ACCDN Video: Highlights | Mark Walton: 148 Yds, 2 TD
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (hurricanesports.com) - A big day by Mark Walton led the Miami Hurricanes to a 28-point season-opening victory over Bethune-Cookman, 41-13.
The junior running back put on a show for the 50,454 fans at Hard Rock Stadium, rushing for a game-high 148 yards and two touchdowns on the day. Saturday marked Walton's seventh-career 100-yard rushing game, tying the Miami native for ninth all-time in career 100-yard games with Tyrone Moss.
Walton scored Miami's first touchdown of the season, diving into the end zone to finish off a five-yard touchdown run that capped a nine-play, 48-yard drive to put the Canes up, 10-3, with 13:31 remaining before the half. The junior's second score came on a six-yard sprint to the left pylon, putting Miami up 31-6 just two and a half minutes into the second half.
Miami quarterback Malik Rosier had an impressive home debut, completing 17 of 28 passes for 217 yards and a career-high three touchdowns. Making just his second career start, the redshirt junior connected with Lawrence Cager and Darrell Langham for five-yard touchdowns in the first half, while finding senior Braxton Berrios for a 22-yard strike late in the third quarter that gave Miami a 25-point lead, 38-13.
Rosier made several impressive throws on the afternoon, including a 46-yard connection deep to Langham midway through the second quarter that put Miami deep in the red zone at the Bethune-Cookman eight-yard line and set the Canes up for Cager's second-career receiving touchdown.
Langham led all Miami receivers with three catches for 65 yards and a touchdown, while Cager hauled in three passes for 47 yards and a score and Berrios pulled in three catches for 35 yards and a touchdown.
Sophomore Travis Homer more than doubled his career rushing total, running for a career-high 103 yards on 11 carries to give the Hurricanes two 100-yard rushers in the same game for the first time since Walton (155) and Joe Yearby (121) on Sept. 10, 2016 against FAU. As a freshman a year ago, Homer rushed for 44 yards on seven carries.
Michael Badgley hit both of his field goal attempts on Saturday, converting from 27 and 50 yards, and added five PATs.
Defensively, Miami was active in the backfield, recording seven tackles for loss – including a sack by redshirt junior Demetrius Jackson on Bethune-Cookman's opening drive of the game that helped hold the Wildcats to a field goal.
Sophomore linebacker Shaquille Quarterman led all Hurricanes with eight total tackles (six solo), while senior defensive back Dee Delaney had seven tackles (six solo) in his Hurricanes debut.
Malek Young had a tackle for loss and snared his second career interception with 12:38 remaining in the game, picking off Wildcats quarterback, Larry Brihm, Jr., who finished the day 22-for-35 for 212 yards and an interception.
A pair of Uriel Hernandez field goals bookended 24 consecutive points by Miami in the first half, as the Hurricanes entered the locker room with an 18-point lead, 24-6.
After Walton's second rushing touchdown of the day put Miami up 31-6, Bethune-Cookman answered with a one-yard rushing touchdown by Michael Jones to cut Miami's lead to 18, 31-13.
But the Hurricanes scored 10 more points to go up 28 points, their largest lead of the day.
With the Wildcats threatening to score late in the fourth quarter, freshman Amari Carter delivered a big hit on Bethune-Cookman's Demetrius Weaver at the Hurricanes' 30-yard line to force a fumble that was recovered by Miami's Ryan Fines and secured the 28-point win for Miami.
With the victory on Saturday, Miami has won six straight games dating back to a 51-28 victory over Pitt on Nov. 5, 2016. It is the first time the Hurricanes have won six consecutive games since they won nine straight from Nov. 17 2012 through Oct. 26, 2013.
Miami is back in action next Saturday, traveling to Arkansas State for its first road trip of the 2017 season. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m., ET.