Owls Off To Soaring Start, Don’t Disappoint Dallas Cowboys Star Lucky Whitehead at FAU Stadium

With Dallas Cowboys return man Lucky Whitehead on the field to support his FAU alma mater, the Owls took leads on three separate occurrences thanks to the explosive speed of running back Buddy Howell Jr. and led by quarterback Jason Driskel’s clever running and passing attack in a 38-30 FAU (1-0) win over the Southern Illinois Salukis (0-1) at FAU Stadium’s Schnellenberger Field. Howell Jr. had first half touchdown runs of 48, 37 respectively and on his first three carries had 87 yards rushing.

“If you block for Buddy to get you six yards he gets you 10 and if you block for him to get 10 yards he runs for 15,” FAU Head Coach Charlie Partridge said. Howell Jr. finished with 129 yards rushing. “It was one of those moments we were practicing day in and day out. Going through my reads and just hitting it hard and it was wide open and I’m just blessed the line made that hole for me and I was able to complete the mission by running fast and getting into the end zone,” Howell Jr. said.

Driskel had two touchdown passes, the first to Tavaris Harrison for 85 yards in the second quarter and another to former Jupiter High School quarterback and Wake Forest transfer Tyler Cameron for a four-yard touchdown late in the third quarter. The latter gave FAU an 11-point lead heading into the fourth quarter. Eventually, the FAU Owls (1-0) won 38-30 over the Southern Illinois Salukis (0-1) at FAU Stadium’s Schnellenberger Field. Maybe it was Lucky Whitehead’s Owls hand sign he flashed thumb to index finger with middle, ring and pinky finger up to the team and fans while wearing the brightest orange, John Lennon like glasses which seemed to reflect the new shine of a young season for the FAU Owls.

“Back in Boca watching my boys work!!! Let’s get this Victory #GoOwls,” Whitehead tweeted from his @ninjafast22 Twitter handle.

Whether it was Lucky or a better FAU football team, one thing is for sure the Owls are hungry to get off to a soaring start following consecutive three win, nine loss seasons which mirrored the program in both the 2014 and 2015 seasons. Even the Owls defense looked much improved in the second half when defensive line leader Trey Hendrickson blocked a 50-yard field goal attempt by the Salukis Austin Johnson.

“I think it was huge. Our scouting report did show at times he had a low trajectory on his field goals. We thought if we didn’t catch it we’d be able to catch it in the back of the end zone and build a return off of it. Our players executed the game plan by knowing that and getting their hands up at the right time,” Coach Partridge said.

Earlier in the game, Johnson connected on a 48-yard field goal to give the Salukis their first lead 17-14 with 4:44 late in the second quarter. The Owls turned Hendrickson’s blocked field goal into a score of their own early in the final period when FAU kicker Greg Joseph booted a 40-yard field goal to take a commanding 38-24 lead. On the second play from scrimmage for the Owls offense, junior running back Buddy Howell blasted through a hole big enough to drive a Ford truck through en route to a 48-yard touchdown run to give FAU an early 7-0 lead with just 12:49 left in the first quarter. Southern Illinois answered by chomping chunks of yardage against the Owls defense in just under two minutes when Salukis running back Jonathan Mixon scored on a three-yard touchdown run to even the score 7-7. The Salukis touchdown was set-up by a 54-yard pass from quarterback Josh Straughan to wide receiver Connor Iwema deep into FAU territory. Just three offensive drives later FAU’s Howell used his speed and another giant gap to break free on an exciting 37-yard touchdown run to give FAU a 14-7 lead. One spot where the FAU defense looked really vulnerable was in their first half pass defense. On the next Salukis possession, Straughan found Billy Reed for an 11-yard touchdown. After an FAU punt, Salukis kicker Austin Johnson booted a long 48-yard field goal to give the Salukis their first lead 17-14. The lead was short lived as FAU quarterback Jason Driskel had a pass tipped by several defenders and then Tavaris Harrison came down for the rebound and outran the Salukis defense for an 85-yard touchdown reception to give the Owls another first half lead 21-17.