Bowling Green, KY (Sports Network) - Graham Wilbert threw for a pair of
touchdowns and ran for another as he guided the Florida Atlantic Owls to a
37-28 win over the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers in Sun Belt Conference play at
L.T. Smith Stadium.
Wilbert converted 23-of-36 passes for 257 yards and also chipped in with 14
net rushing yards and a score for the Owls (3-7, 2-4 Sun Belt) as they
won for the second time in the last three outings. Daniel McKinney caught four
passes for 48 yards and two TDs in the triumph.
The Hilltoppers (6-4, 3-3) were paced by Kawaun Jakes who hit on 14-of-26
passes for 169 yards and two scores, but he was also picked off three times in
the setback, the second in a row and the third in four games for the program.
Ranked first in the conference and 13th in the nation in rushing with 117.0
ypg, Antonio Andrews opened the game's scoring with a two-yard run in the
first quarter for the Hilltoppers.
FAU responded early in the second quarter when Wilbert crossed the goal line
from a yard out to knot the score at 7-7. The Owls added another touchdown
later in the frame as Wilbert hooked up with McKinney on a six-yard TD pass
play, but that was only after Jakes combined with Willie McNeal on a six-yard
TD pass for WKU which left the teams knotted at 14-14 heading into
intermission.
The only points of the third quarter came from the Owls and McKinney, who this
time reeled in a 20-yard TD pass from Wilbert.
Early in the fourth FAU kicker Mitch Anderson made the score 24-14 after
knocking through a 47-yard field goal.
Jakes brought WKU back on the next series, moving the ball 63 yards on just
four plays as he found Andrews with a 24-yard TD pass to cut the deficit to
24-21.
A flurry of action took place in the final three minutes of the fourth quarter
as Damian Fortner scored on a four-yard run for FAU, followed by a fumble
recovery by the Hilltoppers that was returned 75 yards for a touchdown by
Quanterus Smith. With just five seconds to play, the Owls put the game out of
reach when Keith Reaser returned a fumble nine yards to the end zone.
The 37 points for FAU were the most this season for a program which entered
the week ranked 115th in the country in scoring with a mere 18.2 ppg.
GAME NOTES:
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