DICKINSON — The Gators defense played lights out from the first whistle and kept Dobie at bay.
The offense finally caught up to its counterpart late in the second quarter and put the Longhorns away.
Dickinson allowed just 192 yards all night, picked off two passes and sacked Dobie quarterbacks nine times. The offense then corralled 304 yards in the final 26 minutes, and Corey Thomas scored twice to power past the Longhorns, 27-17, on Friday night at Sam Vitanza Stadium for the Gators’ first victory of the season.
“The defense played outstanding from the get-go and kept us in the game,” Gators coach Warren Trahan said. “Our offense got better in the second half after some really great adjustments to take us for the win.”
Dickinson (1-1) looked lost through the first 20 minutes. The offense garnered just 46 yards, and quarterback Clay Honeycutt was sacked four times by Dobie (1-1). The Gators’ only points came thanks to a Gezim Halili field goal after a Byron Wells interception.
Then, the defense picked up the offense, and Dickinson reeled off 21 unanswered points.
Kenneth Mullins started it all when he jumped a screen pass for an interception. The senior linebacker rumbled 37 yards to the house untouched to give the Gators life with 3:43 left in the half.
“We really weren’t looking good at that point,” Mullins said. “Luckily, I was in the right place at the right time, and that just amped up our team.”
Dickinson got the ball back later after a three-and-out, and Honeycutt led an efficient two-minute drill down the field. The Texas A&M commitment completed five straight and got the benefit of a pass interference call.
Corey Thomas did the rest of the work with his first score, an 8-yard ram.
The Gators weren’t done. On their second drive of the second half, Honeycutt led a nine-play, 62-yard drive for a score.
Honeycutt completed three passes and ran for 18 yards before Thomas punched the ball in from three yards out to cap a 6:34 drive.
“The game got easier in the second half on offense because of the adjustments we made,” Thomas, who finished with 104 yards on the ground, said. “We changed our reads, our drop downs and slides and that just opened up the field for us.”
Dickinson’s defense then helped close out the game. Honeycutt, trying to get rid of the ball on screen pass, got picked off by Keon Onwuchuruba. The defensive tackle ran all the way until the Gators’ 10-yard line.
Two incompletions and a sack — Dickinson’s sixth of the second half — thwarted the threat and forced a field goal. Dobie managed just three first downs and 57 total yards in the second half.
“Man our defense was big,” Thomas said. “Without them, I don’t know where we’d be. Certainly not 1-1.”
