University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
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Southern Illinois
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UMass Football Drops Home Opener To Southern Illinois
September 07, 2019 | Football
Three Minutemen record first touchdowns in loss
"The most important thing I want our guys to know is that no matter what happens, we love our guys and we're going to continue to pour our heart and soul into these kids," head coach Walt Bell said. "Early in the football game we had a really simple plan to eliminate as many mistakes as we could, but offensively we found every possible way to shoot ourselves in the foot.
"We need to continue to improve," Bell said. "It's my responsibility as the head football coach to make sure days like this don't happen, and one just happened. It's important that everybody in this program, most importantly myself, is introspective, and when we look in the mirror, we're all doing everything required to be a good football team. There's still zero doubt in my mind that this [team] is going to be good."
Randall West started at quarterback and went 9-for-17 with 125 yards passing and an interception. Andrew Brito substituted into the lineup under center and was 6-of-10 for 73 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Bilal Ally led the UMass ground game with 87 yards on 16 carries, an average of 5.4 per rushing attempt. Kevin Brown finished with 37 yards over 10 carries, including his first collegiate touchdown.
Zak Simon had 60 yards on two receptions while Samuel Emilus posted three catches for 50 yards. Taylor Edwards nabbed a touchdown catch, the first of his career. He was one of four players with their first touchdown plays alongside Brown and West notching their first rushing scores and Brito's inaugural TD pass.
Cole McCubrey provided a team-best 11 tackles while Jake Byczko added nine and Jarvis Miller followed with eight. McCubrey also forced a fumble and broke up one pass while the trio combined for 3.0 of the team's 9.0 TFLs.
After SIU's opening drive ended with an 18-yard punt that set the Minutemen up at the Salukis' 25-yard line, West found the endzone on a four-yard scramble when he vaulted over the SIU defense and inside the right pylon for a 6-0 lead.
SIU posted two scores in the beginning of the second quarter for a 10-7 lead via a Javon Williams, Jr., 85-yard touchdown catch and Griffin Cerra 39-yard field goal before the Minutemen jumped back in front.
Brown, a true-freshman, closed out a six-play, 65-yard series with a two-yard touchdown run where Brown bull-rushed his way through the SIU defensive line for the score.
The Salukis closed out the first half with a 32-yard D.J. Davis touchdown catch with only eight seconds to play in the second quarter for a 17-13 lead. They followed with the next three scores of the game to extend their lead to 45-13 and put the contest out of reach.
Stone Labanowitz led SIU at quarterback with 265 yards passing and four touchdowns on a 19-for-26 outing. Williams, Jr. topped the SIU offense with 103 yards receiving on three receptions as one of four Salukis with touchdown catches. He also had both of the teams' rushing TDs. Qua Brown led the Salukis' defensive effort with 14 tackles.
Massachusetts heads back on the road for a trip to Charlotte, North Carolina, on Sat., Sept. 14 for a 6 p.m. game at Charlotte. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
Follow University of Massachusetts football on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook (@UMassFootball).
Team Stats
SIU 0, UMASS 6
UMASS - WEST, Randall 4 yd run (GARCIA, Cooper kickfailed), 8 plays, 25 yards, TOP 2:23
SIU 7, UMASS 6
SIU - Williams Jr., J 85 yd pass from Labanowitz, Sto (Cerra, Griffin kick) 1 plays, 85 yards, TOP 0:12
SIU 10, UMASS 6
SIU - Cerra, Griffin 39 yd field goal 7 plays, 11 yards, TOP 2:42
SIU 10, UMASS 13
UMASS - BROWN, Kevin 2 yd run (GARCIA, Cooper kick), 6 plays, 65 yards, TOP 1:53
SIU 17, UMASS 13
SIU - Davis, D.J. 32 yd pass from Labanowitz, Sto (Cerra, Griffin kick) 7 plays, 75 yards, TOP 1:18
SIU 24, UMASS 13
SIU - Williams Jr., J 64 yd run (Cerra, Griffin kick), 1 plays, 59 yards, TOP 0:14
SIU 31, UMASS 13
SIU - Williams Jr., J 3 yd run (Cerra, Griffin kick), 6 plays, 25 yards, TOP 3:02
SIU 38, UMASS 13
SIU - Kilby, Nigel 13 yd pass from Labanowitz, Sto (Cerra, Griffin kick) 5 plays, 50 yards, TOP 2:49
SIU 45, UMASS 13
SIU - Elliott, Romeir 3 yd pass from Labanowitz, Sto (Cerra, Griffin kick) 9 plays, 58 yards, TOP 5:33
SIU 45, UMASS 20
UMASS - EDWARDS, Taylor 7 yd pass from BRITO, Andrew (GARCIA, Cooper kick) 13 plays, 81 yards, TOP 4:51
