It was a fireworks show in Chestnut Hill to celebrate the home opener as Boston College shut out Duquesne 56-0.
Thomas Castellanos threw just 10 passes, but for 234 yards and four touchdown passes — all in the first half. After dominating on the ground against FSU, Castellanos winded up the ol’ throwing arm and threw passes of 72, 49, and 30 yards all for touchdowns and all to different receivers. Reed Harris, Lewis Bond, and Treshaun Ward were on the receiving ends of those. It was a magnificent display.
The Eagles did get off to a sloppy start after a short week and some classic travel headaches. The offense started with a quick three and out, and even committed a penalty on a shanked punt. But the defense quickly came to the rescue. They forced an immediate three and out — a harbinger of things to come — and gave the offense a chance to reset. Ward opened up the scoring on the ground after Bond had a beautiful run after catch for 29 yards. He would lead the team in receiving with five receptions and 98 yards.
With the Eagles two scores up, the defense just continued to keep making plays. Pristine tackling and a solid level of physicality, it was about as good of an outing as you can hope for and way to build on last week’s performance. DB Khari Johnson picked off the Dukes quarterback and with a few timely blocks found the end zone early in the second quarter. Coach O’Brien needed to call one early timeout to keep his team focused, and the defense simply would not relent. Nickel Ryan Turner played tight coverage while Cam Horsley and the defensive front gave no room for Duquesne to breath. Castellanos would take the field again and find Kamari Morales for a short score. Before you knew it, it was 42-0 and Mr. Brightside was sung through the air.
Jalen Cheek picked things up in the second half with an interception on the second play and from there it was redshirt freshman quarterback Jacobe Robinson taking the field. He got off to a shaky start and ended up getting stripped on his first pass attempt. But again the defense held tough and maintained the shutout on a missed field goal. Datrell Jones ran one out from 47 to keep BC going. The Eagles would start winding down the clock with run after run from there one, but one more score was in the cards. Robinson found the end zone and capped off the big win.
Shout out to all the students and fans completely filled out that lower bowl and even much of the upper. The sea of gold popped on screen and you could feel the positive vibes in Alumni.
We’re on to Missouri.