Owls get back on track in win against Charlotte

PHOTO BY JAISON NIEVES

Well, that’s certainly a way to get back in the win column.

The Owls get back up over .500 on the season with a 49-14 no-doubt victory against the Charlotte 49ers.

Temple received the opening kickoff, looking to rebound after a heartbreaking loss to Navy, where the Owls led most of the game.

It was a quick first drive, as they only got off 4 plays for 19 yards before punting it away to Charlotte.

The Temple defense then got the ball back for the offense after forcing a turnover on downs, where Charlotte went for it on 4th and 8, but was, of course, unsuccessful.

Quarterback Evan Simon and the rest of the offense took full advantage of that, never seeing a 2nd down en route to a touchdown.

Running back Jay Ducker got it started with a quick 19-yard burst to get the ball into Charlotte territory. That was followed by a completion to tight end Peter Clarke for another 18 yards. Wide receiver JoJo Bermudez then got in on the fun with a 16-yard reception of his own. To top it all off, Simon found wide receiver Colin Chase for an 11-yard reception to put the Owls on the board.

Charlotte answered right back with a long six-minute touchdown drive to tie things back up at seven apiece.

This was the last time Temple was at odds with Charlotte.

In the second quarter, Simon took it into the end zone himself to give the Owls another lead.

When Charlotte got the ball back, the Owls’ defense was content on not letting the 49ers back in the game, as cornerback Adrian Laing picked off Charlotte quarterback Grayson Loftis, taking it to the house to extend the Owls’ lead.

And after the second quarter, the Owls found the end zone four more times to put them out in front 49-7.

Charlotte then hit a Chris Paul to make it a 49-14 game in the last minute, with Charlotte backup QB Zach Wilcke running into the end zone for the score.

The Owls big win was highlighted by a few performances.

Ducker had his best game of the season, putting up 114 yards and a touchdown on only nine carries.

Wide receiver Kajiya Hollawayne followed up his 146-yard performance from last week with an 85-yard performance, including a touchdown.

On the defensive side, safety Louis Frye had five total tackles, and boasting a fumble recovery for a touchdown.

And finally, Simon put up yet another multi-touchdown performance, with three coming in the air and one on the ground.

With the win, the Owls are now 2-1 in conference play, but the biggest news is that they are now 4-3, surpassing their win totals from 2021-2024, with each season ending 3-9. The 2025-2026 season continues to prove that it is a new era in Temple football.

The Owls will travel down to Tulsa, Oklahoma, next week to face 2-5 Tulsa.