Halftime Hash Marks: Recapping Florida football’s dominant 1st half vs. EWU
The first half of football from Ben Hill Griffin Stadium has wrapped up as the Florida Gators head to the locker room with a 35-3 lead over the visiting Eastern Washington Eagles. While the home team did not exactly look particularly spectacular in all aspects of the game, there was enough left on the field to have the UF faithful feeling good in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.
Despite some early stumbles on defense — which resulted in only three points but could have been much more — the Orange and Blue finally settled in and showed the talent difference between an FCS and Power Five school. Still, it was not quite the complete domination one would hope to see.
Take a look below at a breakdown of the first half of football between Florida and Eastern Washington, told in chronological fashion as the Gators Nation follows along with its beloved gridiron gang.
The opening series on defense was far from impressive
Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun
The visitors got on the board with a field goal, but it could have been worse had the Gators not come up with a pair of sacks to push things to third-and-22. Despite ultimately forcing the three-point conversion, the defense looked less bend and more break, which resulted in an early lead for Florida’s FCS opponent.
The Gators struck back big time
Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun
On the first play from scrimmage after the kickoff, quarterback [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] tossed a long 75-yard bomb to [autotag]Justin Shorter[/autotag] for a rare big play for the offense this season. After a momentum-building start for the Eagles, the Gators were able to quickly deflate those gains with a lethal strike from a potent passing combination.
Eastern Washington got right back up
Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun
Quarterback Gunner Talkington kept pushing his team forward down the field with timely passing as well as gritty play by his running back corps. His team managed to get deep into Gators territory during its second possession but a fourth down stop on an option play gave the home team the ball back.
Richardson then stepped up and took over for Florida again
Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun
After his big-time bomb to open the first possession on offense, he scrambled for big yardage to start the second possession — and he was not done there. He found tight end [autotag]Keon Zipperer[/autotag] for another long pass reception which set up a [autotag]Montrell Johnson[/autotag] Jr. touchdown run.
The defense finally came through with confidence
Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun
As the first half bridged over to the second, the Gators’ defense finally stopped the Eagles from entering their territory. After that, however, there was a moment the Gator Nation held its collective breath during the following series.
Florida's quarterback goes down with an injury
Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun
Eluding pressure in the pocket, Richardson took a hit while tossing a near-completion to the sideline after exhausting all options. He came up lame and sat out, opening the door for a greenhorn backup quarterback to take over under center.
... which gave us Jalen Kitna time!
UAA Communications/Tim Casey
And what do you know? Kitna tossed a deep bomb of his own, this one to wide receiver [autotag]Ricky Pearsall[/autotag] en route to an eventual touchdown for the Orange and Blue. If anything, his play should assuage the fears of the fanbase that the Gators might be a bit too thin behind their star starting quarterback.
Richardson returned to lead the Gators to their third score
Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun
After Kitna pushed the team into the red zone, Richardson returned after being taped up in the medical tent and looked fine as he handed the ball off to running back [autotag]Nay’Quan Wright[/autotag] for the rushing touchdown.
The defense got things figured out in the second quarter
Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun
In a 180-degree turn, Florida’s defensive corps was able to bend far more than break, holding its opponent outside of its territory and off the scoreboard for the remainder of the half — with the exception of a deep drive that resulted in a near interception on a fourth down incompletion.
Big plays continued to be a major part of the Gators' attack
Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun
A 76-yard reverse play to Pearsall tacked another touchdown on the board for the home team and the rout was officially on, as the Gators pushed the score to 28-3 with under six minutes remaining in the half. Then another long throw to Trent Whittemore set up score No. 5 – a 21-yard touchdown pass from Richardson to wide receiver [autotag]Xzavier Henderson[/autotag] to provide the halftime tally.
Overview
Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun
Overall, it was a successful first 30 minutes of play for Billy Napier’s boys in a game that this team really needed as a tune-up with the remaining Southeastern Conference schedule ahead. Sure, there are still some warts and wrinkles in their game, but the Gators looked like they should against a far more inferior opponent on Sunday. Florida fans have plenty to feel good about going into the half.
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