After the Syracuse football team’s 41-7 victory over Temple, SU head coach Paul Pasqualoni stood on his press conference podium, still drenched from a late-game ice bath.

‘I’m soaked,’ Pasqualoni said. ‘I’m worried I’ll show up with pneumonia on Monday.’

Sick or not, Pasqualoni will be a little different after this weekend. Pasqualoni won his 100th game at Syracuse. Pasqualoni, who trails only Ben Schwartzwalder’s 153 SU wins on the all-time list, has compiled a 100-53-1 record in his 13 years at SU.

Afterward, players presented Pasqualoni the game ball.

‘Got to,’ quarterback R.J. Anderson said. ‘Everybody harasses that guy. He’s the best all-around coach. He takes all the blame, and he does what he has to do. He coaches offense, he coaches defense and he coaches special teams. Not many coaches in Division I-A do that.’

After tight ends Joe Donnelly and Lenny Cusumano doused Pasqualoni, Anderson was one of the first players to shake Pasqualoni’s hand.

‘We didn’t always have the greatest relationship early on, but the last couple years he’s like a father figure for me,’ Anderson said. ‘I just thanked him and congratulated him.’

‘It’s an honor for me to coach with Coach P because of the type of human being, what he puts into the game,’ offensive coordinator George DeLeone said. ‘No one has put more into football than Coach P.’

While others heaped praise on him, Pasqualoni deflected it.

‘I’ve had the good fortune of being around a lot of great players here,’ Pasqualoni said. ‘Great players win games. That’s something I really believe. I look at it in the context that I’m very lucky to be here and to be around the kids, the coaches, the sports staff, the institution that this is.’

Second chance

Maybe now Joe Kowalewski can get sleep.

Six weeks ago, Kowalewski, a sophomore tight end, dropped what would have been a sure touchdown against Toledo. Afterward, he didn’t leave his room for three days, he said.

‘I didn’t want to talk to nobody,’ Kowalewski said. ‘I didn’t want to talk to my parents. I was just sick. I still have problems sleeping. I’d just sit on my bed and think about it, ‘When am I going to get another chance?’ ‘

Saturday, Kowalewski’s chance came, and he redeemed himself. In the second quarter, Kowalewski caught his first career touchdown pass, a 33-yard out-and-up from Anderson.

After he scored, Kowalewski unstrapped his helmet, threw his hands in the air and sprinted across the end zone, ball above his head. Running to the sideline, Kowalewski pointed to his father, John.

When Kowalewski arrived on the sideline, teammates mobbed the Solvay native. Senior tight end Joe Donnelly exchanged a high-five first, followed by a hug from center Nick Romeo.

‘It’s good to see a guy like Joe make a touchdown,’ Romeo said. ‘He gets in there very few times, and he’s just a good all-around guy.’

Not everything went so well for Kowalewski. Temple, which utilized a ‘sky kick’ technique, popped a kickoff in Kowalewski’s direction. As he had done previously, Kowalewski pointed to the ball, signaling a sky kick to returner Steve Gregory.

But the ball came short, forcing Kowalewski to catch it and try to return it. Referees, though, thought Kowalewski had signaled for a fair catch and flagged him for a delay-of-game penalty.

‘I didn’t even hear them blow the whistle,’ Kowalewski said. ‘I didn’t know why the whistle was even blowing. I had no clue what was going on.’

Sweet redemption

Last year, Syracuse kicker Collin Barber was the scapegoat for SU’s loss, 17-16. After a last-minute touchdown, he missed the extra point which would’ve sent the game to overtime.

This year, Barber performed much better. The junior connected on two field goals – 26 and 35 yards, respectively – and on 5 of 5 PATs, compiling 11 points.

So did last year weigh on Barber’s mind at all this time around?

‘A little bit,’ Barber said. ‘Maybe in the back of my mind. But it’s over now. I wanted to focus on the task at hand.

‘I told myself after that game that I’d never let something like that happen again.’

Because SU throttled the Owls, Barber didn’t need to worry about last-second kicks. Instead, he had a different issue on his mind. Barber hurt his right thigh in practice before SU’s game against Boston College three weeks ago. He missed that 39-14 SU win but returned Oct. 25 in SU’s 34-14 loss to Pittsburgh.

Still, the thigh is bothering him.

‘I’m pretty sore,’ Barber said. ‘I’ve been getting a lot of treatment, but I’ve been really sore.’

This and that

Jameel Dumas did not play. The senior outside linebacker has been out since injuring his left knee in SU’s 49-47 triple-overtime win over North Carolina on Sept. 6. Pasqualoni said it would be a game-time decision whether Dumas would play … SU running back Walter Reyes’ four-yard touchdown run with 3:20 left in the third quarter moved him past James Mungro and into first place all time at the Carrier Dome with 21. … Seven members from SU’s 1959 national championship team were honored before the game. … With one more win, Syracuse will become bowl eligible.

Published on November 9, 2003 at 12:00 pm