Saturday, September 28
Rice Stadium
6 PM
Rice University
1-4 , 0-2
20
vs
21
Charlotte
2-3 , 1-0
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Charlotte
0
0
14
7
21
Rice
0
10
0
10
20
Photo by: Maria Lysaker - Rice Athletics
Charlotte Rallies and Holds Off Rice
9/28/2024 11:27:00 PM | Football
Owls fall 21-20
Houston-Dean Connors ran for a season-high 121 yard and E.J. Warner threw for a pair of touchdowns, but Rice's hopes for a walk-off win were dashed when Enock Gota's 40-yard field goal attempt was wide to the left as time ran out as Charlotte downed the Owls 21-20 at Rice Stadium on Saturday night.
The Details: Rice rolled up 207 yards in the first half while limiting the 49ers to 66 to take a 10-0 lead at halftime. After a scoreless first quarter, the Owls broke through early in the second quarter when Warner connected with Quinton Jackson on a 13-yard scoring pass, the first touchdown of Jackson's career. Gota added a 32-yard field goal near the end of the quarter to complete the first half scoring. After making a change at quarterback to start the second half, Charlotte scored on its first two possessions to move in front 14-10. The Owls answered right back, marching 75 yards in seven plays to retake the lead, with tight end Elijah Mojarro responsible for 66 of them. His 25-yard reception converted a third and ten to move the ball to midfield and then he opened the fourth quarter by covering the final 41 yards shaking off multiple tacklers to reach the end zone for the first time in his career. The Owls got the ball right back and moved 48 yards to extend their lead to 20-14 on a 25-yard field goal by Gota and after forcing a 49ers punt with 2:24 left, looked to run out the clock. But Charlotte forced a punt and took over at its 23 with 1:45 left and flipped the field with a 66-yard completion. The 49ers took the retook the lead with 47 seconds left, but Warner swiftly moved the Owls into field goal position, scrambling twice for 16 yards and completing a pair of passes for 47 more, to set up Gota's final attempt.
Up Next: Rice will return to action in two weeks when the Owls host UTSA at Rice Stadium on October 12. Kickoff time will be announced by the AAC on Monday.
Notes
Team
The Details: Rice rolled up 207 yards in the first half while limiting the 49ers to 66 to take a 10-0 lead at halftime. After a scoreless first quarter, the Owls broke through early in the second quarter when Warner connected with Quinton Jackson on a 13-yard scoring pass, the first touchdown of Jackson's career. Gota added a 32-yard field goal near the end of the quarter to complete the first half scoring. After making a change at quarterback to start the second half, Charlotte scored on its first two possessions to move in front 14-10. The Owls answered right back, marching 75 yards in seven plays to retake the lead, with tight end Elijah Mojarro responsible for 66 of them. His 25-yard reception converted a third and ten to move the ball to midfield and then he opened the fourth quarter by covering the final 41 yards shaking off multiple tacklers to reach the end zone for the first time in his career. The Owls got the ball right back and moved 48 yards to extend their lead to 20-14 on a 25-yard field goal by Gota and after forcing a 49ers punt with 2:24 left, looked to run out the clock. But Charlotte forced a punt and took over at its 23 with 1:45 left and flipped the field with a 66-yard completion. The 49ers took the retook the lead with 47 seconds left, but Warner swiftly moved the Owls into field goal position, scrambling twice for 16 yards and completing a pair of passes for 47 more, to set up Gota's final attempt.
Up Next: Rice will return to action in two weeks when the Owls host UTSA at Rice Stadium on October 12. Kickoff time will be announced by the AAC on Monday.
Notes
Team
- Charlotte evened the series at 3-3 with the win.
- The Owls finished the night with seven tackles for loss, their most in a conference game since they had seven vs. East Carolina in their AAC home debut last season.
- Dean Connors'121 yards were a season-high and marked the fourth time in his career (second this season) when he has topped 100 yards rushing. He has rushed for 305 yards in his last two games vs. Charlotte.
- Connors' 135 all-purpose yards put him over 1,900 for his career.
- In addition to scoring his first career touchdown, Mojarro set career highs with four receptions, 73 receiving yards, while his 41-yard TD catch was the longest reception of his career.
- Matt Sykes set career-highs with seven receptions and 97 yards receiving.
- Warner finished with 259 yards passing and moved past 7,000 yards in his career.
- His two touchdown passes give him 35 in AAC play, the most for any active AAC quarterback since 2022.
- Josh Pearcy tied a career-high with two sacks. He has 3.5 sacks this year and 16.5 in his career, which moved him past John Syptak (2002-05) for fifth-place in school history.
- He also set a career-high with 2.5 tackles for loss.
- DL Joseph Mutombo recorded his first career interception with 7:28 remaining in the second quarter and added his first career sack in the second quarter and added a second tackle for loss in the game.
Team Stats
CHA
RIC
Total Yards
304
463
Pass Yards
237
254
Rushing Yards
67
209
Penalty Yards
66
44
1st Downs
17
23
3rd Downs
5
8
4th Downs
0
0
TOP
29:59
30:01
2nd Quarter
CHA 0, RIC 7
RIC - Jackson,Quinton 13 yd pass from Warner,E.J. (Gota,Enock kick) 8 plays, 80 yards, TOP 03:27
CHA 0, RIC 10
RIC - Gota,Enock 32 yd field goal 10 plays, 24 yards, TOP 03:38
3rd Quarter
CHA 7, RIC 10
CHA - Blake,O'Mega 32 yd pass from Purdie,Deshawn (Rusnak,Stephen kick) 5 plays, 66 yards, TOP 02:09
CHA 14, RIC 10
CHA - Blake,O'Mega 45 yd pass from Purdie,Deshawn (Rusnak,Stephen kick) 10 plays, 84 yards, TOP 05:16
4th Quarter
CHA 14, RIC 17
RIC - Mojarro,Elijah 41 yd pass from Warner,E.J. (Gota,Enock kick) 7 plays, 75 yards, TOP 02:52
CHA 14, RIC 20
RIC - Gota,Enock 25 yd field goal 13 plays, 48 yards, TOP 05:24
CHA 21, RIC 20
CHA - Wilson,Hahsaun 1 yd run (Rusnak,Stephen kick), 7 plays, 77 yards, TOP 00:58
Game Leaders
CMP
22
TD
2
YDS
254
INT
0
Players Mentioned
RB
/ Football
K
/ Football
RB
/ Football
TE
/ Football
DL
/ Football
OLB
/ Football
WR
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