Wildcats move forward following season-opening victory

Season-opening performances rarely are perfect, or even anywhere close to it. Temple’s opening 42-26 victory over Mexican opponent Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon last Friday night at Wildcat Stadium was no exception. The best development for the Wildcats was that they essentially played perfect football during the first 1½ quarters. Temple scored touchdowns on its first five possessions, getting two scoring passes apiece from quarterbacks Kade Stewart and Champ Mayo plus an O’Ryan Peoples TD run to complement the Wildcats’ active, sure-tackling defense en route to a 35-0 lead 5 minutes into the second period. Alas, perfection was not sustainable. Temple’s torrid offense finally cooled off, its defense allowed two long touchdowns and the Wildcats’ punting unit had two breakdowns that created Tigres TDs as Nuevo Leon scored 26 consecutive points, slicing its once-gigantic deficit to 35-26 with 2 minutes left in the third quarter. Fortunately for Temple, the Wildcats found their second wind at the right time. Temple’s defense shut out UANL in the final 14 minutes, and Christian Tutson’s 13-yard touchdown catch from Mayo midway through the fourth gave the Wildcats much-needed breathing room on their way to a 16-point win.

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Temple High School Athletics

WILDCATS MOVE FORWARD FOLLOWING SEASON-OPENING VICTORY

GREG WILLE

Temple Daily Telegram | 9/5/2024