Saint Mary's Upends Florida Atlantic, 24-10

Saturday, October 20

Boca Raton, FL

1:00 PM PT

Saint Mary's College of California

Florida Atlantic

Saint Mary's Upends Florida Atlantic, 24-10

10/20/2001 12:00:00 AM | Football

Oct. 20, 2001

Box Score

Miami, FL - The Saint Mary's football team (4-3) picked up its first road victory of the season with a 24-10 victory over Florida Atlantic (3-3) at Pro Player Stadium in front of 10,143 fans on Saturday. Gael fullback Clint Wilson rushed for a game-high 102 yards and two touchdowns to lead Saint Mary's.

After Florida Atlantic took the opening drive 66 yards for a touchdown, Saint Mary's responded with an 11-play, 69-yard touchdown drive that was capped by a 3-yard run by Wilson on the Gaels' next possession. Following an Owl punt, Saint Mary's got its second touchdown when Wilson scored his second touchdown on an 8-yard run up the middle. Wilson finished the game with 102 yards on 17 carries and two touchdowns. Florida Atlantic added a Mark Myers, 34-yard field goal to cut the lead to 14-10 with 6:47 remaining in the second quarter.

It looked as if Saint Mary's would add another score before the intermission, but Gus Papanikolas fumbled the snap on the FAU 5-yard line with 49 second left in the half.

Both teams's opened the second half with punts before Ezequiel Arevalo connected on a 23-yard field goal to give Saint Mary's a 17-10 advantage. On the Owl's next possession, free safety Weston Borba picked off a Jared Allen pass to give Saint Mary's the ball on the FAU 30. With a fourth and four on the Owl 29, offensive coordinator Ian Shield called on wide-out Nate Brown's throwing abilities. Papanikolas lateraled to Brown who then hit a wide-open Andre Coleman in the end zone for a 29-yard TD pass for the final score of the game. Coleman finished the game with 97 yards rushing on 13 carries and two catches for 25 yards and one touchdown.

Gael strong safety Myron Chivis intercepted an Allen pass on the SMC 1-yard line with 9:08 remaining in the game to help secure the victory and hold FAU scoreless in the second half.

Saint Mary's, the second ranked rushing team in the nations, gained 305 yards on the ground and finished with 411 yards of total offense. Defensive end, David Taylor, had seven tackles, three tackles for a loss and two sacks. Travis White finished with 1.5 sacks. The Gaels held Florida Atlantic to 256 yards of total offense, which included 85 yards on the ground and 171 yards through the air.

Saint Mary's will return to the road next week when it travels to Northeastern for a 9:30 am (Pacific) kickoff in Boston, MA.