PHILADELPHIA — The Norfolk State University football team surrendered 14 first-quarter points and could not recover as Temple picked up its second win of the season with a 41-9 victory over the Spartans on Saturday afternoon at Lincoln Financial Field.
"We played a very tough opponent today in a very good stadium," Norfolk State head coach Dawson Odums said. "We are improving from week-to-week and continuing to see the growth in our team. That's all we can ask for and now we turn our attention to Towson next week."
Temple (2-1) received the opening kickoff and marched 80-yards in 9 plays as the Owls quickly grabbed a 7-0 lead with 11:37 left in the first quarter.
On the Owls' opening drive, E.J. Warner completed a third down pass to Zae Baines for 32 yards and four plays later, Warner found Joquez Smith for 15 yards down the left sideline for the score.
The Owls struck again right before the end of the opening period, converting a 4th-and-play from 50 as Warner connected with Darvon Hubbard for 32 yards. Temple completed the 8-play, 70-yard drive when Quincy Patterson plunged in from the 1 as the Owls extended the advantage to 14-0 with 1:09 remaining.
Norfolk State (1-2) went to the ground game late in the first as Xzavion Evans rushed for 22, 8 and 7 yards as the Spartans ended the quarter strong, moving the football to the Temple 45.
NSU took more than five minutes off the clock, going 82 yards in 13 plays as Otto Kuhns completed a 2-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Moore, closing the gap to 14-7 with 10:23 remaining in the half.
Back came Temple on its next offensive series as Smith broke free for a 51-yard touchdown run, pushing the margin to 21-7 with nine minutes left.
After a Norfolk State punt, the Owls marched 58 yards in five plays with Hubbard scoring on a 21-yard touchdown run, extending the lead to 28-7 with 5:23 remaining.
The Spartans moved the ball to the Temple 9 and had to settle for a 33-yard field goal attempt by Grandin Willcox. However, Willcox's kick banged off the right upright, keeping the Owls lead, 28-7 with 59 seconds left.
The Owls moved the football by using the two-minute drill but came away empty-handed as Camden Price's 49-yard field goal attempt was short as Temple went into the break with a 28-7 advantage.
After a punt to begin the third quarter, Temple got a 38-yard field by Price to complete an 8-play, 65-yard drive as the Owls pushed the lead to 31-7 with just over 10 minutes to play.
Temple added to the lead, completing a 12-play, 48-yard drive, as Patterson scored on a two-yard touchdown run as the Owls stretched their advantage to 38-7 with 3:24 left in the third.
Norfolk State put together a time-consuming drive but came away with no points as Kuhns' pass to Mohamad Nyangamukenga on fourth day was incomplete as the Spartans turned the ball over on downs at the Temple 1.
However, two plays later, the Owls were called for holding in the endzone. As a result, the Spartans picked up a safety as Temple continued to lead, 38-9, with 12:42 remaining.
The Owls tacked on one more score, a 36-yard field goal by Price, with just under two minutes remaining.
