Boilers Workmanlike Win over Vanderbilt

Boilers Strong 2nd Half Propel Team

by Steven Stremming

After losing to Nevada last week, the Boilers under Head Coach Jeff Brohm needed to right the ship and that they did with a workmanlike effort.

Things didn’t start exactly the way you draw it up though, when Vanderbilt scored at the 6:32 mark of the opening stanza when redshirt Senior running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn scored on a 1 yard plunge to put the Commodores up early.

Purdue was not to be down long as Elijah Sindelar, 5th year Senior  from Princeton, Kentucky, combined with 5th senior tight end Brycen Hopkins from 12 yards out. Charlotte, North Carolina Junior J.D. Dellinger added the extra point to tie the game at 7 before a crowd of over 50,000. ( Today’s crowd of 50,506 is the largest home-opening crowd since 2008 vs. Northern Colorado (51,476).

The first half would continue to be a back and forth affair as Purdue would connect again with a little over four minutes to go in the half as Sindelar this time connected with Suwanee, Georgia red shirt freshman Payne Durham from two yards out.

Vanderbilt would score with a few seconds under two minutes left as the Commodores as Naperville, Illinois Senior Ryley Guay placed a 48 yards field goal through the goal posts to end the first half 14 to 10 Purdue.

The second half was a Purdue strong point as the Boilers stuck early when Sindelar hit Geismar, Louisana Junior wide receiver Jared Sparks for 50 yards to put them up 21 to 10.

Later in the third quarter Sindelar would connect with Hopkins again, this time from 20 yards to open the lead to 28 to 10.

The fourth quarter was a 14 to 14 draw as Vanderbilt Graduate Quarterback Riley Neal (Yorktown, Indiana) would connect with Cam Johnson from 10 yards and another Neal strike, this time for 75 yards to Smithfield, Virginia Junior Chris Pierce.

Purdue scored when Sindelar hit Sophomore Rondale Moore from 34 yards and a Sindelar one yard plunge.

For the day, Sindelar became the 18th player in school history with over 3,000 career yards passing, now ranking 14th (3,479). Moved into 13th in career completions (295). Moved into T-10th in career touchdown passes (29). The first Purdue quarterback with five or more touchdown passes and 500 yards in a game since Kyle Orton against Indiana (522 yards, 6 TDs) on Nov. 20, 2004. His 519 yards passing are tied for the sixth most in Purdue history. His 942 yards passing are the most in the season’s first two games in school history.

Rondale Moore set a career best in receptions (13) and receiving yards (220), becoming the first Purdue player since at least 2000 to reach those marks. His 220 yards are the third-most receiving yards in school history (Chris Daniels in Oct. 1999 – 301; Selwyn Lymon in Sept. 2006 – 238). Having played just 15 games, he is now tied for 18th in Purdue history for career receptions (138). He moved into 15th place on the school’s career touchdown receptions list (14).