Monthly Archives: September 2022

Swamped by Seminoles

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QB Phil Jurkovec levitates against Florida State . . . briefly.

Was it game over last night when Florida State ran back the opening kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown? Normally, no. Looking at it in retrospect, however, as the Seminoles added another touchdown less than two minutes later following the interception of a Phil Jurkovec pass, it was, indeed, game over.

Florida State bolted to a 21-0 first quarter lead, to 31-0 at halftime, and rested their starters in the second half, finishing off the Eagles 44-14. At 37-0 in the third quarter, BC scored its first touchdown, a five-yard pass from Jurkovec to freshman running back Alex Broome. The teams traded touchdowns in the final quarter, with redshirt freshman QB Emmett Morehead tossing a four-yard pass to freshman receiver Joseph Griffin.

In the second half, the Eagles scored 14 points and the Seminoles 13 points. Florida State also used 67 players in the game, with BC playing against third-stringers most of the half.

In the first half, the Seminoles gained 327 yards in total offense, compared to the Eagles’ 64 yards. For the game, BC gained 235 yards total offense and Florida State gained 530 yards.

Jurkovec was 15 of 23 passing for 105 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Morehead was 3 of 6 for 35 yards and one touchdown. Leading rusher for the Eagles was redshirt freshman running back Xavier Coleman, who ran 5 times for 44 yards.

Post-game comments from BC to The Boston Globe were consistent.

“Right now, we’re not good when we go down. I think it affects us, and we need to fix that,” said head coach Jeff Hafley.

“We’ve got to play better. We’ve got to execute better and tackle,” said linebacker Vinnie DePalma.

“We’re not playing great right now, so we’ve got to pick it up together and fight through for the next week,” said running back Pat Garwo.

Highlights

BC falls to 1-3, 0-2 in the ACC. They play Louisville Saturday in Alumni Stadium, with kickoff at 9 am PT.

 

Maine-ly meh

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Zay Flowers gathers in one of his team-leading eight receptions against Maine.

A win is a win, of course. For the Eagles to get their first victory of the season yesterday, however, following two losses, was disappointing to the many who had anticipated something of a break-through successful season for BC this year.

That the first win was achieved in a game in which the Eagles displayed many of the same deficiencies that contributed to the opening losses to Rutgers and Virginia Tech was also frustrating to many fans. And that the first win came against Maine, an FCS team that had previously lost to Colgate and had been crushed by New Mexico, 41-0, did not inspire hopes for the season’s renewal.

That said, the Eagles won by three touchdowns, 38-17, and quarterback Phil Jurkovec had impressive stats. Jurkovec was 25 of 37 for 320 yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions. His long completion was 53 yards. He was also sacked three times and faced consistent pressure, as had happened extensively in the first two games.

Leading BC receiver senior Zay Flowers had eight catches again Maine for 89 yards and one touchdown, opening scoring by the Eagles on a 51-yard reception and run. His three-game total is 22 receptions for 295 yards.

Entering the game ranked last among FBS teams in rushing, BC managed to get triple digits against the Black Bears, rushing for 111. Redshirt junior Pat Garwo III, who ran for more than 1,000 yards last season, led the team yesterday with 78 yards on 17 carries, scoring two touchdowns. Garwo, leading rusher for the Eagles this season, had gained only 40 yards rushing total in the two earlier games.

Maine actually had two more offensive plays than BC, 72-70, and gained 378 yards total overall, 289 yards through the air.

Highlights of BC-Maine.

(During the first two weeks of the season, I was on a trip to Michigan and Boston/Cape Cod and didn’t have the capability to post reports on the first two games. Maybe not the heart, either. I attended the Rutgers game, as did Lissa and Brian Tsu, both ’00, as well as Lori and Joe ’74 Mahler. I don’t see much point to provide summaries and highlights of the Rutgers and Virginia Tech games. Better, I think, to relegate them to the bad memories bin.)

Next week, the Eagles go to Tallahassee to play Florida State (3-0). The Seminoles had a close win over Louisville in their opener, an easy win over Duquesne, and edged LSU yesterday, 24-23. Game time is 5 pm our time.