By Matt Cain
Contributor
Wide reciever Jaylon Tucker, a senior, celebrates with his teamates.
As the football season winds down, the Owls defeated Pace University in a high-scoring, back-and-forth game. This was the Owls’ last home game, and they went out with a bang.
Quarterback Keith Ridley, a graduate student, led the team down the field on the first drive of the game, scoring a quick touchdown to get the game started.
Ridley has been the most accurate quarterback in the NE10 conference this year
In his two seasons with the Owls, Ridley has 4,201 passing yards. This makes him the ninth in Southern history for the most passing yards. At the end of the game, Ridley had 353 passing yards with 25 completions.
As the Owl’s offense has been dynamic all season, Ridley managed to get the ball to five receivers in the game. Wide receiver, Jaylon Tucker, a senior, ended the game with 109 receiving yards and a touchdown. Wide receiver, Dylan Jones, a junior, ended the game with 80.
The Owls also had a dominant run game. Running back, E’lijah Gray, a senior, rushed for 127 yards while averaging 6.9 yards per carry.
“Whoever is out there, I trust them to make a play. I think that helps us spread the ball more,” Ridley said.
After coming out hot in the first quarter, the game was back and forth in the second quarter. In the third quarter of the game, Pace cut the Owls’ lead down to 21-12 and then 21-18.
The Owls would then respond back with stifling defense. They shut the run game down and sacked both quarterbacks from Pace.
“I think we did a good job coming out. We responded very well defensively,” Defensive Coordinator Rob Eggerling said.
The linebackers and defensive backs stepped up in the game. Linebacker Joe DiGello, a senior, has seven tackles, one sack and a pass deflection. DiGello also rushed the quarterback three times to cause the quarterback to scramble.
“In this game, we knew that if we just did our job, we were the better overall team,” DiGello said.
Other players came up with big plays defensively. Defensive back Quinten Asiedu, a graduate, had a season-best five tackles. While defensive back Quinton Haughton, a senior, picked off a Pace pass and ran it back for a 21-yard touchdown, this interception pushed the Owls to double digits late in the third quarter.
The fourth quarter was tight and down to the wire. Pace scored to cut the Owls’ lead to three; the Owls would then turn the ball over and get back on defense.
Haughton came up big again with another interception to keep the Owls in front.
Pace came down the field and scored again to make it a one-score game, but Ridley got the last laugh, as he scored on a one-yard touchdown pass on an 83-yard drive.
The Owls showed resilience and fight. All season, they have lost close games and lost games they should have won. As the season winds down, they look to end the final game on a high note and look to get better every day.
