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Temple Grinds Out Win at EMU |
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Written by Mike Smith
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 YPISILANTI, MI. – Visiting Temple used a 180-yard rushing performance by freshman Bernard Pierce to defeat Eastern Michigan 24-12 Saturday at Rynearson Stadium. Pierce scored two of Temple’s three touchdowns on the day as he went over 100 yards for the second time in two weeks. He netted 116 yards in a win over Buffalo a week earlier.
While Pierce averaged 7.2 yards per carry, Kee-ayre Griffin averaged 6.3 ypc with 50 yards on eight rushes and Jason Harper added another 37 yards on three carries.
“We give up too many big plays, and therefore the rushing numbers are outrageous,” said frustrated Eagles coach Ron English after the game. “I’m frustrated with the run defense. I’m frustrated with the defense period. I mean it’s ridiculous. The way we play defense here is a travesty.”
Declaring good defense starts with an “attitude,” English said he and his staff would be working on corrections during the coming week.
Temple coach Al Golden, meanwhile, indicated his team is enjoying the fruits of experience – some of it painful - gained over the last year. Golden noted the Owls were starting four freshman along the line a year ago. “It’s paid off,” he said, adding that the team also gained confidence when it was able to physically compete against Penn State earlier this season.
Temple, now 2-2 overall and 2-0 in the MAC, had not won its first two conference games since 1967. The Owls were members of another MAC – the Middle Atlantic Conference – at that time.
Through the early going, Eastern was unable to stop Temple drives. Pierce picked up 50 yards of his rushing total on the game’s first series, with his third carry covering 16 yards and resulting in a touchdown. Brandon McManus added the PAT kick.
Eastern Michigan, playing its first full game without quarterback Andy Schmitt, who is injured and lost for the season, picked up two first downs on its next possession before it was forced to punt.
Temple, with the help of a 55-yard Vaughn Charlton-to-Jason Harper pass, scored another touchdown with just over five minutes remaining. Pierce did the honors again as he scored from three-yards out.
Golden’s Owls made it three touchdowns in three drives when Evan Rodriguez scored on a 14-yard Charlton pass two plays into the second quarter. Brandon McManus’ PAT kick made it 21-0 in favor of the visitors.
Eastern Michigan posted a score of its own when Joe Carithers kicked a 38-yard field goal at 9:47. He added another – this one from 43 yards – as time expired in the half.
Nobody scored in the third quarter, and Temple managed just three more points with a fourth quarter field goal. The Eagles got their final points on a Terrence Blevins one-yard run. The two-point conversion try failed.
Eagles junior quarterback Kyle McMahon completed 25-of-36 for 230 yards with one interception in his first full game of 2009. He had thrown just one previous pass this year.
Charlton completed 9-of-18 for the Owls. The passes netted 123 yards and one touchdown.
According to Golden, Charlton and the passing game are making progress. As the team moves on to some key MAC matchups, Golden thinks the Owls will need both the run and the pass.
“We’re going to try to continue to run the ball, and we’ve got to try to hit our pass plays a little better just to balance it,” he said.
Temple’s upcoming schedule includes home games with Ball State and Army before road dates at Toledo and Navy.
Eastern Michigan has one of its toughest assignments of the season this week when it travels to Central Michigan. After home games against Kent State and Ball State, the Eagles will play their final non-conference game when they travel to Arkansas.
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