From the Wing-T offense to the presence of coaches Bob McQueen and Mike McMurtry to the close, comeback victory that required clutch play on both sides, the 2007 Wildcats might as well have been the 1977 Wildcats on Saturday night at Waco ISD Stadium.
Tevin Reese returned a kickoff for an 85-yard touchdown, sophomore Lache Seastrunk scored on a 75-yard run and later a 20-yard sprint that put Temple ahead for good, and the Wildcat defense denied South Garland’s final scoring bid with a minute left to earn a season-opening 21-17 win over the Colonels.
Prevailing in its opener for the first time since 2003, Temple got the job done despite running 36 plays to South Garland’s 54, completing one pass to the Colonels’ 14 and being outgained 381 yards to 213.
After winning two games in his first two seasons as the Wildcats’ coach, Bryce Monsen certainly was willing to trade those statistics for a 1-0 record.
“It’s a big win for us against a good, quality Class 5A opponent,” said Monsen, whose squad met its stated goal of collecting three turnovers and didn’t suffer any turnovers despite fumbling five times.
“You definitely have to give a great amount of credit to our kids. Any time you can line up against a team with that much talent and win, that tells you a lot about the integrity of Temple kids.”
Seastrunk, who used his significant speed to rush for 112 yards on only seven carries, said winning in his varsity debut even trumped his victory in the District 13-5A 100-meter dash in April.
“This feels better because I was part of a team effort,” said Seastrunk, named Most Valuable Player of the H-E-B Kickoff Classic’s fourth and final game. “It’s just a blessing for me, and I couldn’t do it without my offensive line, teammates and our fans.
“We’ve been working hard every day and this win gives us really good confidence.”
After South Garland - a playoff qualifier the last four years - broke the 14-14 halftime time on Jaime Salazar’s 21-yard field goal with two minutes left in the third quarter, Seastrunk put his fleet feet on full display.
Strong runs of 10 and 29 yards by Quentin Tuck helped Temple quickly drive to the Colonels’ 20-yard line. Seastrunk then came around the right side of his line on a sweep, beat star free safety Joseph Ibiloye - an Oklahoma commitment - to the edge and raced past him into the end zone for the 21-17 lead with 26 seconds left in the third.
“Offensively, we did feel like we could do some things with our speed and get on the edge,” said Monsen, who along with legendary former Temple coach and now-athletic consultant McQueen, offensive coordinator McMurtry and new offensive line coach Robert Murphy installed the Wildcats’ old Wing-T to replace the spread. “We’ve got some very fine coaches in that locker room, and we’ll never forget who we are.”
Temple’s defense followed Seastrunk’s scoring burst by forcing a quick punt, then the Wildcats used a pair of 15-yard penalties and several strong runs to set up a first-and-goal situation at the 3. But the next three plays went nowhere and Tuck was stopped at the 3 on fourth down.
South Garland took over and immediately got a huge play, as running back Terri Asante (124 yards) picked up a fumble by Baylor-committed quarterback Nick Florence and raced 59 yards to the Temple 39.
The Colonels advanced and had a first down at the 12 with 2:40 remaining, but sophomore linebacker Derrick Davis sacked Florence on third down. On fourth-and-10 from the 12 rover Robert Black knocked away Florence’s bullet in the back of the end zone to preserve the victory and ignite a celebration on the field and in the stands.
“We’ve been running a lot in practice and it paid off tonight,” Mosley said. “We’re all connecting out there right now.”
Asante started the scoring with a 1-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter for a 6-0 lead, but junior Reese - a track standout - sprinted up the middle on the ensuing kickoff for his 85-yard touchdown and the first of Chris Winkler’s three extra points gave the Wildcats a 7-6 advantage.
On Temple’s first offensive snap of the second quarter, Seastrunk got loose on a run to the right and galloped past everybody for a 75-yard touchdown and a 14-6 lead.
The Colonels got even a minute before halftime, as Florence threw to wide-open receiver Steven Osborne for a 28-yard touchdown and Cornelius Wilson made a juggling catch for the two-point conversion.
Temple will begin its four-game home schedule against Round Rock McNeil at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Wildcat Stadium.
