Temple defeats Lafayette 30-14, powered by freshman quarterback E.J. Warner

It was exactly what the Owls and first-year head coach Stan Drayton needed.

After a rough season-opening loss to Duke, Temple captured a 30-14 win against Lafayette in the team’s home opener at Lincoln Financial Field on Saturday afternoon, marking the Owls’ first win of the season.

The Owls return to the Linc on Sept. 17, seeking a win over Big Ten foe Rutgers -- on homecoming (2 p.m., ESPN+).

“Played a little better, played good enough to get a W,” Drayton said following the win over Lafayette. “I’m really excited about our guys handling the pressures within the game. Thought our defense played really good football, we were put in tough situations during the game and they got us out of it.”

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The Owls showed confidence -- and dominance -- right from their opening drive. In just four plays for 49 yards that lasted 1 minute, 59 seconds of possession time, Temple scored its first touchdown of the season off a 3-yard run by running back Darvon Hubbard.

But the momentum changed after starting quarterback D’Wan Mathis fumbled the ball, not just once, but twice in the first half, recovered by Lafayette both times.

The mistakes prompted Mathis to get benched in the second quarter. He finished the game completing three of eight passes for 42 yards.

Enterfreshman quarterback E.J. Warner. Warner wasn’t too shabby in his collegiate debut, going 14-of-19 with two touchdowns. He helped the Owls take a commanding 21-7 lead at halftime and started under center throughout the rest of the game.

“I just thought two balls on the ground forced me to that decision,” Drayton said of Mathis’ fumbles that paved the way for Warner’s entrance.

Lafayette (1-1) was coming off a 6-0 win over Sacred Heart last week, but in this game, Temple (1-1) dominated, establishing its run game early, making key plays on special teams, and the defense holding the Leopards to just two touchdowns.

When Mathis first fumbled the ball after it was stripped by defensive lineman Adam Port, the Leopards recovered the ball on the Owls’ 24-yard-line, putting them in position to score their first touchdown. When Mathis fumbled again on third-and-2 in the second quarter, he saw just one more drive before being benched.

Warner, who came in with about seven minutes left in the half, completed his first pass on a 9-yard play to tight end Jordan Smith. After a personal foul against Lafayette, Temple was in field goal territory.

And Warner took advantage. On second-and-9, he threw a clean 15-yard leading pass to the back of the end zone, where receiver Ian Stewart, a transfer from Michigan State, caught it just in time, advancing the score to 14-7.

During Temple’s final drive before halftime, Warner threw a brave pass across the middle to receiver Amad Anderson, good for 11yards and a first down.

He threw his second touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, over the middle to Smith for 17 yards in the end zone, extending the Owls’ lead to 28-14.

Warner’s numbers matched his confidence as he finished the game throwing for 173 yards and the two TDs.

So has Warner done enough to earn the starting job?

“We’re going back to work, and you may be a starter for three quarters of a football game, but everyday you have to go earn that,” said Drayton, noting that in the week leading up to the game against Lafayette, Warner saw the No. 2 reps in practice.

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Temple’s run game greatly improved from Game 1, in which the Owls managed just 65 yards.

Darvon Hubbard started, but between Jakari Norwood and Edward Saydee, the backs shared the majority of the reps, combining for 141 rushing yards.

For Saydee, his most impressive play arguably arrived when he extended the Owls drive on a third-and-1. He ran to the right, stiff-arming a Lafayette corner and gaining 12 yards.

In the second quarter, first-and-goal on Lafayette’s 9, Saydee ran up the middle for the touchdown, his first of the season.

Six different Owls recorded a sack on Lafayette quarterback Ryan Schuster. Defensive end Layton Jordan led the group with 2.5.

It all started in the first quarter when Schuster was taken down on a big third-and-12 play for a loss of 5. Jordan then had two more big third-down plays, one resulting in a sack.

Temple hasn’t blocked a punt since doing so against Houston in November 2018, and against the Leopards, De’Von Fox had three.

His first blocked punt in the second quarter was recovered by the Owls.

In the fourth quarter, Fox’s block resulted in a safety with 1:37 left in the game.