Nov. 17, 2007

Box Score

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - For senior quarterback Chris Horton and the 12 other seniors on the JU football team, it was a bittersweet ending to their final season.

Horton broke the JU (3-8) school record for passing yards, throwing for 417 and two touchdowns, but it was not enough as Wagner held on for a 41-27 win at D.B. Milne Field on Saturday.

The outing for Horton marked the second-highest total in school history, behind his 450 yards against Morehead State. His final completion, a 53-yard toss to Nate Conner, pushed him past Mike Sturgill atop the school record for passing yards, giving him 4,868 for his career.

Wagner (7-4) got 295 yards on the ground, with 238 coming from Jason Butler on 32 carries with two touchdowns.

"You have to give credit to Wagner for the way they came out and took it to us today," said JU head coach Kerwin Bell. "I feel for our seniors because I wanted them to go out with a win and they all played a good game today."

Horton's effort was helped by stellar days from fellow senior Nate Conner and junior Geavon Tribble. Conner recorded a career-high 213 yards and his 13th career touchdown on eight receptions, pushing him past the 1,000 career receiving yards - becoming just the eighth Dolphin to do so.

Tribble had nine catches for 109 yards and one touchdown.

"It's great to break the record, but it is disappointing that we didn't win today," Horton said. "We (the seniors) have worked hard all year and it's disappointing to finish the season like this."

The Seahawks rallied from a 20-17 halftime deficit by outscoring the Dolphins 24-7 in the second half with a steady rushing attack and timely passing.

Quarterback Matt Abbey opened the second half with a 20-yard touchdown to Lon Woods to put the Seahawks on top 24-20.

Parker's run put Wagner ahead 31-20 and Piotr Czech extended the lead to 14 on a 50-yard field goal with 8:34 left in the fourth quarter.

The Dolphins answered with Horton hooking up with Jenner on a 21-yard touchdown to pull JU within seven, 34-27, with 4:30 remaining.

But Wagner went back to Butler and he found the endzone for the final time with 1:11 left to put the Dolphins away for good.

The Dolphins put 515 yards of total offense, but it wasn't enough as Wagner racked up 562 yards while holding the ball for 46:25.

The two teams got into a scoring contest in the first half, with each team scoring two touchdowns in the first quarter and JU taking a 20-17 lead into the intermission.

The Dolphins scored on their opening drive as Conner hooked up with Horton on a 64-yard touchdown to take a 6-0 lead after a missed extra point.

The Seahawks answered with a 24-yard touchdown run by Butler to take a 7-6 lead. JU came right back with Rudell Small scoring on a 5-yard run to put the Dolphins back on top 13-7.

Wagner counted with a 4-yard run by Parker to take a 14-13 lead and extended it to 17-13 when Czech connected on a 25-yard field goal.

The Dolphins took the lead at the intermission as Ron Harris ran in from 2-yards out.