Football takes down Stetson

Toreros extend home PFL win streak to 31 games in 49-10 romp over Hatters

Anderson Haigler/Sports Editor/The USD Vista

The last time the University of San Diego football team lost a home conference game, most of the players on their current roster were in middle school. The iPhone 4 was the latest and greatest from Apple, and USD’s Fowler Park had not yet been constructed. Yes, the Toreros’ home Pioneer Football League (PFL) streak runs that deep. It’s been nearly eight years — since Oct. 9, 2010 to be exact —  since Dayton University edged USD by one point at Torero Stadium. At the time of that defeat, redshirt senior quarterback Anthony Lawrence was 14 years old.

“I think I was in eighth grade,” Lawrence said. “Probably playing Pac-Man or something on Playstation 2.”

Since then, the Toreros have notched 31 consecutive PFL wins at home, earning multiple conference titles along the way, and this year’s crop of players has no intention of letting their program’s run of success end. 

Last Saturday, they extended their streak, and did so in emphatic fashion, beating the Stetson University Hatters by a score of 49-10.

USD took down the Hatters with an aerial assault, stacking up 438 passing yards on offense behind a four-touchdown performance from Lawrence. Masterful as he has been nearly all season so far, Lawrence got things started early in the first quarter with a quick 11-yard pass to senior wide receiver Christian Brooks. Eleven minutes later, Lawrence added on to his team’s lead  by himself, ducking into the end zone with a one yard quarterback keeper to make the score 14-0 in favor of the Toreros.

As the second quarter unfolded, Lawrence began to open things up a bit. A deep, 25-yard strike to Brooks once again kept the Toreros moving downfield before sophomore running back Terrence Smith punched his way through the Hatter defense for a 10-yard touchdown run. Up three scores before halftime, the Toreros showed no signs of letting up. Smith broke free for the second time on USD’s following drive, sprinting 37 yards to make the score 28-0 with 4:05 to play in the half. Though Stetson would go on to score in the final seconds of the second quarter, it became clear just halfway through the game that the Toreros were in control. Lawrence found junior wide receiver Michael Bandy twice in the third quarter, teaming up for two scores and 36 yards in the span of just five minutes. 

The ease with which Lawrence completed passes to Bandy and the rest of his receivers underscored something that was on display all game for USD: precise throws from their quarterback and an ability from their receivers to come down with the ball in tough one-on-one matchups deep downfield. On several occasions, including his 36-yard touchdown pass to Bandy, Lawrence targeted his receivers in 50-50 situations, ones where either his teammate or the defender might have an equal chance of catching the ball. On Saturday, it seemed like the odds were much more in favor of the Toreros in those instances, and perhaps a 90-10 probability split would have been more accurate as Lawrence dropped perfectly-placed passes into his receivers’ hands seemingly at will. He spoke about the trust he has in his receivers after the game.

“More often than not (the passes) are coming down,” Lawrence said. “(Stetson) had a couple of really good athletes, really good corners, but I know my receivers and tight ends are gonna compete with anyone, so I feel good throwing the ball to any of them.”

The confidence Lawrence has in his teammates is mutual. Bandy, who owned one of several spectacular catches last weekend by the Torero offense, stated that he has 100 percent faith in his quarterback and his passing abilities.

“It definitely shows that he knows where to put them and we know how to catch them,” Bandy said.

USD’s success on offense, however, was not limited to deep passes. The Toreros were a model of offensive success and efficiency in all facets of their game, and posted up 174 rushing yards to complement their 438 passing yards, averaging 5.8 yards a carry and 13.3 yards per attempt. This sense of efficiency was present even late in the game, as the Toreros put the finishing touches on their victory behind a field goal and yet another touchdown pass in the fourth quarter. 

USD football head coach Daley Lindsey assessed his team’s offensive execution.

“I think we passed a lot better than we ran,” Lindsey said. “We did get the job done running the ball on the perimeter, which is what we’re gonna have to do, because people aren’t gonna let us run inside like we’ve done for the last five years.”

Lindsey was impressed with both Lawrence, and his team’s wide receivers.

“Anthony was extremely hot today,” Lindsey said. “I thought our receivers did a fabulous job with pulling down balls, and to go up for contested balls, and managing to hold on after they hit the ground.”

However, the sixth-year head coach expressed surprise in just how effective his receiving corps was able to be.

“We know Anthony is gonna do that,” Lindsey said. “We didn’t know our receivers and tight ends could do that.” 

When the dust settled and time expired on USD’s sunny Saturday afternoon offering, the Toreros were 49-10 victors. Though the game was filled with positives for USD, Lindsey still identified room for improvement in his squad, namely in the way of penalties. The Toreros were penalized nine times, costing them 117 total yards. 

“I thought it was the one negative from the whole ball game,” Lindsey said. “The kids played really good, but we had too many 15-yard major penalties on both sides of the ball that just weren’t smart football. Had it been a closer game, it could’ve made a difference.”

Leading up to their game against Stetson, the Toreros enjoyed a bye week after completing a two-week road stint that saw the team go 0-2 against UC Davis and Harvard, two formidable non-conference opponents. Lindsey explained the impact that the off week, as well as being back home had on his team.

“I think those two games showed us that we can play with almost anybody,” Lindsey said.

Despite that sentiment, Lindsey stated that his team may have been a bit overworked after a loss to Harvard that preceded the bye week.

“I thought we practiced too long, I thought we worked them too hard,” Lindsey said. 

His remedy for a winless road slate of games? Less practice.

“Last week, we cut practice back by 30 to 40 minutes,” Lindsey said. “We wanted it faster, we wanted good players versus good players, because that’s how the game’s played. The result is what you saw today. That is the result of 90 guys taking it on their shoulders to get better, and they did a good job today.”

Bandy spoke about what his team took away from their bye week and adjusted practice schedule.

“With the bye week last week we definitely picked it up and learned how to connect with each other, Anthony, and all the receivers and spread the ball around,” Bandy said. “I think we really had to come back and look deeper in ourselves and find who we are as a team, and we showed it on the field today. We’re a hard- hitting team who wants to win.”

The wide receiver mentioned that an increase in leadership may have contributed to the Toreros’ success.

“I think leadership stepped up this week and last week, and it definitely showed,” Bandy said.

For Lawrence, the time off was important simply so he and his teammates could let their bodies recover from a difficult stretch of games. 

“It was nice having that week off after two really really tough games,” Lawrence said. “To be able to have that week off and have everybody kind of get their bodies back, get their legs back, it’s great.”

Lindsey’s less-is-more approach clearly paid off. In doing so, his team extended their lengthy PFL home win streak to 31 games. Bandy spoke about what that streak means to him and his teammates, adding that he and his teammates don’t want to be the class that lets the streak end.

“Definitely not,” Bandy said. “We’re gonna keep it going, all the way, as long as possible.”

Lawrence weighed in on the significance of the streak.

“It’s definitely a lot of pressure,” Lawrence said. “But our coaches stress — just play our game and do our thing, and if we go out there disciplined and execute, we’ll handle any game.”

The victory moves the Toreros to 2-2 (1-0 PFL) on the year. Next weekend they travel to take on Morehead State (1-3, 0-1 PFL). They return home Oct. 13 at 2 p.m. for their Homecoming game.