Sept. 14, 2002
Final Stats
By JOHN KEKIS
AP Sports Writer
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Walter Reyes ran for three touchdowns and R.J. Anderson found his passing touch as Syracuse routed Division I-AA Rhode Island 63-17 Saturday.
Anderson threw his first two TD passes of the season, of 87 and 29 yards to Jamel Riddle, and Damien Rhodes ran for two more scores.
Syracuse (1-2) finally found some offense after miserable performances against BYU and North Carolina, gaining 629 yards against the Rams (1-2). It was only the third time Syracuse has played a team from that lower level and the first in Paul Pasqualoni's 12 years as head coach.
Anderson, a woeful 12-for-35 for 199 yards and three interceptions in the first two games was 13-for-18 for 306 yards before being replaced by Troy Nunes late in the third quarter.
Reyes scored on runs of 1, 46 and 10 yards and Rhodes had touchdown runs of 10 and 16 yards. Reyes finished with 128 yards on 14 carries, and Riddle had five catches for 176 yards.
Anderson's performance came against the Rams' small defensive line. Left end Kyle Beck, 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds, and right end Shaka Martin, 6-2 and 226, were no match for a Syracuse line that averaged over 300 pounds.
Still, Rhode Island, which dropped to 3-19 against Division I-A teams, showed the Orangemen that it was not to be taken lightly.
Jason Ham, who led Rhode Island with 103 yards rushing, had runs of 52 and 30 yards, and freshman quarterback Jayson Davis completed passes of 47 yards to Wendall Williams, 36 yards to Mike Peterson, and 32 yards to Curtis Horne - all in the first half.
The Rams gained 332 yards on offense in the first half as the teams combined for a staggering 789 yards.
Davis was 7-for-12 for 145 yards and no interceptions and scored on a 4-yard draw play in the second quarter before being replaced by Ray Barker to start the second half.
Shane Laisle's 45-yard field goal was a career best.
Syracuse was terrible on third down in its first two games, allowing the opposition 21 first downs in 37 attempts and converting only 6 of its 21 chances. They struggled at critical moments in the first half.
Horne's long reception came on a third-and-20 play, Luther Green ran for 17 yards on a third-and-12, and Horne caught a 14-yard pass on a third-and-6 play to set up Justin Westley's 15-yard TD run with 3:15 left in the second quarter.
Latroy Oliver returned a fumble 21 yards and Darryl Kennedy scored on a 1-yard run in the fourth quarter to complete the rout.
Junior wide receiver Johnnie Morant, the Orangemen's leading receiver in the first two games with four catches for 72 yards, did not play Saturday. He was suspended for one game for violating team rules, the third time in three years he's missed a game for that reason.
