“Don’t cover the Rhode Island game,” they said. “It’ll be a blowout,” they said. “There won’t be anything to write about,” they said.
After being around this team all of last season, I knew better.
Words cannot describe what happened in the Carrier Dome earlier this evening. In what was supposed to be (and was) an easy win for the Orange against Rhode Island, so many storylines opened up. 47-0 was the final score, and along the way there were four turnovers in the first four minutes, a pick-6, a punt return for a touchdown and a safety. All of this happened, but none of it is what anybody will be talking about tomorrow morning. That spot is reserved for Terrel Hunt.
Hunt left the game in the first quarter with a lower body injury. He had to be carried off the field by trainers, and left for the locker room on crutches. He wasn’t able to put any pressure on his right leg. Scott Shafer said in the post-game interview Hunt had injured his achilles and “it’s not good.” You could hear the melancholy in his voice.
“It crushed me,” said sophomore Zaire Franklin when asked about hearing of Hunt’s injury. “It was hard for me to get back into [the game].”
Erv Phillips also went out of the game for the second half with a lower body injury, but Coach Shafer said he should be fine. Devante McFarlane, who was set to be the Orange’s starting running back, didn’t get a touch. Shafer said his sitting was simply precaution, and he’ll be ready for Wake Forest next week.
Hunt’s injury put true freshman Eric Dungey in the game. You have to remember that Dungey wasn’t going up against the best competition, but he was still impressive. He navigated the pocket well, made some good throws, and even scrambled when needed. At the end of the day, Dungey went 10-17 with 114 yards and two touchdowns. He said support from his teammates helped him:
“They had more faith in me than I had in me,” he said. “They were so supportive of me… It took the pressure off me.”
Dungey wasn’t the only true freshman turning heads, though. Jordan Fredericks picked up a majority of the touches from the backfield, and ended up with 14 carries for 103 yards and a touchdown. He had a 31-yard run in the first half, and broke three tackles on the way to his 15-yard touchdown run in the second half. When asked about it after the game, Fredericks said, “I had no idea that would be the turnout, but I’m truly grateful for what I’ve done tonight, and I just wanna thank my o-linemen.”
We’ll hear more about Hunt’s injury soon, and Orange Fizz will have all the coverage. Follow us @OrangeFizz to stay up-to-date on SU sports news.
Posted: Nathan Dickinson
