Florida Atlantic football left no doubt in its home opener Saturday night, coming back to Boca Raton with the same goal they left it with: winning.

Quarterback Caden Veltkamp’s five-touchdown performance and receptions from Easton Messer, Dominique Henry, Asaad Waseem, and Lawrence Johnson all heavily contributed to the Owls’ success last night. Zach Kittley also recorded his first win as a head coach.

“I just want to say a huge thanks to our whole fan base, the student section was awesome,” said Kittley in last night’s post-game press conference. “What a great start for us here, they create a lot of energy and give us the home-field advantage.”

The Owls (1-1) exploded for 22 points in the first quarter and carried a 39-0 lead into halftime, setting the tone early against the Rattlers (0-2).

Veltkamp, who bounced back from a shaky opener against Maryland on Aug. 30, completed 27 of 39 passes for 309 yards and five scores. He connected with Dom Henry for a 24-yard strike on FAU’s opening possession, then capped the quarter with a 12-yard touchdown to Asaad Waseem. 

In between, special teams delivered when Lawrence Johnson returned a blocked punt for a touchdown; this is the first time a special-teams player has blocked a punt to score since 2019.

“Any time you can score on special teams, your winning percentage goes up 70% or something like that, and so we’re going to continue to make that emphasis,” said special teams coordinator Tyler Schovanec. “It’s been interesting since I got the job. It’s a huge part of the game.”

In the second quarter, Veltkamp added two more scoring throws, a 14-yard pass to Jayshon Platt and a 3-yard toss to Henry, while kicker Garrison Smith converted a 29-yard field goal.

Florida A&M finally answered in the third, as quarterback RJ Johnson III found Jamar Taylor for a 27-yard touchdown pass. Johnson later connected with Jordan Edwards on a 65-yard strike in the fourth quarter to highlight the Rattlers’ offense. Johnson finished with 222 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.

“That was probably my biggest frustration from the game, is how we started the third quarter,” said Kittley. “I wanted to go, put the one offense back out there for one more drive to go score. And unfortunately, we just didn’t execute at the highest level those first two drives there.”

The Owls closed it out in the final quarter with Waseem recovered his own fumble in the end zone for a touchdown. Kaden Shields-Dutton punched in a 1-yard score on the ground, and Smith drilled a 48-yard field goal.

FAU’s offense piled up 553 total yards, including 193 rushing yards led by Gemari Sands’ 83. The Owls’ defense held FAMU to 74 rushing yards and forced six punts.

Florida A&M was led defensively by Jason Riles Jr., who tallied 11 tackles, while Antonio Camon added a sack.

FAU will look to carry momentum into the Shula Bowl next Saturday, Sept. 13 when they travel to Pitbull Stadium to face the FIU Panthers. 

Angelina Martell is the Sports Editor for the University Press. Email her at amartell2023@fau.edu or contact her on Instagram @angieemartell for information regarding this or other stories.