The game was dominated by turnovers during the first half, most of them going in favor of Temple (1-2, 1-0 Region 5-AA).
The Tigers used their speed out of the wildcat formation to gain the advantage over Jordan (0-3, 0-1), but it was their passing game that accounted for two of the three touchdowns. The rushing attack was led by Myles Simmons, who had 16 carries for 125 yards.
The game began with a pair of fumbles by the Tigers — the second of which was recovered by Jordan deep in their own territory. The Red Jackets’ drive was stopped after an interception by Temple’s Trevor Shell. His interception would lead to the Tigers’ first score of the night, which came on a 28-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Elijah McFarland to Shell.
Temple forced another turnover moments later on the ensuing kickoff, as the Red Jackets fumbled the ball on their side of the field. The Tigers were able to score again on a 25-yard field goal by Thristian Jackson.
Jordan looked poised to score as it entered the red zone, but the Tiger defense stepped up in a big way.
Temple’s Kordell Parson broke up two of the Red Jackets’ pass attempts in the red zone, one of which he tore the ball from the receiver’s hands in the end zone. As time expired in the first half, Jordan’s quarterback had an opportunity to put his team on the board, but he was hit hard on the one-yard line and fumbled the ball over to the Tigers.
The Tigers kicked off the second half and Jordan’s opening drive ended again on the one-yard-line, as Temple’s defense stood firm. Jordan was able to score after a safety was called on a botched punt attempt by the Tigers, bringing about its first points of the night.
The Red Jackets took the following drive in for another score on a four-yard run and were successful on the two-point conversion, bringing the score to 10-10.
On their next drive, the Tigers scored on a huge, 40-yard pass from McFarland to Parson. Jordan returned the favor by scoring on the first play of the next drive, but failed on a two-point conversion attempt.
The Tigers were able to put Jordan away with a touchdown run by Simmons with just over one minute left in the game. Simmons, however, was ejected late in the fourth quarter, which could have devastating implications to the Tiger offense in their next game.
“We were fortunate to win with all the mistakes we made,” said Temple coach Seth Rogers, whose team amassed more than 15 penalties during the game. “Through the adversity we’ve faced this week with a lot of kids out ... it was a big win for us.”
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