Temple runs over Kent State, 47-13

After running away from Kent State Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field, 47-13, the players on the Temple football team could be heard in their locker room giving voice to the song made popular in Philadelphia by the late Harry Kalas.

"We've got high hopes, we've got high hopes," the Owls sang as they emulated the longtime Phillies broadcaster.

The Owls had just won their ninth consecutive game in front of an announced crowd of 21,046, giving them the longest one-season victory streak in school history. And they remained atop the Mid-American Conference East Division after improving to 9-2 overall and 7-0 in the league. Kent State is 5-6 and 4-3 in the MAC.

On Friday, Temple will visit Ohio (8-3, 6-1) with the division championship on the line. If the Bobcats win, the head-to-head tiebreaker would be in their favor and the title would belong to Ohio.

"We have to have a good week of practice, and stay in the process," said Owls safety Dominique Harris, who was one of the mainstays as Temple improved year-by-year from 1-11 in 2006.

A blemish on the day for Temple was a shoulder injury suffered by running back Bernard Pierce, who left the game after the Owls' first offensive series and did not return. After the game, Temple coach Al Golden said the freshman star's injury may be "fairly significant." Further tests on the 1,000-yard rusher are expected.

Pierce is half of Temple's "Bernie and the Bug" running-back combination. With Pierce out, "the Bug" - 5-foot-5, 167-pound Matt Brown - took advantage of the opportunity to be the Owls' primary runner.

Kent State led 10-9 at halftime, but Owls kicker Brandon McManus put Temple ahead to stay, 12-10, with a 28-yard field goal with 10 minutes, 41 seconds left in the third quarter.

That's when Brown broke a 71-yard touchdown run that gave Temple a 19-10 advantage. He finished with 156 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries in the Owls' home finale.

"I felt like I had a big role to fill," Brown said. "Bernard is one of the best running backs in the country. I just knew I had to pick up where he left off."

Kee-Ayre Griffin, recently moved from running back to defensive back to make room for Brown, added to Temple's lead when he picked off a pass and went 36 yards to give the Owls a 26-10 advantage with under seven minutes left in the third period.

The Owls were ahead, 33-10, going into the fourth quarter and wide receiver Delano Green's 52-yard punt return at the beginning of the period made it 39-10. About four minutes later, Green scored again on a 50-yard run off a reverse.

After reeling off 49 unanswered points last week in a 56-17 rout of host Akron, Temple put together a string of 34 straight points yesterday.

"The thing I'm pleased about is that we're getting them from a variety of sources," Golden said about his team's big plays.

Before the opening kickoff of the home finale, 16 senior Owls were recognized along with family members.

Notes. Temple's school-record for consecutive wins is the 14 in a row they put together by taking their last eight in 1973, and their first six in 1974. . . . Harvey Pollack, long-time 76ers' statistician, completed his 64th year of working Temple football home games. The 87-year-old Pollack has been doing Owls' basketball at his alma-mater for just as long.

Contact staff writer Kevin Tatum at 215-854-2583 or ktatum@phillynews.com.