to set up a Ducker rushing touchdown for the 17-7 lead going into the half.
Temple even forced Navy into another three and out for good measure as Simon kneeled the ball into half time. The Owls did enough in the first half with only 14 total tackles for the half compared to the 47 by the Midshipmen. The defense did not need to do much because Navy only had less than eight minutes of possession time in the first half as Temple more than tripled with just above 22 minutes of offense.
The Owls defense struggled a bit in their first possession of the second half but let Navy get away with a 35-yard completion on fourth down and three to keep the drive alive. That pass proved to be important as Horvath found the end zone on a two-yard touchdown run to strike first in the second half.
“We can look each other in the eye and know that we battled to the end,” coach Keeler said. “When we look at the film, there are going to be some mistakes and we’re going to go ‘wow, we wish we would’ve had that one back’, but that’s the nature of football.”
Temple QB Evan Simon ties the game 7-7 on a 2-yard run in the opening quarter - PSD Video by Austin Boynes
Jay Ducker scores for the Owls with 1:16 left in regulation to put Temple up 31-24:
Navy QB Blake Horvath completes 2-pt conversion to Alex Tecza with 39 seconds remaining
Final play of the game as Temple QB Evan Simon attempts a hail mary from the 50 yard line, which is intercepted:
Temple answered that touchdown with one of their own as Simon and Ducker led the way, but it was a 26-yard pass to Bermudez to restore the 10 point Owl lead. Touchdowns came in bunches in the second half as the Midshipmen relied on the pass in their possession and finished with a run as running back Alex Tecza found the end zone from two yards to make it a 24-21 Temple lead.
The Owls, once again tried to respond back with a touchdown of their own, but a drive that had a 15-yard pass interference penalty on Navy cornerback Ira Oniha gave Temple momentum, but it was stalled by a holding call on the Owls that erased a first down as the third quarter came to a close.
Temple could not take advantage of the Navy penalties as their drive stalled close to midfield which forced a punt by Dante Atton. The Midshipmen once again relied on the run and it got them down to the Temple 27-yard line where kicker Nathan Kirkwood smacked a 48 yarder through the uprights to tie the game up at 24.
Simon and the Owls relied on the run with seven straight runs to open their drive as they looked to shut the door on Navy as Temple headed into the two-minute timeout. Temple came out of the stoppage and kept giving the Midshipmen a taste of their own medicine with the run game as Ducker found the end zone for the second time this game.
Navy was not out of steam yet as Temple shot themselves in the foot with a pass interference call that, a couple plays later, allowed Horvath to break off a 51-yard house call.
Temple vs. Navy - PSD Photos by Jesse Garber
A gutsy call from the Midshipmen side propelled Navy to victory, as Horvath found Tecza on a two point conversion to put Navy up 32-31.
”We knew that in passing situations, when he (Horvath) drops back, we knew that he was going to be ready to scramble and try and get yards with his feet so that stuff we knew coming in, we have to be able to execute and shut him down,” defensive tackle Allan Haye said. “We have to be able to keep him in the pocket.”
Temple tried their hardest to get into field goal range with 39 seconds remaining and no timeouts, but it was not enough as the Midshipmen escaped south Philadelphia with a slim 32-31 win.
”We have 24 hours, and it might take longer than that to get over this game but we fought really hard,” Simon said. “I’m proud of this football team, but I’m disappointed but very encouraged at the same time.”
Temple continues conference play on the road against Charlotte this week and at Tulsa on Oct. 25 before returning home against East Carolina on Nov. 1.
”The tide is turning with this program and it’s just those little details,” Simon said. “We’re going to dial in and don’t lose faith, I swear to you.”